".... You ready for this?

Really, she should have been asking herself that question... but, it helped to think that her imposing companion was frightened and nervous about the situation too. It was practically suicide, what they had planned... and she knew it. Standing beside the Judge, hidden under layers of leather and cloth, Megan eyed the crowd that mulled along far ahead of them.

They had a check in to get through first. No doubt, they would be searched. Though she had her knife pretty well hidden, she wasn't exactly sure she'd make it through with the blade still on her person. Then again, dressing and acting like a man had it's benefits. People were far less willing to pat you down if they thought you were packing dude-bits in your pants.

Glancing over at him, Megan tugged the red cloth she usually wore over her mouth and nose back up into place, and fixed a pair of ski goggles on over her eyes. Paired with a shaggy hack-job of a Mohawk, and the dirt that still clung to her skin, she was confident that she at least looked like a boy. It was the man voice that was harder to pull off.

"This could go south really, really quickly, if he senses that i'm up to something. If we even make it through the front door."

The last time she's seen the big Bug, he'd tried to sweet talk her into coming with him back to his Pit. His castle in the wastes. Considering the fact that she was still sore over the fact that she's though him dead, only to find out that he was very much alive and doing pretty terrible things... well, there's no polite way to repeat exactly how she turned him down.

"Are you ready? You're the one who knows him... The one he trusts." He slowly unbuckled his paper cutter blade, and instantly felt naked as it slid off of his back... A full year of having it either on his back or in his hands when ever they left the hide-out would do that to you. He paused for a moment, and then handed the blade to her, seeming to have trouble parting with it.

Still, blade or no blade, they were ready for this; over the course of the year they'd become a tight-knit unit of two. They'd taken out some of the most notorious criminals left in the wastes, and had gotten out of impossible situations more times than he could count. This was just another one.

"Worst comes to worst, we fight our way in, kill him, and fight our way out. As is, this is the best way to get one of us close to him; we don't have any other options, here, Bailiff..." He reached up to adjust the blind fold covering his nearly useless eyes. Most of their enemies still didn't know he couldn't see; Clive had figured it out early on, but that didn't really help when your remains were scattered across the wasteland. It would be a huge part of their gambit when it came to getting in.

He took a deep breath as he clicked the hand cuffs onto his wrists... The price Roach had put on his head was steep; he'd taken out a few of the freak's minions in order to free some slaves destined for the pit. This was their big chance to end a major chapter in the story of scum in the post apocalyptic wasteland. The world would be a better place with Gregory Samson dead. Still... something about this situation felt a little different than all of their other death defying moments. "Bailiff...Megan. If I don't make it out of this... Don't stop. Never stop, and never die. Promise me that."

In their rather long run together, he could count the times in which he'd stepped past a professional tone on one hand. His were shaking right now, though. They never shook. Hers were too. "Well... We don't want to be late to the show. Wish me luck."

"Are you ready? You're the one who knows him... The one he trusts."

She laughed, it sounded empty. "As ready as I'll ever be." Which was not at all. She didn't want to do this... She knew she had too, that it needed to be done.. but she honestly didn't want too.

"Worst comes to worst, we fight our way in, kill him, and fight our way out. As is, this is the best way to get one of us close to him; we don't have any other options, here, Bailiff..."

With the heavy blade in her hands, she nodded. She was going to have to stash the weapon somewhere inside... as well as note, and a few other things. He'd need them in the long run. "Yeah... I know." She was closest to him, the most obvious choice. The Judge himself would never make it within five feet... Megan, however, had the chance to swindle her way in beside him.

"Bailiff...Megan. If I don't make it out of this... Don't stop. Never stop, and never die. Promise me that."

"... I promise." Those words tasted wrong on her tongue. "Promise me the same." He was needed... now more than ever. If they succeeded in taking Roach down, there would surely be a fight for his throne. Someone needed to be around to keep the peace.

Glancing over at him as she finished securing his blade under her layers, she felt her chest constrict. Blindfolded.... handcuffed like a criminal. It was wrong. With her eyes hidden behind goggles, there was no chance he'd catch the expressions currently swimming in them.

Heartbreak.... Guilt... Shame. So many emotions, so many words she wanted to say.

"Good luck. The quick press of her lips gently to his was there and gone, then she tugged her mask into place and latched onto the chain keeping is wrists shackled together. With a tug, she turned and led the way.

Good bye...

He didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't expect to come out of this alive... The inside of the pit itself was a death trap, with trained gunmen aiming at the contestants to be sure only the ones Roach wanted made it out alive. That being the case, they rarely needed to step in; almost every fight was stacked in the favor of who Roach wanted to win. The odds of him making it out alive were damn near nonexistent.

Still, he lied. "I promise." His eyes widened as he felt her approaching, and felt the soft press of lips against his mask... His breath left him for a moment, and he found himself nodding silently before he found it again. What was that? That slight burning sensation in his chest? It was as if a long extinguished flame had flickered to life once more. Yes. He would make it out of this alive. He had to.

For hope's sake.

----------------------------------------

They were surrounded by gunmen. All of them were aiming their guns right at him. Apparently, a hang cuffed, blindfolded man was kinda a big deal. He couldn't blame them, though... If anything the precautions they were taking were totally necessary; over kill, at least in his case, was the only smart approach.

"Hanz up! Oui, even you wiv ze cuffs on! Submit yurself tu be searched!" He remained silent as he raised his arms, and felt a pair of buggy hands checking him... very thoroughly. "Woah... didn't even buy me coffee-""SILENCE!" The hands quickly moved from him, toward Megan, but a voice echoed in to interrupt them.

"Now, now! Pierre! Don't you recognize family when you see it?" The master of this pit seemed to materialize out of the crowd with a rather harsh swat; one that shooed the wandering hands of the french minion to a rest before they touched that certain someone.

"My dear... Look at you. Well... You look like a man. But I've been stalking you enough to know it's you! Megan, my dear! You've finally come to your senses!"

Within a flash he was before her, and embracing her like a long lost relative. "Oh, how I have missed you so! I was beginning to think you'd never come around!" He held the embrace for a good four or five seconds past what anyone would consider comfortable, and then took a deep breath in through his nostril holes... "You smell horrible! We should get you cleaned up!" The giant bug practically floated away from her, his hands behind his back as the smaller pair on his chest motioned to two assistants off to the side. "And look... you brought a present! My oh my, the JUDGE! You give the nicest gifts! Got tired of gallivanting around with him trying to be... a hero? hah! please." The word was spoken as if the very notion of it was a joke. waved to his assistants once more, and they moved to drag Megan off to get cleaned up.

The large bug watched her as she went, sighing contently. He then leaned into the Judge, and spoke in a dark, venomous tone. "You know... You're going to die today. I'll make you suffer for every day you took her away from me; every way you tried to turn her into something she was not..." A switch flipped in his head, and he was cheerful once more. "Well! We've got a lovely show lined up for you! Please put on a good show as you die a painful death!"

With that, he was carted off as well.

Her anxiety grew as the guard moved in on her... Would he find the weapons? If he did, what then?

But... luck stepped in before any such questions could be answered...

"My dear... Look at you. Well... You look like a man. But I've been stalking you enough to know it's you! Megan, my dear! You've finally come to your senses!"

Her stomach flip-flopped, and for a moment she felt unsteady on her own two legs. There he was... unchanged since the last time she'd seen him, with his buggy arms wrapped around her. She forgot all about the various things hidden on her body that she didn't particuarly want found... and hugged the big bug back. Part of her was glad, happy even... the same part of her that smiled when she saw him. It... felt good... A distant memory of home and happier times. "S'ahelluva lot better than being some %$#@&'s gal, don'tchu think?" Running a hand through what was left of her hair, she cast a look over her shoulder at her companion-turned-prisoner as Roach stepped back.

"You smell horrible! We should get you cleaned up! And look... you brought a present! My oh my, the JUDGE! You give the nicest gifts! Got tired of gallivanting around with him trying to be... a hero? hah! please."

"Tch... Hero. All work and no play. It gets pretty boring after a while...." Without a word at the bound Judge, she left his side and trotted after Roach, now that his lackeys were going to leave her alone. "An who're you calling smelly? I don't smell, you ass... YOU smell."

He was probably right... She hadn't bathed in a week. With a wave of his buggy hand, she turned and allowed herself to be carted off... but not before stopping just once. She had something she needed to say....

".....It's good to be back, Greg.... I missed you a helluva lot. That said, she had some sort of cleaning ritual awaiting her, and so departed.

Wow... She really did show a completely different side, talking to the mass murdering cockroach; He knew they had history, but he hadn't recognized how deep it went. He hoped she didn't have second thoughts in the end; they couldn't afford that.

He didn't struggle as the Roach's minions carted him off; he knew what was coming, and he would walk to his fate with dignity and self respect. If the pit master thought he could take that from him by announcing to him he would die, he was sorely mistaken. The way he talked about Megan, though; it worried him. Would she be safe, sitting right next to him? Who was he kidding... No one was safe.

-----------------------------------------

An hour had passed; a lot could happen in an hour. Heavy breathing consumed his sense of hearing as he stood above the body of his latest opponent. Nearly blind eyes stared down at the blurry shape of his victim; it was a young man, a local raider whose father he had killed... apparently if you paid the right price, even a solid chance at revenge was on the table, here. His cold hands clenched tight as he aimed his head up toward the pit master's lounge... This was the eighth wave of fighters the murderer had sent his way... All of them had fought him like they owed him something. He'd bested wave after wave.

He wondered if the monster, who was climbing from his chair even now, thought he would make it through so many opponents. "C'mon, then. You all out of lackeys? I'm not even tired, yet! You wanna have a go yourself?" He kicked the dead body before him out of the way... the floor of the pit was littered with bodies at this point... It was pretty clear that he'd been lying through his teeth when he said he wasn't tired; he couldn't keep this up all day. The crowd cheered for his death, and if they didn't move soon, they would have it.

What a show he put on! Wave after wave fell as Roach gorged on a large chunk of steak, still left over from Aura's stunt with the cow. He looked over to Megan, his antennae straight up in a pleasant excitement. She looked pretty; he'd laid out a dress for her; he'd picked it himself, instructing his minions to give her privacy while she changed. It was just her size.

"Do you remember the last time we met?" He cooed fondly. "You called me a monster! It was the most flattering thing anyone had ever said to me. I was heartbroken when you walked away." His tone didn't change, as if it were a fond memory, through and through. Even as the Judge felled the last young man he'd sent out... What was that? Wave eight? Each had at least three fighters... "Bravo! Bravo! Children! Children! Do contain your excitement whilst I speak!" The roaring crowd slowly died down as he stood, and waved them quiet. "Bravo, Mister Judge! I am impressed! Nearly 30 opponents down, and barely a scratch on you! The stories were true. You really are something! Now, a bit of trivia! Did you know that every single person you've fought today actually paid to have a go at you? Heh heh... You've really pissed some people off... Killed a lot of daddies and mommies on your quest for justice! Let a few die, too. For shame."

He soaked in the Judge's reaction for a moment... Stoic as always... Oh well. "But, and I say this with regret... It's about time you die, don't you agree? And children! Do I have the surprise for you! When I captured this fighter from a risky raid on the amazon camp, I thought I may have made a bad investment! She struggled so much, so fiercely, that I thought I would never get her to fight for us... But when I told her who she would be fighting against... Well... She volunteered. Apparently she has a score to settle with the Judge! Ladies and gentlemen! I give you... the dangerous! The deadly! MEDUSA~~~!" The crowd went insane as he spouted the words. "Side note! Don't look into her eyes."

... A dress... really?

Smirking, Megan shrugged and started to changed. A while later, newly bathed and no longer reeking, she joined Roach for dinner and a few good fights.

...a few good fights, that all seemed to be centered around the Judge defeating wave after wave of opponents.

She watched the blood shed with surprisingly little emotion, half paying attention to it, while the rest was focused on her meal. Steak... jesus, how long had it been since she'd eaten something without eight legs?

"Do you remember the last time we met? You called me a monster! It was the most flattering thing anyone had ever said to me. I was heartbroken when you walked away."

Anger settled on her features, and she dropped her eating utensil back onto her plate. "You went and died on me, you jerk... and you didn't tell me you were alive afterward!" Thinking about all the tears she'd shed over him, all of the time she'd spent ripping herself apart in his absence... and he'd been off joyfully gallivanting around somewhere. With a huff, she turned her attention back to the fight as the Judge yet again triumphed, and then learned who his next opponent would be...

@%$&...

She needed to speed things up, if she wanted her plan to go off without a hitch. Leaning back in her chair and scooting her plate away, the warm handle of her knife pressing into her lower back helped her to relax a little. She probably wouldn't need it, considering what she had in mind... but it didn't hurt to have backups. "Gregory...." She fixed her eyes on the bug man, a lazy half smirk settled on her lips. "How in the hell did you manage to get your hands on that one?"

Leave it to him to make things ever more interesting.

"I give you... the dangerous! The deadly! MEDUSA~~~!"

What a chump.

Strolling out into the arena to a chorus of cheers, the Greek set her eyes upon the only thing that mattered in the entire building. The Judge. He looked a little worn down, and considering the nice sized pile up of bodies and blood around him, rightly so.

"Hello again." Waggling her fingers at him in a mock greeting, she stopped a good distance away. "Looks like you've been busy."

All of that cheering was really getting annoying... but what was to be expected from animals? Casting a sidelong glance up into the crowd, she was satisfied enough by the quieting of just a few voices, before her eyes swiveled over to the box where the cockroach sat. She was going to kill him next... after taking care of the masked menace over there. The Stupid bug more than had it coming for using that @#%$&ing nickname...

Considering that her opponent hadn't seemed to talkative last time, after pointlessly blathering some moral crap at her, Andrea unsheathed her knife knife launched into an attack. Considering her head was on straight this time she wasn't worried about any fancy footwork on his part. He had strength, those damn blades of his, and probably a crap-ton more tricks hidden up his sleeve... but she knew she was faster, and slinging venom at him from just out of arms reach had it's uses. She also had a complete head-full of snakes again, all of which were more than happy to hiss their opinions of him.

Swift, cold and calculated, she already had a plan of attack in mind as she sprinted at him. There wouldn't be anymore mistakes on her end.

Being dragged from her "room" for yet another fight was not on her list of things to do today. She'd barely recovered from the last bout, and was seriously lacking on energy.

Unfortunately, she had no choice in the matter.

Once she was in the arena, she probably should have felt a little better that she wasn't actually going to be fighting anyone today... but, when you're suspended from the contestants, hanging from the ceiling like the worlds gaudiest chandelier, she found that her spirits were not going to get any cheerier.

Then came the added low blow that one of the contestants happened to be familiar... very familiar. ELke felt her heart drop out through the bottom of her shoes, where it presumably landed on the floor somewhere down below.

The Judge? Really? The Judge? This was one of those moments in life where it feels like you've run out of doors and windows, and are trapped in a series of dead-end hallways. Nowhere to go, nothing to do but pick your nose and stare at a wall.

Shooting the most venomous glare she could muster at the Bug man where he sat to watch the fight, she decided right then and there to abandon the orders she'd been given. One Duplicate slid away, falling like a rock, and she shouted down at it as it fell to "GO AFTER THE ONE WITH THE SNAKES!"

Upon hitting the ground, after regaining her breath, said duplicate rolled to her feet and bolted for the nearest weapon, then, once armed, bolted for the 'One with the snakes!' with reckless abandon.

As if he'd been struck by a mac truck, the air left his lungs when he heard the Roach's announcement. He... He had no idea what he was doing to the masked vigilante... And neither did she. He would have gladly taken on anyone else that day... A big red hulk? A man who could rip you into pieces with air? No problem... But her.

His heart beat erratically as he shook off a wave of dizziness... His eyes wandered to the blur that was Roach... He felt out Megan with his senses. She was still alright, though her heart was beating just as fast as his. He wondered if she would miss him... What was he thinking? Of course she would... He was just so damned lovable.

He felt Andrea rushing forward, but couldn't bring it in himself to react, even as her blade moved in and scratched across one of his armor plates, slipping past and cutting into his side a little... He stumbled back a little, but kept his head aimed at Megan... And that was when a voice screamed out loudly.

"GO AFTER THE ONE WITH THE SNAKES!" His eyes snapped to the top of the dome... My god... was that a child? The words, and the feeling of a little girl falling from the tied up mutant, stirred him from his inaction. He jumped back, and landed in a ready combat position; Jesus, Roach was tying little girls to the ceiling for entertainment now, too?! He couldn't die... If it meant the difference between saving that child's life, and not... He couldn't die.

There was the issue of the other little girl charging blindly toward a very dangerous woman. "No! Don't!"

She drew first blood. The satisfaction that flooded her quickly was intoxicating.... until it was ruined by a screeching banshee child from above. The Judge dodged back out of her reach, so she sent a stream of venom flying at him, courtesy of Vana.

The child that had come from above, a complete visual copy of the girl on the ceiling, rushed her. Andrea was nearly stunned into not attacking the poor, stupid creature... nearly. The girl moved in, effectively capturing the Greeks attention momentarily, and without much effort she reached out with her knife to slice the girl cleanly through the meaty portion of her arm.

To her surprise, the girl only swore colorfully and kept coming. Flat out trying to Tackle the Greek to the floor of the arena. Andrea evade of course, dodging neatly to the side while the clone stumbled past, and Sloth reached out to sink his teeth into an open shoulder.

"....children." How old was this girl, anyway...? Certainly no more than fourteen.

Charlie would have been eight.

Anger ruined the rest of her satisfaction over making the Judge bleed, while Sloth wrenched his teeth from the clones shoulder. She really was going to have to make him suffer after this was all over. For every fleck of blood on her person that didn't belong to the Judge.

Without a word, she lifted her knife and planted it neatly into the back of the duplicate, right between the shoulder blades. A clean strike... a swift death. It was only fair.

Everything had been going just fine up until that moment... He'd tied Elke to his dome for a reason; so he could use her to kill him in case the amazon failed. He would give her one last chance to be a human again; to not be tied to the arena day after day, pumping out clones at his leisure.

How did she repay him? After everything he'd done for her; all of the meals he'd provided, all of the life lessons he'd taught her... All of the punishments for her many, many mistakes. She spoke.

SHE SPOKE. His plate was out of his hand and spinning through the air at the 13 or so year old girl's head before he could even gather his thoughts. "CATTLE. DON'T. SPEAK!!" The roar silenced the crowd as the sound of glass shattering against something was heard. He didn't even care if he hit her or not, he'd had enough. After this fight was over, he was going to kill her. She was much more trouble than she was worth.

After a moment, he cleared his throat, and sat next to his guest once more, and turned to resume casual conversation. "Want to give me a hand strangling a little girl after this? I do so miss bonding with you."

The Native couldn't figure out why the Judge wasn't already in the process of beating the snakes haired woman's face in, while her clone was drawing her attention away. She cringed and squirmed against her bindings as the duplicate took a hit, then squirmed again when the snake sank it's teeth in. It felt like her skin was on fire. Not very pleasant.

"Go get her, Judge! Go, go, go!" Heck, there wasn't much she could do from where she dangled, but at least she could still cheer her favorite masked vigilante on!

The knife slipping into her clone put a temporary damper on her enthusiasm, though... since it hurt enough to catch her breath in her throat. But it was, by far, the plate striking her from out of nowhere that earned the loudest, most colorful reaction from her yet.

"#%^@$#!!

Roach's scream drown out her own, and sent a child through her. The arena instantly went silent, and Elke knew she'd pushed her luck too far...

Ah, well... if she was gonna get eaten later, she'd best be havin' fun now, right?!

"YOU CAN DO IT! BELIEVE IN THE ME THAT BELIEVES IN YOU, JUDGE!" She sent another clone falling, and grinned as best she could through the pain of a nice little gash on her forehead.