Two members of instant rival factions will go head to head, nearly literally as they face off in a match where they're connected by the necks by a chain that is only ten feet long, in the words of the scary guy from Saw- 'Oh yes there will be blood.'

"I've never had an office before."

Darkness's cold eyes wandered across the room, taking in its details with a mixture of bemused confusion and ambivalence. Slowly, he ran his hand over the desk, feeling its fine mahogany surface and wondering just how all this had happened.

"Don't you like it?"

Darkness turned to his stable-mate, catching the worried expression in his fiery eyes. Since Dante had become involved in Darkness's world before Endgame and, in his own words, left a part of himself in the Arizona desert, he'd been intent on redeeming himself. The nice guy act was a little grating at times, but Darkness knew that the albino had no choice but to rile against his native urges as the son of Lucifer: it was that or lose his very humanity and, paradoxically, it was his love for the succubus that had given him that.

"It's fine, Jason. I appreciate the effort you went to to get me..." his eyes wandered across the strange furnishings, "...all this..."

Seeing the crest above the mantle - a winged sword mounted in an inverted pentagram - was jarring, but he knew better than to mention it. The symbol of his Order juxtaposed with the symbol of everything he had stood against for twenty years would never be something he could just get used to.

Strange times, indeed.

"So..." Darkness began as he walked around the desk - his desk, he mentally corrected himself - "I understand that my opponent in the next round is a former associate of yours...?"

Dante nodded. "You've met before actually; in my club last year."

Darkness ran a hand across his beard and considered this information. After a few seconds he did indeed recall that Shadow had been involved in the brawl that had erupted shortly before the Death by Degrees match at Endgame the previous summer. Apart from that, the two men had had no contact whatsoever.

"There's something you should know..."

Dante had slumped down in the huge leather couch that spanned half the width of the office on the opposite wall. Darkness recognised the facial expression he sported as the one that indicated he was about to recount some previous misdeed that he now bitterly regretted. Given their colourful history, it was an expression that was very familiar to Darkness.

Again, he did not begrudge Dante his redemption, but he wished the transition had been so easy for him. Darkness had not learnt to forgive himself for abandoning his family to fight Lucifer until he realised how necessary that choice had been - and that Krissy had survived the attack.

"You have to understand that Shadow has a great many resources at his disposal," Dante began, "His wealth dwarfs even mine and he has enough influence to destabilise the politics of entire continents, should the whim take him."

"I'm under no illusions as to the power he wields, Jason."

Dante waved a hand, "No, of course not, but there are still some things you should know...about what he knows..."

Darkness arched an eyebrow and folded his arms. Dante paused for a second and looked at his partner before Darkness inclined his head and indicated that he should continue.

"Somehow he discovered something about your past - about the Shadow Slayers..."

Darkness shook his head. "Impossible. All information of the Order is ruthlessly suppressed. We have the influence to ensure that documentation of our existence simply does not exist. Even we do not keep records of our activities, lest they fall into the wrong hands."

The silence lasted for a few seconds before Dante shrugged. "He was the one who told me who you once were, who gave me the information that led to me setting myself up as Lucifer's Champion in opposition to you. I knew of the Shadow Slayers long before I came face-to-face with you. You can't explain that away, Darkness."

He knew Dante was right. Carefully he turned and looked out of the window of his new office. The New Hellfire Club had made a brief detour to New York to consolidate their position in Dante's business empire. Darkness had been given a fairly token position in the company - Head of Supernormal Research - but, more importantly, was introduced to Jay Ecks who, on paper at least, was Darkness's gaoler.

The sun was sinking low over the skyline that Darkness found familiar despite never having been to the city before. He was out-of-touch with reality, a mere spectator to human affairs at times, but nonetheless, the world's greatest city had still burrowed its way into his consciousness. The view was spectacular.

"What are you going to do?"

Darkness considered his options. Infinity were a group he considered nothing more than a speed bump; a problem to be disposed of as soon as possible so that he could use his position in TCW to further the ends of his alliance with Dante. But some doubt nagged at him when he considered the Infinity member currently set to meet him in the ring at Revolucion.

"If he knows I was once a Shadow Slayer," Darkness mused, "Then we must ensure that that is all he knows..."

After several minutes of silence, Dante left the office. He was still becoming used to his taciturn companion and, besides, he had a boat to catch; another bright idea of Commissioner Stern's. Darkness would make his own way to Puerto Rico, he knew.

* * *

Shadow steepled his fingers and sighed. He wished he could have given Highone more, but even his sources had turned up blank regarding Selenia. She was simply an enigma, just as Jason Dante was becoming. Shadow was at times grateful for the mask that hid his emotions from his allies and enemies. He wouldn't have wanted Highone to see the bitter disappointment in his eyes as he'd pronounced the death of Money Inc. Version 2.0.

Even as he'd agreed to join the fledgling group that now called itself Infinity, Shadow's first loyalty had been to his old alliance with Dante. He had dearly hoped to reunite with him in Infinity, thus eliminating any possibly conflict of interest.

He did so hate conflicts of interest: they were bad for business.

But now he had one, and that bothered him immensely. Not enough for him to do something foolish, but enough to make his coffee to taste a little more bitter every morning. Dante had been a business associate, an ally and, more importantly, a man he considered his equal. Shadow met few such individuals, even surrounded by such exceptional talents as Infinity.

When Dante had first come to him, he was nothing more than a brilliant man surrounded by a hard shell of bristling ego. His past had led him down strange paths, and Shadow had been more than prepared to transform Dante's spines into the kind of smooth hide that eased ones passage through the dog-eat-dog world of commerce and industry. Dante had had the mind, but not the attitude.

Shadow regretted not being able to see his plans to their fruition and regretted even more than Dante had fallen into the worst of all company, in his mind.

He reached into the drawer from which he had retrieved the short dossier on Selenia. Beneath where it had sat was a much larger file, but one which was equally incomplete. The name of his opponent was scrawled quickly in black marker on a white sticker that was stuck at a haphazard angle on the unassuming saffron folder.

Never judge a book by its cover. The file had information that would rock society to its foundations were it to fall into the wrong hands. Of course, by most people's measure, Shadow's hands were as wrong as they came, but he had never let that concern him in the past.

He perused the contents. This was not the first time he had done so, and every page, every report, every grainy CCTV and satellite photo was familiar to him. Quietly he murmured a few phrases to himself as his eyes scanned the unreliable, fragmented, often contradictory information. "Shadow Slayer...arson...wife and daughter...Shogun..."

He was too tired for this.

Cracking his neck, Shadow stood up and crossed the cabin. The room was furnished exactly to his specifications - no host had ever made a mistake twice - but nonetheless was necessarily more Spartan than his usual suites. Travelling by boat was for show rather than convenience and now, more than ever, he needed to project an image of calm.

He knew his time away had cost him more than Dante's loyalty. It was not often that the CEO of S-Mart - one of the world's most powerful business moguls - was left feeling like he was losing control, but his recent life had begun to shake even his near-limitless confidence.

Shadow didn't drink when he was conducting business, which meant he rarely drank at all, but he felt justified in pouring himself a glass of wine. It was a vineyard no one would have heard of as they didn't actually sell their produce to anyone. Certain people received the offer of purchasing what they had for sale at an extortionate price and, if you got that letter, you knew you were part of a very special class of patron.

This bottle cost more than most people would earn in a lifetime. A lesser man with Shadow's resources might have recklessly quaffed it, but Shadow knew the value of money. He took a sip and he savoured it.

Business had driven him to leave his past where it belonged: behind him. But he had been drawn into something bigger than he was prepared for. As he returned to his desk, he flicked through some of the papers, searching for anything he might have missed about his opponent.

Darkness had had a family once, Shadow had discovered. That was no secret, in fact, but he still considered it to be a moral victory of sorts. Quickly, Shadow formulated the beginnings of a plan.

Dante he could understand. The albino's head was familiar territory for him, but Darkness he considered to be a greater threat because, thus far, Shadow found him unfathomable. Could Darkness be nothing more than some selfless do-gooder? He found that hard to believe, not because he was a cynic, but because he had too much experience of human beings to think that such clichés hadn't been bred out by generations of natural selection.

The selfish survive, and the selfless fail. There was more to Darkness than he saw on the surface, and there was only one way to penetrate the former champion's exterior: he had to get to know the man personally.

Still, only fools rush in. First he had to...

Shadow glanced up as the two familiar forms seemed to appear from thin air in front of him. "Girls," he greeted them, "I was just thinking about you..."

"We know," Yu and Ai said in unison.

* * *

Darkness paused. Something was causing some kind of vibration. After a few moments, he realised what it was and reached into his pocket. Fumbling for a few seconds, he eventually opened the device and looked at the numbers on its small screen.

He didn't recognise the sequence.

"Green button..." he murmured as he answered the call.

"Hello?"

"You must be Darkness..."

"Who is this?"

"That isn't important."

Darkness listened, his frown growing as the stranger spoke.

"So can we talk Mr. Darkness?"

Darkness is irritated as powerful as his ability to ‘sense' people is it was not as much use over the phone. And strangers that offered free information ALLWAYS needed to be felt out, more time that he notices passes before he eventually answers.

"Mr. Darkness?"

Darkness: "My apologies but I am not comfortable with speaking to strangers over the phone."

"As I told you before my identity is unimportant, I can understand that you'd like to see me in person to get a better sense for me but I simply can not accommodate."

Darkness: Then I simply can not b continue this conversation, waste my time no more.

"What if I told you how to hurt Shadow how to REALLY hurt him. I know Dante hasn't been forthcoming with personal information on him yet."

Darkness: If you belive that I would need the help of anyone to hurt Shadow then you truly have nothing to offer me. Good day sir.

"Perhaps you'll......

Darkness: I said GOO DAY sir.

*click*

Hmph

If Dante were here he'd likely say something about balancing the proverbs of not looking gift horses in the mouth and not trusting strangers bearing gifts, he was sort of happy that he wasn't here now as he really didn't feel like thinking about it right now. He was Darkness and he really didn't need help defeating anyone the idea that he would is/was insulting. And it is quite unwise to insult the antichrist.

Darkness: "Brilliant, this is exactly what I need. I suppose it that no matter where I find my self on this globe fools shall always remain."

Those fools were paid a much heftier sum than normal to rough up this target, they had no idea why the guy was barely six feet not the monster that their pay had indicated. Still, they agreed they would not be paid a dime if they failed, no problem because failure really wasn't part of their vocabulary. Neither were soap, deodorant, gregarious, salient, ot ironically ironically for that matter. Plainy they did not stand a chance.

They hid in the shadows of the alley as their mark came towards them soon they would spring their trap soon they would purchase several cheap hookers and cheap alcohol. It would TRULY be the good life soon they would......

Darkness: "If you don't mind can we skip this. I will only hurt you, you will only fall."

Of course they don't listen.

Darkness: "Perhaps some day."


With barely a sigh Darkness disposes of the men before they can draw their weapons, one of them was intelligent enough to flee and Darkness was content to let him be until he felt it.

"ARGHHHHH!!!!!!"

His senses were keen sharper than any of the other Shadow Slayers, he'd faced hordes of demons before but then he was prepaired it wasn't this feeling of what couldonly be described as the sudden appearance of thousands of demons all concentrated on one place the building right in front of him the building the man had run into, the building that without noticing he had CHASED the man to.

"A nest, a low level nest of scavengers, vampires."

Vamp 1: "Good to see you as well"

"No, I assure you it is ANYTHING but good to see me. I despise your kind even more than cats."

Darkness was not sure where the other thousand demons he had sensed were hiding but he would make short work of the six in front of him. All in all it felt GOOD to flex his muscle.


"So what do you think ladies?"

Yu and Ai slump next to Shadow two buildings from where Darkness is watching the video feed of Darkness plow through a nest of around 100 vampires. It was a sizeable nest one that had hinderd the growth of his business, now Darkness was destroying them for free AND allowed him some firsthand insight on the limits or as it were the lack of limits of Darkness's power.

" He seems to be as ......"

.... " powerful as advertised
but master?

Shadow: "I know, is he really the human embodiment of an angel, or worse. I have to find out."

" On our way master.

"NO"

Yu: But

Ai: Master

Shadow rises from his chair folds his arms behind his back and sighs.

Shadow: "I know that neither of you has forgotten your encounter with the entity that went by the name Stan Deville. (Shadow holds up a hand, silencing them) Talking to Dante back when he first faced him, if my theory holds water then it is entirely possible that he would make that encounter seem laughable by comparrason." Listen the two of you will be able to sense rather quickly exactly what he is, however, I am not certain that you could defeat him."

Why master?

Ten vampires jump from the balcony towards Darkness they have taken down a thousand vampire slayers over hundreds of years with this very technique. In half a second with one swing of his sword they are reduced to ash.

Shadow turns to his trusted partners.

Shadow: You'll know when I need you. You won't be late.


It felt good to flex his muscle Darkness had to admit, but it was almost over and in all honesty this had proved little. Compared to his strength these vampires were less than nothing, soon only dust would remain as the final three vampires cowered. Loyalty is tossed to the wayside as the eldest of the demons pushes his once friends into Darkness's cold embrace and makes a break for it.

Darkness: "You may run, and although you don't breathe you shall still only die tired."

Vamp 1: "Go fuck yourself Nightwalker."

Before the vamp can escape however he hears the sound of a click and whir followed by a blinding bright light. Unless you count the sound of his own screams it is the last sound he hears.
Darkness shields his eyes from the intense light still ready for attack from the man that just roasted what was to be his next target. This would be the perfect setup and fit nicely into the mo of his opponent.

"Shadow"

Shadow switches off his weapon

"Can you not even allow a man the honor of introducing himself? Yes it's me Darkness, fancy meeting you here."

"Save your lies for someone who can not smell them. Darkness snarled. What is that toy you have?"

Shadow lifts his tool

"Oh this thing? I've learned how to harness the power of the sun into a concentrated beam, it's harmless to most humans, but to anyone with skin conditions that force them to avoid sunlight. Well?"

Darkness: Then you must know it will have no effect on me.

Shadow: "MUST know? Then you've yet to figure out that this is a fact finding mission. I'll meet you on the roof."

Darkness stands quietly as Shadow walks away.

Shadow: "Oh and DO hurry. This old place is going up in flames in about
(checks watch) now."

The door closes and Darkness springs from balcony to balcony as a sea of flame forms beneath him. Shadow had already won one minor victory he had annoyed him. Darkness would be sure to give him his reward on the roof.

*BOOOM*

A fridge filled with perfectly goo Guinness exploded wasting what had to be around 100 bottles.

Darkness: Wasted Guinness wasted time Shadow is certainly going to pay.

Not too much later.

"I belive I said something earlier about dying tired before you killed the one I was talking to. I hope you understand that the same can be said of you."

Shadow is standing on the ledge of the roof as flames devour the entire building.

Shadow: Oh I do not intend to fight you Darkness. At least not here, I just felt it would be a perfect night for us to chat underneath the stars.

Even his mask can't hide his evil grin after that statement.

Shadow: Oh that's right. You, idle chit chat, they don't exactly go hand in hand do they?

Darkness: "As I've said before if you are in my way......"

Shadow cuts him off

"Your way? Oh of COURSE it's YOUR WAY Heaven, that's assuming of course you belive in heaven, forbid that something be done any way other than our way.

Darkness does not respond he only touches the hilt of his sword but as Shadow remains unarmed he does not draw.

"Hmph so you won't even draw your sword. I suppose that makes sense, afterall I AM only a mere human. Nothing like the horrors you've faced, I mean I'm no Warg am I?"

Darkness laughs

"Do you even know what you just compared yourself to?"

Shadow: "Of course I do. It was a joke. But, isn't a joke EXACTLY what you see all of your opponents as? I mean all of us mere humans against you in the ring? Please, you use what roughly 30 % of your power and even with that you've managed only to taste defeat twice."

"You like to hear yourself talk don't you Shadow."

Shadow: "At least I can admit to that. You just continue to lie to yourself. Do you ever ask why you didn't just stick to the Shadow Slayers?"

This time Darkness does draw his sword, former Slayer or not taking Shadow down now might be a favor compared to what would happen if Shadow attempted to go public with this knowledge.

Shadow: Oh the sword, I suppose YOU feel we've reached the point where you've tossed aside the need for words.

Darkness: It is not personal

Shadow laughs, "Do you have ANY idea how many times I've said that?"
Shadow steps back.

"This building will not last long, say what else you know or burn here with it."

Shadow: "Well, if you put it THAT way. Mr. Darkness I've learned a lot about you today, things that just do not fit into files. I never knew that a man other than myself could be so arrogant so ruled by pride."

"You are delaying....."

"NO, no for the first time since seeing you today I'm talking to you, really talking to you. Admit it, when you saw my name as your next opponent the thought of losing to me did not enter your mind even once did it?"

"What?"

"Exactly how many lives have been lost because of your arrogance? Would your little girl still be alive were it not for it?"

Shadow had no way of knowing Darkness's daughter was still alive, even if he did and his intent was to anger Darkness he had succeeded.

"You've gotten my attention and you did NOT want that.

Shadow stands on the ledge of the building nothing seperating him from Darkness's sword but air and roughly 30 stories.

"Oh and one thing before I go Darkness, because as thrilling as this conversation has been I really MUST be going.

(Shadow spreads his arms wide as the roof crumbles and sirens rush to the building) Heroes become heroes for one of two reasons. The world needs saving, or THEY need to save the world."

Darkness draws his blade high

"I see no difference"

"Of course you don't. That's why you will NEVER be what you claim to be or wish to be."

With that Shadow jumps......

Darkness lunges after him but a fraction of a second too late as he senses Yu & AI port in and pluck their master from his fall. They toss Sai at him for good measure but he easily swats them away. That is all the time they need to make their escape and leave Darkness standing on a collapsing building surrounded by firemen and policemen, there would be questions he had no desire to answer he had to go now.

"So still don't think that you could use my help?"

Darkness: "Unless you have a helicopter handy I doubt you can help me."

"Well Mr. Darkness it appears that you are in luck. Hop in."

There is always unexpected fallout. Shadow should have known that, but he had a lot on his mind and, frankly, he had overestimated Darkness. Maybe Darkness overestimated himself too; the chance to take out his seemingly limitless frustration on a vampire cult was one he could have ill afforded to pass up.

Nonetheless, both men had made a mistake.

Kieran dragged his arm free of the last of the burning rubble that had briefly entombed him and snarled at the ashen remains of his former thralls. His body was badly damaged from the collapse of the building, as well as from Nightwalker's attacks which he had mostly managed to avoid. Even so, Darkness had been more powerful than he expected.

The vampire cringed as he tried to walk and felt bones snap. Concentrating his will, he knitted his damaged form together as best he could, and crept into the shadows where he could rejuvenate in peace, away from the prying eyes of humans.

What happened?

Kieran flinched as he heard the voice in his head. He found some unexpected help...

His Infinity allies?

No, the Nightwalker...

There was a pause.

My associates will not be pleased. Shadow would have made a valuable addition to their council.

I know...but there was nothing we could do, we....

Kieran's psychic missive was cut short as he screeched in pain. In the depths of his warped, broken mind he felt the voice of his master burrowing into him, shredding apart what was left of his soul.

YOU HAVE REACHED THE END OF YOUR USEFULNESS TO ME, KIERAN.

With one final howl of agony, the remnants of Kieran's physical form disintegrated into dust and were swiftly dispersed by the cool wind. A thousand miles away, Dragon smiled to himself.

* * *

"I saved your life, aren't you going to thank me?"

Darkness gave Shadow a long stare as he stepped from the helicopter.

"They don't teach you manners in the Shadow Slayers, is that it?"

The billionaire's goading caused Darkness's features to harden as he bit back one reply in favour of something more neutral. "My life would not have been in danger if not for you..."

Shadow at least had the decency to feign offence and confusion at Darkness's accusation. "Mr. Darkness, I can assure you that..."

The former champion raised a hand to silence his opponent. "First, it's just ‘Darkness'...and secondly, did you think I wouldn't realise that you set those thugs on me?"

"You give me too little credit, Darkness," Shadow laughed a little too carefully, "I'd never resort to something as crude as...hired help..."

"But they weren't supposed to kill me were they, Shadow?"

Shadow was intelligent enough to know when to drop the act and he smirked through his mask, "Well deduced," he said, and meant it, "Obviously they were placed to lead you to the vampires. But how did you know that?"

"I don't get attacked. People instinctively know better."

"Ah, of course."

Shadow turned away from the strange man and crossed the helipad in silence. He used such moments to order information in his razor-sharp mind. His greatest talent was his ability to quickly sift through data and ascertain exactly what was useful and what wasn't before fitting all the pieces of a puzzle together before anyone else would have even realised there was one to be solved. That skill alone had given him the means to build his empire, and his ruthless application of it had made his dreams reality.

Darkness was quick too, but it was an intelligence born out of experience for the most part. Shadow knew he could manipulate the former Shadow Slayer - knew, in fact, that he had succeeded in doing so already - but he also realised that Darkness had a natural resistance to being manipulated by anyone. He wondered how exactly Dante had convinced the man to join his fledgling stable but came to no conclusion in the brief time that he had and so filed away the question for later consideration. There were still elements of this story that he didn't know about, he had to admit.

So...where did that leave him? Darkness's abilities had not disappointed him, and his conversation with his enemy on the rooftop had confirmed most of what he'd suspected about his motives: some men were simply driven to be the centre of attention by their egos and they used whatever they had at their disposal to achieve that aim. Darkness had been fortunate in that what he had at his disposal had been...unique...

So, now that he knew the man a little better, how to neutralise him?

Another query that he'd have to file away for later, Shadow reflected. For now, he realised that he must resign himself to simply watching and learning, delving deeper into Darkness's psyche.

"Follow me," he said, turning around and...

Shadow frowned. "Where did he go?"

The CEO of S-Mart stood alone on the helipad atop his Puerto Rico offices. His opponent was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Shadow tapped his fingers irritably on his desk. He would only let such a blatant display of emotion occur in private, which was the case at the moment. This was precisely the reason he was as irritated as he was; he should have had company.

The intercom buzzed and Shadow waited a few moments before pressing the button. The female voice informed him that the person he expected had finally arrived and he indicated that he should be shown in.

A knock came at the door soon after.

"Enter."

The shabby figure entered looking entirely out-of-place and not a little nervous. He looked around the plush furnishings of Shadow's office before shuffling to the seat on the other side of his desk that his host had indicated he take.

"Dr. Baxter, I believe we had an appointment for 9 am."

"Yeah, well," TCW's head doctor replied as he scratched his head - it was clear he had not showered - "9 am is a little early for me, to be honest. Plus I was up kinda late last night because..."

"Please," Shadow raised a hand, "I do not wish to know. Can we proceed? Your tardiness has already placed me behind schedule today."

"Right...uh....yeah, of course. What can I do for you, Shad...um...Mr. Shadow?"

Shadow smiled - a facial expression Baxter could not actually perceive - and leant back in his chair, folding his hands together. "Dr. Baxter, as the federation's head doctor, it's your job to give ever employee a full physical before you clear them to compete, correct?"

"Uh huh. I mean, uh...yeah, yeah it is. Sir."

"Excellent. With that in mind, I wondered what information you might have pertaining to the physical condition of a certain individual."

Baxter glanced from side-to-side before he leant closer and began to speak to Shadow in a conspiratorial manner, "Listen...I'm not technically allowed to give away information like that, only Ms. Stern is allowed to..."

Shadow flicked a picture across the desk and Baxter regarded it carefully for a few seconds. "And who are they?" he asked, obviously confused.

"Your reward, if you comply."

Baxter raised his eyebrows as he took in the details of the two women in the photograph. He looked up at Shadow and ran a hand across his unshaven face. "Are you serious?"

"They're your type aren't they, Baxter? Young, Asian, barely clothed?"

"Yeah...everything seems in order..."

"They'll be waiting for you in the reception area when you leave my office. Give me the information I require and they're yours to do with as you will for the next twenty four hours."

Baxter seemed to consider the offer for a few moments before nodding his head. "Okay, deal. What do you want to know?"

"Tell me everything you have on Darkness."

Baxter sat back in his seat and folded his arms. "Where to start?" he mused.

"A summary to begin, perhaps?" Shadow prompted.

"Okay...well, I've never seen anything like him."

Shadow leant closer, intrigued. If the corrupt doctor had uncovered some element of Darkness's physical makeup that could explain his unusual abilities then his search may have ended already.

"His resting pulse rate is insane...we're talking twenty five beats per minute here."

"Are you serious?" this information was new even to Shadow and he was genuinely surprised at Baxter's claim.

"Yeah, absolutely. I must have tested him a dozen times when he first came in - thought the damn machine was bust at first, but everything checked out. We measure his VO2 max too..."

"His what?"

"It's...uh...well, it's how fast an athelete takes in oxygen and puts it to use in his body..."

"Measured in?"

"Millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute."

Shadow nodded. Though he was a proffesional athelete himself, such technical knowledge had never concerned him. He was prepared to take what Baxter said at face value. "Continue."

"Oh yeah, um, so we measured it and, again, I figured we must have gotten something wrong. Measured some figure or other badly or something."

"So you repeated the revelant tests?"

"Yeah, obviously."

"And the results were the same?" Shadow guessed.

Baxter nodded. Shadow could see that the doctor was warming to his topic and he percieved that, despite his corrupt nature, Baxter was a talented proffesional who took a certain satisfaction from his knowledge. He made a mental note to keep him acquiescent in future.

"It was crazy. He was showing results of 120 ml/kg/min plus!"

"Is that unusual?"

"45 is average for an adult male. A world-class runner or cyclist could expect figures of maybe 70, with only the most impressive specimens exceeding 90."

"And what sort of person could realistically achieve 120?"

"No sort of person."

Shadow nodded silently and sat back in his chair again. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this information yet, but he was certain S-Mart's scientists could make sense of it. "Anything else?" he asked Baxter.

"Incredibly high body-temperature, faster reactions than I've ever seen. Hey, you know how much he can bench?"

"Surprise me..."

"500!"

"I thought he only weighed 218?"

"He does!" Baxter leaned closer, "I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that, for his height, weight and build, there may be no finer physical specimen on this planet."

"I see."

Baxter fell silent for a few moments. "Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"No, I think that will be more than sufficient, thank you."

"Okay...so can I...uh...?" his finger tapped against the picture of the two Asian girls Shadow had given him.

The CEO waved his hand dismissively, "Yes, of course. Thank you for your time, doctor."

Baxter almost ran from the room, but Shadow didn't notice. His offer was genuine - forcing Yu and Ai to do the kind of things Baxter would want was too sadistic even for him, so he had procured suitable stand-ins to fulfill the man's perverse desires. He did not doubt Baxter's information, but he had trouble fitting it into what he knew already.

Darkness was physically intimidating, there was no doubt about that, and Baxter's insight had only made that more clear. What Shadow still didn't understand was why. Dejectedly he reflected that all the pieces of this particular puzzle were not yet in his possession, let alone assembled into a coherent image.

He looked down at the file bearing Darkness's name that sat on his desk. "What are you?" he demanded of thin air.

Once I fought for truth, for honour and for the survival of my people. I preyed on those who existed only to prey on others.

Have no illusions; that is all a demon is. They were humans once - I know this now - but their shades were tormented in Hell and some of them, those who accepted their fate and threw away the hope of redemption, were added to the ranks of the fallen.

To be demon is to be tortured unendingly, to suffer in your infliction of suffering. They are without conscience, without guilt, and yet they must exist, robbed of their humanity and serving their more powerful brethren and forebears: the Fallen Gods who rule Hell.

The vampire is the unique form of demon that has not left its body and must prey in a far more direct fashion. Like all demons though, they seek to inflict their taint - their miserable existence - on their victims. Few are strong enough to survive into undeath, but those that are become slaves to the ravenous monster that destroyed them.

The warg is the lupine monstrosity birthed by the Nameless One to serve his dark ends. They resist their hunger for flesh and instead drive towards their dark purpose; the birth of the werekind. Through their blasphemous unions with men, they have created the unspeakable shape-shifters that taint our race.

Once it was so simple. These were my enemies and I was their apocalypse.

Now I am their master.

Now I am the very being I swore I would destroy.

Now I am the Antichrist.

* * *

Norman sighed as he looked around him. Despite the season it was a drizzly, grey day in this part of the world and the overcast skies only deepened the dourness of his mood. Trudging across unkempt scrubland, it didn't take him long to see the object of his quest. Through a dense coppice and over a short stretch of what had presumably once been garden he saw the wreckage that looked familiar from the readout on Shadow's computer screen.

The land here was a stark contrast to what he'd seen on his brief walk from where he'd left his car parked. The overgrown terrain of the immediately surrounding countryside was here replaced by barren, black ground.

His curiosity overcoming the deep sense of foreboding that stole over him, he stepped out from the trees and walked towards the ruined house. The earth seemed to crumble oddly beneath the soles of his shoes as he walked and he stooped down to examine it more closely.

The soil was not like any kind of earth he recognised. It was a fine powder in his hands, dark, like the sand from a volcanic beach, but somehow more irritating. He found it hard to wipe it from his skin and small flecks of blood were left in the wake of the grains as he moved them. Grimacing, he brushed his hands clean of the worst of the strange dirt with a handkerchief.

Eventually he reached the house. It was much as he expected it to be. Timbers, bricks, everyday detritus, all charred beyond recognition and weathered by a few years of exposure to the outside world. Looking around him and still trying to fight the odd, primal sense of unease that welled up in his chest, he stepped through the remnants of the doorframe and into what was once, he guessed, the front room.

"Shadow isn't going to find what he's looking for here, Norman."

Shadow's manservant stepped back, his mouth open wide at the tall figure that stepped through the door opposite him. Bruce only grinned in reply.

* * *

I don't fear anything. I spent two decades destroying monsters that would shatter the sanity of a lesser man. Maybe they shattered my sanity too...it's hard to tell sometimes.

You might think I did what I did because of ego, because of a lust for glory or power. Some people just have to be the hero, right? The truth is that I had no choice. I fought because someone must and I do not know why I was chosen by fate to be that someone.

My duty was everything. I had friendships, some merely a function of my job, others more personal and intimate. But I would have given up anything for the pursuit of my appointed task. Some called me a holy warrior, but I didn't do what I did for a cross or a star.

I fought in self defence. I fought to free mankind. What god they prayed to was none of my concern.

I learnt the hard way what price you pay when you neglect your duty. No matter how hard I try, I'll never be the man I was again. I kid myself that my purpose is still the same, but the world in which I fought has changed even in the short time I've been away from it.

It's isn't about good and evil. I used to think that it wasn't even back then, but I kidded myself that I wasn't the one making the choices when I pulled the trigger.

I paid a heavy price to learn the truth.

* * *

"What is it? Have you found what we require?"

"Uh...no..."

Shadow frowned beneath his mask. Norman did not often fail him and, when he did, it was always for a good reason that the man did not hesitate to bleat to him about. Stammering to find a reply was not his style, at least not with him.

"What happened?"

"Master...something...uh...unexpected came up. I'm not sure where to begin explaining it..."

Shadow's eyes narrowed, again, something that was invisible beneath his mask. His mind worked as fast as ever, trying to work out exactly what could have gone wrong.

The authorities? No, if they hadn't intervened to any lasting effect when it happened, why would they be snooping around now?

Shadow Slayers? Perhaps, but would they be that indiscreet? Shadow suspected that if Slayers had found Norman they probably wouldn't be letting him call his master to tell him what had happened.

That left Darkness's other allies - or, rather, the forces they had at their disposal. What exactly was Dante capable of summoning up if the need arose, he pondered. Still, the NHFC would have to know that he was sending Norman there or have some kind of constant guard in place: an unusual measure for a ruined building, even one as important at this one could be.

No, only someone who could predict that Norman would be at that location at that exact moment could possibly have intercepted him. Shadow quickly ruled out a mole in his own organisation: Dante had influence, but not that much influence.

So who did that leave?

The correct answer popped into Shadow's head at the exact moment that a muffled noise indicating Norman's phone had been snatched away and a new voice speaking reached his ears.

"Shadow?"

"Bruce..."

"Got it in one. How's it going, buddy?"

"Not as well as it was ten seconds ago. How, and more importantly why, did you see fit to insert yourself into my plans? I thought you were long gone."

On the other end of the line, Shadow heard Bruce snort. "That's where your typically three-dimensional view of events and causality has let you down again, Shadow. I'm not the somewhen you think I am - not in the way you understand it. I'm a B.R.U.C.E. and I can be anywhere and anytime I want from any point in my life."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Very well, Bruce. You win this game of wits regarding whether or not your actions are in any way predictable. If this was a comic book your appearance would be out-of-continuity, is that your point?"

"I didn't take you for a fan of the graphic novel, Shadow, but yes, your analogy is a good enough one to explain how I can be here now, talking to you with full knowledge of future events and - more importantly - be here at exactly the right time to catch your little butler poking around Darkness's old house."

"Ah, so my hypothesis regarding that particular location was correct..."

"Did you have any doubts?"

"Not really," Shadow lied.

Bruce laughed as Shadow's mind continued to tick over, putting pieces of this new puzzle rapidly into place. Was Bruce a friend or an enemy? What interest did he have in Darkness and his life? Was there some vital connection he was missing?

"You're wondering what vital connection you're missing, am I right?"

Shadow's shock lasted only an instant before he laughed it off. "Now now, Bruce - using future knowledge is unfair, surely?"

"Actually that was just intuition, but it's good to know I can still second guess some people."

Shadow cut his laugh short and changed the tone of his voice. He had no time for games. "Cut to the chase, Bruce. Why are you getting involved in my plans?"

"Let's just say that myself and the organisation that employs me have a vested interest in seeing that you keep your nose out of Darkness's business."

Another rapid fitting together of puzzle pieces. "The organisation that employs you? I thought you didn't work for the STD anymore..."

Bruce laughed again. "'Anymore'...what a quaint term that is. Think it through, Shadow - I know that that super smart brain of yours never stops whirring away - with the technology I have access to, I could have lived a hundred lifetimes since you last saw me. My aims are beyond your ability to conceive so you'd best listen to what I have to say."

Shadow gritted his teeth and suppressed his urge to let his anger take over. It was not often he let the jibes of his enemies penetrate his calm exterior, but Bruce had a very special talent.

"Very well...speak your piece and leave me be..."

"Once, a long time ago for me but not so long ago for you, Darkness and I shared a very strange experience. Strange for him, at any rate. He went places and saw things he thought he'd only get to go and see once. I gave him a second chance to make the right decisions but, do you know what?"

"What?"

"He could never quite bring himself to change anything. In the end, he went to the last place he ever wanted to be again. Right where Norman and I are standing now, but not quite when we are. He could have changed everything - undone the most horrific night of his life - but he chose not to. In the end, he saw that his presence there was preordained from the start and that he himself was the agent of that which destroyed his life"

"And what, exactly, is your point, Bruce?"

"Don't get in his way. I tried, but Destiny walks hand-in-hand with that man. Dig deep enough and you're going to find the truth and, let me tell you, you aren't going to like it."

"Is that right?"

"I wouldn't have waited these hundred lifetimes to tell you that if it wasn't, would I?"

* * *

The afternoon sun filtered through a scattering of clouds, not managing to counteract the chill that came from the ocean breeze. Darkness didn't mind. His steel grey eyes watched the city below him, watched the people that he thought of as children scurrying around and tending to their petty concerns.

"Haup."

He turned the word over in his mind, wondering what it meant. His keen ears had picked up the subtle change in pronunciation that made the name a breath away from the word ‘hope'.

The last thing he needed was another enemy to deal with, but he was willing to face whatever the world threw at him and remain standing. His only worry was that he was beginning to lose sight of the duty that had driven him for half his life.

Once the world was black and white, but now it was filled with shades of grey. Dante was one and, he had to admit, so was he now. Shadow he was not so sure about. No indeed, he found the masked man nearly unfathomable, and not just because he kept his features hidden behind that platinum cross.

Dante knew Shadow, but he had told him everything he knew. In their time as partners, the two men had shared much, but Shadow had always guarded against anyone finding any weaknesses he might have. He had extended that information embargo even to Dante.

Which left him only one option.

Somehow he didn't think he'd have to wait long for the mysterious stranger who wanted to humble Shadow so badly to show up.

* * *

The rabbit hole was deep indeed. New elements kept cropping up all the time and Shadow began to think that maybe the puzzle he was trying to complete wasn't just a picture of Darkness, but an image of something far more important and dangerous.

Naturally he had to know what it was. The avenues he had explored had all been dead-ends. Darkness's stubbornness had stopped him from revealing himself in their first encounter, and Baxter had only confirmed that Darkness was capable of the superhuman feats he had witnessed, but shed no light on why. Norman's trip had led to a stark warning from a surprise guest, but it was not entirely without gain. Bruce had overestimated the depths of Shadow's knowledge and a few choice words from him had given Shadow enough to put a few more pieces in place.

So where did that leave him?

Shadow knew he had to draw Darkness out again. Only the man himself could show him what he needed to know. Could he afford to wait for Darkness to come to him though? If only there was someone who could simply persuade his enemy to come directly at him...

* * *

"I thought I'd see you again."

"I'm never far away," the stranger smiled without the joy of the expression touching his eyes.

"So tell me Mr...... Oh that's right. You told me that your name was unimportant, though I feel that your name is likely of the UTMOST import I'll agree not to rip it from you if you have something worth telling me."

Darkness was speaking to the old man that so desperately wanted Shadow to lose. The smile, cold as it was had not left the man's face.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to thank you for being so gosh darned merciful. You want information on Shadow right? Of course you do but not the usual manilla folder, or even pictures, no what YOU want to know is why he is the way he is. It's a good question but I really have to ask, WHY do you want to know?"

Darkness: He may at some point represent a threat, a true threat beyond the meaningless ring.

"Meaningless huh? I sort of think the same thing about the ring but I'VE never been a wrestler you have, you even wore a big shiny belt for a while. Her is a tip boy don't try to sell too many people on that meaningless tripe. You'll find they won't buy something you don't buy yourself."

Darkness: If your only reason for arriving is analasys of me then I'll be off.

"Yeesh you kids today, no patience I tell you. No respect for your elders either. Ok, ok Shadow is the man he is today for one VERY simple reason."

Darkness: "And that reason would be?"

"To clean up a GIGANTIC ball of shit!"

.......................

"There is only one choice. Loathe as I am to do this I'll need to set up the proverbial choice scenario for Darkness. It worked in the past with Obsidian and perhaps it can pay dividends here as well."

As a rule Shadow hated people that spoke to themselves, one thing he never noticed about himself though was that he was quite frequently guilty of this faux paus himself. Ask Norman and he'd tell you that quite often conversations with Shadow were only thinly veiled brainstorming sessions. But Norman was not here, neither were Yu and Ai, all the other members of Infinity were busy so Shadow was alone and likely because he had come to a conclusion he found detestable he had blurted it out loud Shadow pressed a button to take an elevator to the roof where his chopper awaited.

"You will find Haup soon."

Shadow: "Mo..??? No voice is different."
"Haup will free you from your heartache and pain."

Shadow: "Hmmm someone attempting to rival my skills of infiltration. I'm impressed but not frightened. I suggest you show yourself and perhaps I won't throw you out of the window."

To Shadow's mild shock the voice came from the door of his office, as if the young woman standing before him had been invited in. Shadow recognized her, when the man that some of his people had called a zombie walked into his club he was carrying HER picture. She had been crying, that much was clear from her streaked mascara, but as she stood in front of him now she sported the widest smile Shadow had ever seen. Shadow didn't let shock grip him for long.

Shadow: "Good evening young lady. I trust your boy friend found you. If you've come to thank me I'm afraid it will have to wait, I have other business to take care of."

"Haup bought my love to me but Darkness swept him away."

Then it hit Shadow and hit Shadow HARD. The woman was not saying HOPE, she was saying HAUP. It was not a name that Shadow invited popping up and led to quite a rare utterance from the masked man.

Shadow: ‘Oh shit."


................

Darkness: "No matter how large a mess he created as a child."

"The word I used was SHIT come on you can say it."

Darkness ignored the man and kept speaking

"I do not see how it could drive him the way it has."

"Look boy it's very simple."

"Do not call me boy."

The old man snorts then allows himself a harrumph before continuing.

"Listen, that boy is bound and determined to cleanse the world of the wicked deeds of his father, every sin,every death, every atrocity, he's made it his duty to rectify."

Darkness: Yet in the process he's become one of the most evil men in the world.

The old man springs to his feet and jumps up to a ledge an amazing feet for a man HALF his age.

"THAT'S because he GETS it. You see he's embraced evil, he understands that the path of the hero was not one he was meant to tread. He actually DOES all of these bad things in the hope of one day awaking a hero that can stop him. Although, he isn't actually aware of that part."

"So why do YOU hate him."

"THAT Mr. Darkness is the RIGHT question."

.........

Shadow: So. Some VERY foolish person decided to let her out. Still she can't be at full strength not yet.

"Haup is always. Haup is all things. Haup springs eternal.

Shadow: Ok, NOW you're reaching. This is all, VERY entertaining, but I really must be going.

Shadow dashes for the elevator and yells back as he speeds to the roof.

Shadow: OH! AND SORRY I COULDN'T DO THAT WHOLE NOT THROWING YOU OUT OF THE WINDOW THING!!!! TRY NOT TO MAKE A MESS!!!

For lack of better words a catapult flings the woman out of the office through the window the night sky fills with the sound of broken glass and.......

" NEVER LET GO OF HAUP"

Shadow holds his hand over his head, IF she was back there was no real question as to where she would begin her quest to reclaim her full glory and power. He would NOT lose them, he COULD not lose them no matter what holding on to those two would be one of the most important task in his life. His chopper had better be ready.

.........

Darkness: "If it's the right question will you answer it or will you simply disappear a fraction of a second before you actually say something interesting?"

"Maybe you have this in common with him. Truth be told I think that you all do, that damned pride thing kicking you in the nuts. That kid is an ungrateful, self righteous whiny brat."

Darkness: Whiny is not a word I'd use to describe Shadow.

"Because you met him today, years back he was all My mommy got killed, my brother got killed, my entire family was invited to a reunion where they were viciously slaughtered WAHHHHH!!!!!

Darkness: You.

The old man stands.

"Oh wait there is this one ALLWAYS a classic."

In a perfect imitation

"I hate my father with everything that I am. I will not rest until he is dead. Lie in the filthiest mud and climb the highest mountain. I will become the monster his vile blood commands me to be and more if it means I can rid this world of his plague. God I ask that you avert your eyes from the sins I must commit in the name of righteous justice, in Jesus name Amen"

The old man laughs

"I shit you not he SAID that. Now tell me this guy isn't a comic genius."

Darkness: "So that is why you said your name is unimportant. How important can the name of a deadman be?"

"Hey, we're not supposed to tell any tales either right boy?"

Darkness: "When he learns the truth......."

"Would you CHECK the time, look he's about to drop in and I've gotta run. I'm just not quite ready for the whole teary eyed reunion. Play Green Sleeves for me wont you?"

..........

Shadow: Get this in the air now. I have something I need to take care of.

"Yes sir"

It does not take long for the chopper to be air born it also does not take long before severe turbulence hits.

Shadow: What is the problem pilot?

Pilot: Sir, I'm afraid that I've lost control she won't respond to anything she's out of control!!!!

Shadow: Calm yourself, can you land?

Pilot: I've been trying sir, but unless you can fly I think you'd better get your parachute on.

Shadow: And do what with it, at this altitude it won't provide enough resistance to assure an uneventful landing, unless of course you suggest I open it near the still churning blades of this vehicle.

The copter continues to make a horrid screech as it fights against it's commands. People in the streets are pointing excitedly at the chopper, news teams have already arrived, this is going to be anything but uneventful

Pilot: "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY SIR BUT!!!!! Oh my God

Shadow: Great. Of course. *sigh* She's floating now.

"You can not control how you rise and fall only Haup can.

Shadow: Ok, Miss? This is becoming RATHER annoying. *Beep Beep* *sigh*

The message that scrolls across his phone is simple. *SHOWTIME* It means that part of his plan to draw out Darkness is about to begin, too bad he is in no position to enjoy it.

Pilot: Sir I'm going to.......AHHHKKKK

A shard of glass slices the pilots throat, with out a second thought Shadow leaps into the pilots seat flings the body to the side and sharply raises the copter as high as it will go. The will of this woman is strong but he is Shadow and his will is stronger.

Shadow: "High enough!"

Shadow grabs a parachute and leaps.

*BOOM*

Darkness: What was THAT!

Darkness watches the fireball in the sky in awe then....

*Rat a TAT Rat a TAT cracsh*

Darkness: Has the world gone insane? What was that?
"The first part was my helicopter exploding, the second was supposed to be my way of testing you again."

Darkness: SHADOW

Shadow unhooks his parachute and calmly walks up to Darkness doing his best to pretend that nothing is wrong.

Shadow: Hello Darkness.

Darkness: What have you DONE Shadow?

Shadow: What I'VE done. Why Mr. Darkness you woughh mehk

Darkness whips the chute around Shadow's neck when he walks past him and draws him close

Darkness: WHAT have you done?

Shadow: Ishh shor duvf hargg to tagk

Darkness: Answer me straight or I will NOT free you next time.

Shadow rubs his throat

Shadow: I SAID it's sort of hard to talk.

Darkness whips the chute around Shadow's throat again and draws him close.

Darkness: Ten feet. Ten feet is all that separates us at Revelucion, but here we don't even have that. If you even want to consider making it that far you'd better talk masked man.

Shadow: Juu kno jud tink jud reliffe dat dis is a badf wafe tu get infor.

Darkness: What?

Shadow rubs his throat again.

Shadow: I said, you'd think you'd realize that this is not an efficient means to gain information.

Darkness: Tell me what you've done.

Shadow: OH and I should speak because the MIGHTY Darkness wills it.

Darkness: Do you HEAR those guns? Do you hear the screams of those people? If I'm right that isn't even HALF of the trouble going down. It has your stench all over it yet instead of watching safely from an undisclosed location you are HERE in front of me which says only one thing. Your plans have gone awry, I don't have TIME for your games.

Shadow: Obviously you DO. I mean how many times could you have saved them by now? No but threatening ME is more important. Letting me know how tough and strong you are THAT outweighs the lives of those innocents?

Darkness leaps to the hostage situation and quickly takes down the criminals without wasting a breath. Shadow follows.

Darkness: A TEST!!! You put the lives of these people at risk for a TEST!

Shadow: Come now, don't be overly dramatic. You saw how easy this was, they were never in any real danger.

Darkness: Then what was the test?

Shadow: Well, I was GOING to have a zombie swing by so you had to make a choice between saving people or killing a monster but well someone decided to decapitate him.

Darkness: Sorry to ruin your plans. I suppose I passed your test?

Shadow: My test? Yeah sure, no doubt, flying colors in fact. This whole set up was supposed to prove how your arrogance would be your downfall but....

Darkness: You speak of arrogance?

Shadow: I admit to it. I embrace it. I wanted to open your eyes but now because you COULDN'T keep your sword in your pants we have HAUP!

Darkness grabs Shadow again.

Darkness: What is Haup? Tell me now.

Shadow: Why don't you ask her.

Darkness looks at the young woman descending on them, it is the second time he has seen this woman in 48 hours. The last time they met she called him a monster for slaying her loved one, but he sensed no power from her then what could have changed?

Darkness: I don't suppose you can tell me hat happened there?

The young woman waves her hand and suddenly both Shadow and Darkness are connected by the parachute which is now wrapped around their neck. An erie preview or their match. Assuming they even MAKE it to their match.

Shadow: That, Darkness, is what happens when my plans go awry.

fade

Darkness didn't know who Haup was. He didn't know why the woman whose undead husband he had destroyed was now descending towards them and, most of all, he didn't understand how a man like Shadow had allowed things to get so far out of his control.

"This isn't right..."

Shadow looked at him. The tension in his movements was obvious. "No kidding," he spat, the acid in his voice unmistakable.

"No, I mean, it isn't right that this should be happening this way - not with you involved."

Shadow's face was incredulous, but the pained expression was hidden beneath his mask so Darkness was unable to see the genuine attempt to appeal to his enemy. "This has nothing to do with me, I can assure you!"

"I know what drives you, Shadow," Darkness continued, watching the young woman approach out of the corner of his eye, "I know what you're trying to do and why."

"I think you're mistaken!"

Shadow's voice was becoming increasingly desperate. Things were now out of his control and, as much as it filled him with disgust to admit it to his opponent, he needed Darkness's help. He didn't know what the man was capable of, but he strongly suspected it would be enough to deal with this.

"I'm not going to play your games, Shadow."

"I strongly suggest that you..."

Shadow's words were cut off as the woman lunged at him, her hand twisted into a crooked claw. Darkness cut through the parachute that connected them with a swift movement of his sword and stepped away.

"I'll see you in the ring, Shadow."

"Darkness! If you can get me out of this I would certainly recommend that you do so!"

Darkness narrowed his eyes at the Infinity member. His mind was not as fast as Shadow's, but he too was able to put the pieces of puzzles into place quickly enough to come to a conclusion.

"Shadow, I don't know what's happening here, but I know that, in all our encounters so far you've been trying to draw me out, to find out just who and what I am. It seems to me that this has much in common with your prior engineered situations even to the extent of..." he gestured towards the woman that Shadow held at arm's length, "...using the same people."

"No! You don't underst..."

"But, I can't afford to risk that you may be lying. So, just this once, I am going to help you."

Shadow reflected that, had he really set all this up, everything would be going exactly to plan. Still, the proximity of the ravening female that he struggled to keep away from his throat kept him from being too pleased.

Darkness took out his cell phone.

"W...what are you doing?"

"Calling some friends."

* * *

Well, Dante's men were prompt, Shadow had to admit. If Haup was at her full power, then she hadn't endowed her servant with enough of it to stand up to thirty heavily armed security guards. She had held her own, sure, but eventually she had been overcome and bundled up into an armoured van. What happened to her next would be up to the Puerto Rican authorities.

As Shadow finished dressing after his shower, he reflected that he had failed to draw Darkness out once again. Although his close encounter with Haup had been unplanned, Darkness was absolutely correct in that it would have been a perfect opportunity for him to give up those last pieces of the puzzle.

Darkness could not be induced to unleash his full power though, he saw that now.

Perhaps it was time to drop the act.

* * *

"You did well."

Darkness turned around and tried to find the man in the shadows behind him.

"Don't treat me like I'm your servant - I do what I do for my own reasons."

"Of course. But you still did well."

"How so?"

"Oh, now you're interested in my approval," the voice replied mockingly, "Let's see: you got him to admit he fucked up. That's a big step for Shadow. Something went out of his control today."

"I thought you knew him better than that. Shadow set the whole thing up."

"You sure of that, boy?"

"Don't call me boy."

"Answer my question and I won't."

"He's Shadow. What happened back there was too perfectly set-up to force me to reveal more of my abilities to have been an accident."

"The world is full of strange coincidences..."

Darkness thought about that. His whole life had been replete with bizarre and strange twists of fate that often seemed too good to be true. Once he had been told exactly who he was, that had begun to make more sense.

So it was certainly possible that Shadow's mysterious stalker was correct.

"Even if you are right...it makes no difference. I will not allow him to see me for what I am."

"And why is that?"

"Such knowledge would be dangerous in his hands. He has resources at his disposal that could easily interfere with my task - that could alter the course of events too far-reaching to put at risk."

"In other words, you're too much of a pussy to just show him who's boss."

Darkness took a step towards the shadows from which the voice was emanating. "Shadow too thought that I was motivated by pride. He was wrong, and so are you. Nothing you can say will induce me to attack him with my full strength."

"So you're going to sit there and just take everything he throws at you? What happens when he puts a bomb on a school bus? Or threatens to flood the eastern seaboard if you don't tell him what you need to know?"

"He would never..."

"Wrong! He knows you don't fear him. He knows he doesn't have the means to hurt you, to make you do what he wants through force alone - he tried to set up a situation that would force you to show your hand earlier today, but you dealt with it. Then things got out of his control, but once again you kept your cool."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that next time you aren't going to be so lucky. He learns from his mistakes, and he's learning more and more about you every single time he tests you. Can you afford to wait for whatever he does next? Can you afford to put lives at risk a second time?"

Darkness paused. "You may have a point..." he conceded.

"Of course I do."

"What do you suggest?"

"Ah, the mighty Darkness, former world champion and whatever else you might be now asks an old man for advice."

"I told you: I'm not motivated by pride."

"So you say. Tell you what, if you follow my advice I'll pretend that you did is solely for altruistic reasons and not because you hate the way he's fucking with you, okay?"

"Whatever. Just tell me your plan."

"You want to stop Shadow and I want to humble him. That makes us on the same side. I have the information that can get you close enough to him to teach him a lesson. To make him respect you."

"Information?"

"I know how he thinks. I know how he'll protect his building. With my guidance, you can best every guard; survive every death trap."

Darkness frowned. "You want me to storm his offices single-handedly?"

"Sure. Unless you're not up to the task..."

Darkness tried not to think about the man's earlier comment about his pride as he allowed the stranger to impart his advice from the shadows.

* * *

"They'll fight to the death. That's the kind of loyalty he inspires, but they've never met anything like you. Use stealth and strike fast."

Darkness spun through the air, whirling away from the bullets that ricocheted off the wall behind him. Calmly, he crouched low and drew one of his pistols. Taking careful aim at the guard, he blew a hole in his shoulder and watched the man drop to the floor, screaming in pain.

Not pausing for breath, Darkness bolted across the room and up the metal stairs up to a gantry that spanned the entire room. More bullets ringed off the steel behind him as he sprinted.

"They're adaptable, but they can't predict a man with your abilities - no matter how well-briefed they are by Shadow. Move without pattern and make twists and turns that keep them off their guard. A single warrior with infinite creativity is the bane of a cohesive force."

Halfway across the gantry he made an abrupt movement, throwing himself over the metal railings down onto the concrete floor and landing with a roll. Unharmed, he stood and aimed his pistols and fired, hitting the bolts that connected the ladder to the gantry. Four guards that had been following him and were halfway to the top tumbled off and crashed to the hard ground.

"You're most dangerous up close, I can see that just by looking at you. A man with a gun thinks he's unassailable by an opponent armed only with his fists and feet. Prove him wrong."

Darkness sprinted up a short ramp, ducking and weaving to avoid the scattered gunfire that still pursued him. Reversing course as a guard approached, he leapt up at one wall and kicked off with a foot, back-flipping over the man's head and landing on his feet behind him. A swift kick to the small of the back drove the guard to his knees and forced him to drop his weapon. An elbow to the face knocked him unconscious in the blink of an eye.

"Nothing he has is faster than you. Don't be afraid to scare them."

The guards' sergeant rushed across the floor, pistol in hand.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?!"

Darkness waited for the man to approach and took a step closer.

"I am going to attack you..."

Before the man could react, Darkness had moved behind him and had an arm wrapped around his throat. "You see? Even with a warning you aren't fast enough to defend yourself."

The other guards watched, stunned, as Darkness tightened his grip and the sergeant's eyes fluttered closed. Before he had hit the floor, Darkness had run from the loading bay and into the building proper.

"Don't try to outthink him. You're smart, but not that smart."

Darkness ignored the red laser beams that criss-crossed the corridor, running through them without a pause. As gas filled the room and the door at the opposite end began to close, Darkness rolled beneath it, unharmed.

"He'll know only one kind of man could get through that. Make sure to jump..."

The instant Darkness rolled into the room beyond the laser-threaded corridor he was on his feet and in the air, leaping over a dart that shot from the wall at ankle-level and then plunging to the floor as another came from the opposite wall at eye-level.

Without pausing, he passed through the second corridor, moving faster than thought to avoid the darts that shot out from every angle.

"Make them think an entire army is storming the building. Be everywhere at once."

As guards rushed down a corridor, he dropped to the floor behind them from his perch clinging to the ceiling. He let out a few shots with his pistol aimed above their heads before darting around a corner and waiting for them to follow. He kicked the first to almost collide with him in the gut before vaulting over him to take out a second with a punch to the jaw. With one swift movement he unsheathed his sword from its baldric and swung it in a wide arc, sending the guards dancing back away from the blade.

As they fumbled for guns, he leapt up again, somersaulting over their heads and pounding back down the corridor. He made a dozen twists and turns as they pursued, meeting even more groups of guards and confusing or defeating each of them in turn.

Within minutes, a dozen rag-tag squads stumbled around the floor, each with conflicting ideas of what they were up against and how many they numbered.

"Doors, at least in the upper levels, are going to be pretty tough to deal with. I recommended just shooting your way through. He'll know you're there by then."

The retina-scanner lock exploded in a shower of sparks, causing the door to open smoothly. Darkness stepped through and fell into a crouch as a hail of fire erupted from the other end of the corridor. He dived low, ducking the bullets before flipping up into the air and firing his pistols as he spun, knocking out the lights in the hallway. In the pitch black room, he easily dispatched his foes.

"And then...well, you can figure him out for yourself if you get that far..."

Shadow looked up from behind his desk as the door flew open. He did not seem surprised to see Darkness standing before him. Darkness looked around the mahogany-walled office and thought that it was somewhat smaller than he would have expected.

"I suppose I should thank you this time..." Shadow said said.

"For saving your life?" Darkness asked, "Don't bother - I told you that I saw through your tricks."

"Of course. So what brings you here? I assume from the mess you've made of my security that this isn't a social call..."

"I'm here to put an end to your games, Shadow."

The tag team champion had the decency to at least feign offence and confusion, "Games? You think those vampires were games? You think destroying a building is a game to me?"

"Everything is a game to you, Shadow, because everything is business and there's nothing more you enjoy that showing just how adept you are at that."

Shadow titled his head, "Strange that you know so much about me, but I suppose I should expect that from someone like you. Not that I've yet managed to figure out just what kind of creature you really are."

"I'm just a man, Shadow. Nothing more."

"Those who are nothing more than men don't take out a nest of vampires as powerful as that one with that kind of consummate ease. Those who are nothing more than men don't storm an S-Mart national headquarters without losing a drop of blood or even breaking a sweat."

"That's as may be, but..."

"Why are you here, Darkness? Really?"

"I told you, I..."

Shadow waved his hand, "Don't give me that crap about preventing civilian deaths or whatever. You could have just phoned the police and told them there was about to be a terrorist attack or something and this entire city would be under virtual martial law within hours. No, you came here to prove something to yourself, didn't you?"

Darkness looked long and hard at the masked man who sat so calmly behind his desk in marked contrast to how he had been acting earlier in the day when confronted by the strange woman.

"Alright then," he admitted, "I'm here because I'm tired of you trying to figure out who I am. I'm tired of you treating me like some puzzle that you can solve and then beat me. The truth is that you don't want to dig any deeper into my past or my future. All you need to worry about is the present. All you need to worry about is that I'm here, now, and I'm not going to take any more of your shit."

Shadow tutted, "And I always thought you were so polite, Darkness," he chided, "No matter though. You're here, so why don't we finally settle this?"

"I do my settling in the ring, Shadow."

"Don't feed me the honourable warrior crap," Shadow snarled as he stood up, "You came here to shut me up - so how about you put your money where your mouth is, eh?"

"I don't want to fight you, Shadow."

"Yes you do. You didn't fight your way past an army of S-Mart guards to come here and talk. No, if all you wanted was a friendly chat then you could have got Ms. Stern to arrange a press conference, or just look for me in the locker room before the show. No, you did what you did to show me that, no matter how hard I try, you can find a way to beat everything I throw at you and still come back for me. You wanted to show me how ineffectual all my manipulations are and that, in the end, your courage, your strength, is all that it takes to beat me."

"No..."

"Yes!" Shadow now stood in front of his desk, "What better way is there to show the kind of man who delegates his dirty work to underlings that only your hands-on method of brute force and unflinching honesty can ever triumph? Your self-righteousness led you here, and now you must follow it through to its conclusion!"

"You don't wish to fight me, Shadow," Darkness warned.

"Oh, yes I do. I've subjected you to so much over the past week, so many trials and experiments to find out just what you're capable of, but now comes the final test. And it's not you I'll be testing - it's me..."

Slowly, Shadow slid off his jacket and began to loosen his tie and unbutton his white shirt.

"You see, Darkness," he continued as he removed his shirt and revealed his black and platinum spandex wrestling shirt underneath, "You aren't the only one who sits in the 99th percentile of human physical achievement..."

Slowly he extended his bare arms and tensed each muscle in turn; letting Darkness watch his dark flesh ripple as he did so.

"And you aren't the only one who can fight with two swords..."

Darkness's eyes widened as Shadow reached back and grabbed two objects that he had assumed were mere desk ornaments. Slowly, he slid the platinum-plated heads of a phoenix and crow respectively upwards, revealing that they were the pommels of twin katanas that had been hidden in the desk. Expertly, Shadow spun them around and into his grip.

"Let us, as they say, dance."

"Very well."

Darkness shrugged off his long coat and grabbed the hilt of his own sword as he did so, letting the baldric fall away with his heavy garment and unsheathe the blade. Shadow looked over his opponent. His musculature and leanness certainly backed up everything Baxter had told him. For some reason, though, his eyes were drawn to Darkness's right shoulder.

"That tattoo does not appear on my records," Shadow said.

"It's new," Darkness shrugged, glancing down at the black chess-king that now adorned his right deltoid.

"I'm certain it has some significance I don't yet understand."

"Obviously."

"Anyway, enough of this..."

With a roar of anger, Shadow charged at Darkness, swinging both of his swords in a wide arc. Darkness moved to parry the attack, bringing his weapon up and letting Shadow's attacks glance off his blade. Shadow pursued him in a circle, swinging with increasing speed and forcing Darkness to compensate in his movements. Gradually the former champion was manoeuvred so that his back faced the desk.

Roaring again, Shadow drove forward with a flurry of blows. Unable to retreat, Darkness parried desperately, the ring of steel-on-steel reverberating in his ears. Shadow's attacks did not tire, but after fighting his way through an entire building, even Darkness's superhuman endurance was beginning to reach its limits. As Shadow beat him down and eventually drove him to one knee, Darkness clenched his teeth and prepared to make his counter-attack.

Shadow pressed down and, with a bellow, Darkness pushed up with all his strength, catapulting Shadow off his feet to land hard on the floor. Breathing heavily, Darkness straightened and levelled his sword at his enemy.

"This...is....over..."

"I think not."

The distinct ‘pop' of air being forced out of a volume of space in an instant that indicated teleportation sounded behind Darkness. He spun and raised his sword just in time to meet the blades of Yu and Ai who had just appeared behind him.

He looked into their red eyes and bared his teeth. Desperately, he began to fight again, this time with the odds against him as Shadow's two half-demon servants battled him. Faster even than Darkness and with reserves born of Hell itself, he had no hope of besting them in a sword fight in his condition.

Gradually, the attacks began to take their toll. One thin blade whipped across his face, leaving a narrow cut across his cheek that began to bleed profusely, mingling with the sweat that now poured from his skin. Across the room, Shadow picked himself up into a sitting position and watched the fight.

Yu and Ai now attacked Darkness from two sides. He could not defend against their attacks simultaneously and finally Yu struck hard with her weapon and the force combined with his now-slick grip made him drop his sword to the floor with a clatter.

"Time for..."

"...you to die!"

Darkness shot a look at Shadow, his steel grey eyes boring through his mask. Dimly, Shadow heard the voice of his opponent in his mind and his eyes widened.

You aren't worth my life, Shadow...

With an almighty warcry, Darkness pushed himself up to his feet and then leapt into the air. For a split second he hung over their heads before, fist raised, he plunged down to earth.

The impact didn't make a sound. Instead, a dull concussion dampened out every other noise in the room before Shadow perceived a ring of force emanating from the point where Darkness's fist had hit the floor by its affects. The carpet rippled and his desk buckled from the supernatural wave but, more importantly, both Yu and Ai were thrown from their feet, squealing as flames seemed to consume them. They didn't move from where they fell, their still forms merely emitting a few whisps of blackened smoke.

Shadow stared at Darkness as the man - who he knew now was surely not a man - stood motionless. After a few moments he looked at Shadow with his hard eyes. "You underestimated me, Shadow. But you are fortunate that I have grown tired of this. As I said before, we will settle this in the ring."

Gathering his discarded equipment, Darkness left shadow's office with no further word.

After a few minutes, Shadow finally stood up and walked across to his desk. On the floor, Yu and Ai had begun to stir and he perceived that they would recover from Darkness's surprise attack. He paused for a moment before he reached under his desk and pressed a button.

With an odd sound, the entire office changed. Three walls seemed to disintegrate, revealing that they were holographic facsimiles of walls that were, in fact, several feet further back. In the space between the illusionary walls and the real walls stood two dozen guards holding rifles that were aimed into the room. Each wore an odd mask that, it was clear, allowed them to see through Shadow's holograms.

"Very good, men," Shadow told the guards, "He never suspected that I could have killed him at any time. Stand down."

As Yu and Ai moved slowly towards him looking dishevelled and in pain, Shadow seated himself and indicated that they should wait for the guards to file out before they spoke.

"It was as..."

"...we feared."

Shadow tilted his head. "Go on," he urged them.

"His power over..."

"...us could only have indicated one thing."

"Yes?"

"He is the one whose coming is..."

"...foretold."

Shadow sat back and placed his hands together. "Explain."

"There is nothing to...

"...explain."

"No?"

"No. He is simply...

"...the Antichrist."

"Checkmate," Shadow said with a broad smile.

"Ladies we must pay our friend one last visit."

"WHAT!!!!!"

Shadow continues to smile, and in this rare moment he has even removed his mask instead donning identical black makeup.

Shadow: Calm down. We are certainly not going to face him in person. After his little hissy fit here I sincerely doubt the wisdom of that particular move.

Yu: Then....

Ai: .....master?


Shadow opens a locked cabinet and wheels out a large device, around seven feet tall, made of metal, a large mirror and powerful lights. Yu and Ai look at their master with some confusion, even he was not crazy enough to keep a death ray hanging around in his office.

Shadow: It's an older technology ladies. I'm surprised you have not seen me use it; David Hardy and the New Castle Hombres are familiar with it I believe, Shogun as well now that I think about it.

Ai: It's shiny master

Yu: Very shiny but

Yu & AI: WHAT IS IT!

Shadow: I could try explaining but honestly I'd only bore you to sleep midway through. Let's just say that it is a way to speak without putting your life at risk.

Yu: So what's wrong?

Ai: With the phone?

Shadow: Honestly, it works JUST like the phone. But this, my dears, can not be ignored.

.........

Darkness was pissed, VERY pissed, he was tired of being told what to do how to do it everything. He was tired of being doubted, he was tired of being tested, he was tired of being advised, but mainly he was tired of being told what to do. The problem with BEING the antichrist though was by the nature of BEING you were told what to do. Quite simply, end the Earth. Shadow would pay for his petty games, he had scoured armies of wargs, dusted nest of vampires, stood eye to eye with demons that dwarf small buildings, Shadow was just a man add to that fact that he was a man that would have a noose around his neck before the bell even rung Darkness was quite certain that Shadow would learn to understand just how little he really DID understand.

*Ring Ring*

Speaking of not understanding this week had let to some improved control over his cell phone..

Darkness: Green button. Hello? Who is this? Look I am in no mood for games, pray I do not take the time to trace this call back to you.

Darkness presses end and shoves the phone back into his pocket grumbling to himself

"You know you never did answer my question now that I think about it."

Darkness spins around enraged.

Darkness: Shadow, I do not kill humans as a rule but if you value the lives of those half demon whores you parade around I suggest you head home NOW!

Shadow walks in front of Darkness and sits.

Shadow: Quite agreed that is why I've decided to meet you this .......*Darkness punches Shadow, any question he had about why he hadn't felt Shadow was answered. Darkness's punch went right through Shadow disrupting the image replacing it with static for a brief moment.* ...way.

Darkness:.....

Shadow: Yeesh man. Here you are staring into the eyes of your opponent punching right through him and you can't even ACT a little shocked? Ms Stern will have quite the issue with marketing YOU. Give me more man less super eh?


Darkness:....

Shadow: Fine I'll cut to the chase. A hero becomes a hero for one of two reasons.

Darkness: Either because the world needs to be saved or because THEY need to save it.

Shadow stands up and slaps Darkness on the shoulder, at least he would have IF he were really there.

Shadow: Good. As you'll recall I asked you what your reason was, at the time you said that you saw no difference.

Darkness: Right, I GET it Shadow, this entire exercise was a ploy to get ME to see how prideful I am, I HAVE your answer for you though I doubt you'll believe it. I became a hero because the world needed to be saved and someone, something decided that it was MY job to save it.

Shadow: You're right I do NOT believe you, but at least you grasp the difference. I wonder if they will.

*FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH*

The area where Darkness stands with the hologram of Shadow lights up and TCW cameras fire on. The Twistedtron at the TCW house show in PR crackles on with an image of Darkness shielding his eyes and Shadow standing inches away from him.

Shadow speaks as if picking up a conversation where it left off. It confuses Darkness for a second until he realizes that Shadow has made this into a promo for their match, strange considering that promos were very much NOT part of his M.O.

Shadow: TEN FEET! Ten feet is all that stands between Shadow and Darkness. You think that you'll just run rough shod over Infinity? You'll think differently when that rope is tied around your neck.

Crowd: BOOOOOOOO

Darkness: Your confidence is amazing, considering that you know better than even I that you have no chance in Heaven or Hell of defeating me.

Crowd: YAYYYYYYY FEAR THE DARK FEAR THE DARK

Shadow smiles

Shadow: Good Darkness, way to go there. I'm quite sure that your Heliophobic fans are screaming their pale little heads off. Let them, I WANT them to have one last happy moment before they fid out the truth.

Darkness cringes, Shadow would not act so rashly would he?

Shadow: That truth being their hero being drug pillar to post gasping for air as a simple chain robs him of life. Ten feet, just TEN feet. Ten feet that that lay this entire thing to rest, only ten feet to prove that the legend of Darkness ONLY exist in the mind of a self important Brit. Ten feet you think I'm afraid of what I have to sacrifice to see you bleed?

Darkness: I think you talk too much Shadow. I think that the people grow as weary of your witless diatribe as I do. I KNOW that this conversation is over.

Shadow: They love you because they think you represent the things that go bump in the night. I know the truth however, there is NOTHING you hate more than the infernal darkness. You HATE what they love, you HATE how they classify you, you HATE how they worship you, but mostly you JUST hate them. I have tape Darkness I could show it but honestly what would be the point, after all my, witless diatribe, I think you called it? Well, that has put everyone to sleep. They will NOT love you for very long Darkness not when I reveal your most well kept secret from the fans.

Darkness freezes again

Shadow: You think that you are better than them, and even though I KNOW I am better than those people for a HERO to take that stance? Well that's just sad. See you, in ten feet.

* FIN *