Path to the Apocalypse

"Hello, we're here to get Ranked?" Andrew explained as he walked up to the counter at the Arena.

The attendant nodded. "The three of you?" She asked, looking between him, Cathryn, and Li Jing.

"Actually, that part gets a bit complicated." Andrew began. "See, I'm actually technically a Beast-"

"Oh! You must be Andrew! Yes, we're aware of your situation." The attendant interjected with a smile. "Here, take these. They'll buzz once we've found suitable opponents for you." She explained, handing them two small devices, one for Li Jing and another for Andrew.

The three of them began to wander around the Arena while they waited for the devices to buzz. Li Jing suddenly grabbed Andrew's arm, pointing. "Is that Karen?" She asked.

Andrew glanced over. "Maybe? Do you want to say hi?"

"We should." Li Jing nodded, heading towards Karen.

"Jing!" Karen exclaimed the moment she caught sight of her, rushing over to give her a hug. "It's been a while! How have you been?"

"Good." Li Jing replied with a smile. "How have you been?"

Karen's expression fell slightly, a thread of sadness running through her. "I've been great!" She replied, overly excitedly.

"You sure about that?" Andrew asked, stepping forward.

Karen jumped slightly, her eyes widening, before narrowing as she saw who it was. "Andrew." She greeted him flatly.

"Karen." Andrew greeted her back, rolling his eyes. "Seriously though, you alright? I noticed a bit of sadness back there."

"Stupid Monkey." Karen grumbled under her breath, before letting out a sigh. "It's nothing. Just some family issues. You know how much pressure they can put on you. They always want you to be doing better! To hunt more, to get higher in the Rankings, to get better at Alchemy… it's just a lot of pressure."

Andrew and Li Jing shared a look. "Yeah… family can be rough sometimes." Andrew sighed. "We've been dealing with some of that lately ourselves. Not mine, really, but Cathryn and Jing's have been tricky."

Karen blinked. "Cathryn?" She asked hesitantly.

"That'd be me." Cathryn stepped out from behind Andrew with a small wave. "It's nice to meet you."

Karen stared at her. "Are you- I don't remember seeing you at the first hunt."

"Yeah, that's kind of this whole thing." Andrew began to explain. "There was this weird machine that came after her and in the process of saving her, we got Bonded, so… well, kinda self explanatory after that."

Karen stared at him incredulously and Cathryn smacked him upside the head. "None of what happened after that was self explanatory!"

"I know, but it's complicated and I don't want to explain it!" Andrew retorted.

Cathryn rolled her eyes, turning back to Karen. "Sorry about him. He spent most of his childhood being weird, so he doesn't have the best social skills."

"Hey!" Andrew protested.

"Am I wrong?" Cathryn asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No, but it's still rude." Andrew replied petulantly, crossing his arms.

Li Jing giggled at the two of them, shaking her head, before turning to Karen. "This summer has been rather eventful for us."

"I-I see." Karen glanced between them all with a weird expression. "Does- does that mean you two are still…"

Li Jing nodded. "Yes, we're still together."

"Oh… how does that work with the two of them like that?" Karen asked, beginning to frown.

Li Jing flushed slightly. "It- works with the both of them."

Karen's frown deepened, before her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh."

"It was a little weird at first, but… It works. Surprisingly, it works really, really well." Li Jing explained with a smile.

"So far." Andrew added.

Cathryn elbowed him hard in the side. "Stop being pessimistic!"

"What! We're still pretty much just starting out! There are so many things that could trip us up! I think we can do it, but still, things might get rough." Andrew replied. "It isn't pessimistic, it's realistic!"

Cathryn pinched the bridge of her nose. "Andrew, just because it's true, doesn't mean you need to say it every damn time!"

Andrew blinked. "But then how would everyone know it?"

"They don't need to know it!" Cathryn retorted.

Andrew frowned. "But-" Suddenly the device in his hand began to vibrate. "Oh, guess they found me an opponent."

Karen's eyes widened. "You're fight-" She paused. "Oh, right, you two are Bonded… wow, that actually helps you out a lot, doesn't it?"

"It really does." Andrew nodded as they all began to head back to the front counter.

"There you are!" The attendant called as they got close. "Your opponent is in room four D." She explained, taking the device back and handing him a slip with his and Cathryn's name on it, as well as the name of their opponent, a Kevin Francis Coal.

Li Jing still had to wait for her opponent, so she stayed behind with Karen, the four of them agreeing to meet out front when they were all done, while Andrew and Cathryn made their way down to room four D. From the outside, the room didn't look like it would be big enough for anyone to fight in, especially not Beasts, but as they stepped in, it was clear the Arena made liberal use of spatial enchantments. "This is unnecessarily big." Andrew whistled as he walked in. The room was practically as big as the entire Arena outside!

"Ha! You should see some of the good rooms. Beasts get bigger as they get older, so the higher level rooms need to be massive to accommodate the older generations. I'm Klaus, by the way. I'll be judging your fight with Kevin here." A man commented with a grin, holding out his hand.

Andrew thought back to how large Arose's Beast was. "Yeah, they would need to be pretty big…" He muttered as he took Klaus's hand, shaking it. "Uh, I'm Andrew. Which you probably already knew…"

Klaus smiled. "Indeed. Well, shall we get started then?" He asked, looking between Andrew and Kevin. They both nodded, Kevin releasing his Beast, a large Rooster, which lept towards the center of the arena, letting out a loud crow of challenge. Andrew grinned, his clothing disappearing into his storage ring as carapace covered his skin like armor, talons growing from his hands, and wings erupting from his back. He let out a roar of his own as his wings vibrated, sending him shooting toward the center of the arena.

"What the fuck?!?" Kevin stepped back in horror, Francis flapping away from the alien looking thing in front of it as well. "I thought I was fighting a Bonded! Not- not whatever this thing is!"

Klaus was staring at Andrew wide eyed as well. "Uh… Andrew, this- I- I was informed that you were of the Tiger and Monkey Clans? What- where did this come from?!?"

Andrew's head turned back to normal. "I can pick up new forms. So far I have Human, Tiger, Monkey, Lizard, and an ant. This is sort of a combination of all of them." He explained. He then turned to Kevin. "And I am Bonded. To her." He pointed at Cathryn, who waved awkwardly.

Klaus hesitated for a moment, before shrugging. "Well, this is the Rankings, not a tournament. No such thing as unfair here." He turned to Kevin. "I know this is abnormal, but Andrew is a Bonded Beast and he qualifies. Either fight or forfeit."

Kevin hesitated, before nodding and taking position on the sidelines as Francis stepped back into the ring, eyeing Andrew warily. Andrew grinned as his head turned back, falling into a crouch as he prepared to fight. Francis was much stronger than the Beasts he faced outside the base camps, and he was excited. Cathryn moved to her side of the arena, watching Andrew with a serious expression. If Andrew got injured, she needed to call him back as soon as possible.

"Ready?" Klaus asked, both sides nodding. "Three, two, one, fight!"

The moment the fight started, Andrew's wings began to vibrate, sending him bolting to the side as a fountain of fire burst from Francis's beak! The stream of fire followed him as he continued to circle around the Rooster, slowly moving closer and closer. Once he got close enough, he used a burst of wind to send him straight at Francis, talons poised to strike! However, before he could get close enough, a burst of fire erupted beneath Francis, sending him flying into the air, burning Andrew's wings as he passed through. "Gah!" Andrew cried in pain as the thin, gossamer wings burned, sending him tumbling.

Francis let out a cry as he descended on Andrew, his own talons flashing as he clawed at Andrew. Andrew cursed as the talons dug into his carapace, sending a blast of air straight into Francis, blowing him off of him, but leaving large rents in his carapace. Another blast of wind sent him flying at Francis again, talons ready. Francis sent another burst of fire at him, but Andrew just blew through it, slashing down on his wing, causing him to let out another cry, this time in pain! Francis tried to pull away, slashing with his talons to try and keep Andrew at bay, but Andrew's small form easily weaved between his swipes, air blasts continuing to send him at the giant Rooster, his talons digging deeper and deeper into his skin, until he turned to a cloud of aura flying back to Kevin.

"And the winner is Andrew!" Klaus announced. "Well done!"

Andrew let out a groan as he shifted back to normal, only keeping some carapace around his crotch, wincing as he poked a few of the long scratches in his skin. He then turned to Kevin, giving him a thumbs up and a tired grin. "That was fun! Good fight! You almost had me there with that fire ambush!"

Kevin shook his head. "That carapace of yours is insane! Something as small as you would usually be torn apart the moment Francis's talons even grazed them!"

Andrew raised his arm, showing the deep furrows that still remained. "It was still pretty close!" He replied.

"Not close enough, obviously." Kevin chuckled, walking over and giving Andrew a firm handshake. "It was a good fight."

Andrew grinned as he shook his hand back. "It was."

"Though whatever this is…" Kevin gestured down at Andrew's carapace crotch. "Not a good look dude."

Andrew scowled. "It's efficient. I don't want to get blood on my clothes."

Kevin shook his head. "Whatever you say, man. Good luck with your next fight." He added, patting him on the shoulder.

"You too." Andrew returned his pat, before making his way back to Cathryn.

"Take this slip back to the front desk and they'll record the result for your official ranking." Klaus was explaining to Cathryn, going over the slip with her.

"Thank you." Cathryn nodded, taking the slip, before rushing over to Andrew. "That was amazing!" She exclaimed, pulling him into a hug.

"Ah! Pain!" Andrew yelped as she squeezed his wounds.

"Sorry!" Cathryn exclaimed, pulling away as she flushed in embarrassment.

Andrew clicked his tongue. "Look, now you have blood all over you too!"

Cathryn rolled her eyes. "It'll wash out."

"The healing room is only ten credits, just so you know." Klaus commented. "It includes a spa, so it's a nice way to get back in shape for your next fight, or just destress after a long day. They'll even wash your clothes." He added, with a significant glance towards Cathryn's clothes.

Cathryn turned to Andrew. "What do you think?"

Andrew shrugged. "Why not? We should probably see if Jing is done first, though."

Cathryn nodded and the two of them left the room, heading back to the lobby of the Arena. After they left the room, Andrew glanced around surreptitiously, making sure no one was watching, before flexing his aura, all his wounds slowly disappearing as his aura brushed them, letting out a sigh of relief as all his pain disappeared. "There we go. Much better."

Cathryn shook her head. "I still don't get why you're hiding that you can do that."

"Because it defeats the purpose of the fight!" Andrew replied, briefly dissipating as he began to return to Cathryn, all the blood falling to the ground, before he canceled it and reformed, his clothes appearing on him in the next instant. "If I can't lose, what's the point?"

"To see if you can win?" Cathryn replied. "Just because they can't kill you, doesn't mean you can defeat them."

Andrew frowned. "I guess… still, it seems more fair to just not heal until after the fight."

Cathryn just shook her head. "So, do you still want to hit the healing room?"

Andrew shrugged. "Why not? Jing is still going to need to heal Mei, so it's probably a good idea."

Cathryn smiled, beginning to get excited. "I've never been to a spa before!"

Andrew cocked his head. "Neither have I, actually. I've never really seen the appeal, really… Why would you pay for a stranger to spend an hour touching you?" Andrew's expression twisted, shuddering slightly as the thought ran through his mind. "Might be nice to sit in a hot tub for a bit, or maybe the sauna… but we have those at home, you know?"

Cathryn frowned. "Well if you put it that way, of course it isn't going to sound good! You can't see it as a stranger, but a professional. It's like paying someone to clean your house."

"I guess…" Andrew muttered noncommittally. He wasn't exactly against the idea of the spa, he just didn't see the appeal. He'd give it a shot, though. Who knows? Maybe it'd surprise him.

Once they reached the lobby, they handed in the slip for their fight, before finding a bench to sit and wait. It didn't take long before a disappointed looking Li Jing returned, handing in her own slip at the front desk, before heading over to Andrew and plopping herself straight into his lap, cuddling into him. "We lost." She grumbled bitterly.

"It's okay, it happens." Andrew assured her in a comforting tone. "That fight was harder than I thought it'd be… though, I probably shouldn't have been surprised. The Bonded in the next Rank should have at least four years on us, or the equivalent skill level." There were about a hundred Bonded born each year, which meant, since Bonded officially joined society as sixteen, there were about eighty-four hundred Bonded in under one hundred Rankings. Bonded naturally got stronger as time went on, so their Ranking would get higher simply due to time. Trying to raise your Ranking early would mean facing those who had years, or potentially even decades of experience on you, at least until you got to the hundreds.

"So you lost too?" Li Jing asked.

"No, I won… it was just harder than I'd expected it to be." Andrew replied absently.

Li Jing pulled away to scowl at him, giving him a hard pinch. "You suck!"

"Ow! Hey! Quit it!" Andrew protested, squirming as she continued to pinch him.

"No!" She growled, continuing her assault. Andrew's eyes glinted as he returned her assault, beginning to tickle Li Jing, causing her to squirm in his lap, until she was unable to keep pinching him and began to giggle. "Stop! Stop!"

"Never!" Andrew retorted with a grin, until Cathryn smacked his arm, causing him to stop.

"We're in public." She hissed.

Andrew paused, looking around, noticing a few people giving them amused looks. "Ah…"

Li Jing sat up with a flush as Andrew stopped, giving him one last pinch. "Rude."

"You started it!" Andrew protested. Li Jing just stuck her tongue out at him, before leaning against his chest. Andrew shook his head, but he still wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "Little brat." He muttered in her ear.

"Your brat." She muttered back smugly.

Cathryn shook her head at the both of them, smiling lightly. "So, Jing, the judge for our match told us about a healing room with a spa if you're interested."

Li Jing perked up. "Spa?"

Cathryn nodded. "You know, massages, facials, mud baths, saunas, all that."

"Acupuncture?" Li Jing added hopefully.

Cathryn paused. "Maybe? Probably?" She offered hesitantly. "I've never actually been to a spa…"

Li Jing nodded. "We should go."

Cathryn smiled. "Yay! Spa day!"

Andrew glanced at her, smiling slightly as he quirked an eyebrow at her. "Weren't you the one worried about us wasting time here? Something about not having enough time for school?"

Cathryn flushed. "We already finished our homework for the week! It's different!"

"Uh-huh. So you aren't going to want to do this every week?" Andrew asked, his smile widening, the amusement clear in his voice.

"If- if we have time…" Cathryn muttered, her flush deepening.

Andrew snickered, shaking his head. "It's okay, if you want to enjoy the spa, we can enjoy the spa."

*

Once Karen got back as well, not having done any better than Li Jing and looking absolutely miserable about it, they all headed to the healing room to unwind. Andrew tolerated the massage, but if anything it felt like the massage actually made him more tense. On the other hand, the acupuncture was great! No excessive touching, just tiny needles hitting his trigger points. Much more relaxing. The rest of the treatments were hit or miss, but overall, it was a decent experience. Four out of five, would go again. All four of them were sitting in a hot tub at the end, feeling absolutely relaxed as they enjoyed the hot, bubbling water. "Well, this was nice." Andrew commented.

"It was great!" Cathryn sighed emphatically, leaning against him on the right.

"Good." Li Jing agreed, leaning against him on the left.

"I still can't believe you won your first match." Karen grumbled.

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Are you still on that? I have unfair advantages. You can't compare yourself to me."

"I can and I will!" Karen retorted with a growl. "Tons of Beasts have natural advantages over us! It isn't an excuse to be lazy and stop working to beat them!"

Andrew blinked. "I guess? But if you're already doing everything you can, why beat yourself up over something you can't change?"

"Is that the attitude you're going to have when the Orcgod's horde descends on us and destroys everything we know and love?!?" Karen retorted angrily. "Just an 'oh, that sucks, but I did everything I could'?!?"

Andrew paused. "Yes?" He answered hesitantly, feeling like somehow this was the wrong answer, but not having any other response to give. He'd go down kicking and screaming, but if there was nothing he could actually do about it, then why would he beat himself up over it? He was already busy beating himself up for his actual mistakes. It'd just be stupid to start adding imaginary mistakes on top.

Karen scowled at him. "You are the single most frustrating man I have ever met in my life."

Cathryn burst out laughing at that. "You have no idea how many times I've thought that exact same thing. I swear, all we did was argue every time we saw each other for like ten years."

"You still argue." Li Jing muttered.

Cathryn flushed. "Well, it's different now… they're constructive arguments."

"Plus, half the time we're just pretending to disagree." Andrew added.

"I knew it!" Li Jing exclaimed.

"We aren't pretending!" Cathryn retorted. "We're exploring different perspectives! There's a difference."

"We literally act like we have opinions we don't have! What else would you call that besides pretending?" Andrew countered.

Cathryn huffed. "You aren't wrong, but the connotation is off! Saying we're pretending makes it sound like we're just goofing around."

"Well, we are kind of goofing around." Andrew pointed out.

"You both realize you are literally arguing about arguing, right?" Li Jing stated, giving them both a bland look.

"Yeah?" Andrew replied, cocking his head at her. "What's your point?"

Li Jing let out a weary sigh. "Nothing."