2

My flight took me far from the stadium, to a storm drain tucked neatly behind a dumpster. This was probably the best kept secret in town. I owned it. The cover was heavy, but I was strong. It was off soon, and I was slithering into the depths, already shedding my shape and taking on a human form. My scales were still there, but they were hardly noticeable now. My human shape was almost normal, save for the shiny, bumpy scalp and the odd bulges on my back. Can fix everything. With a start, I realized I'd left my favorite jacket back in the arena. Too late. With this cash, I could just get another one.

I settled the drain cover back over the opening, easing off the ladder with a splash. It wasn't the most sanitary place to live, but this section was only open to the storm drains, so all I had to deal with was rain water. A few years back, someone had bricked it off to the main sewer during a major street renovation, and somewhere along the line, no one had broken down the wall. I guess they just forgot about it. It's a small area, so it doesn't matter, but that just meant I got a wonderful place to live.

My bare feet felt the cold water, clammy mud laying slimy on top of algae-coated bricks. Shoes. Another thing I'd managed to forget. Perhaps my manager would grab them for me. If not, my newest reward would provide plenty of cash for those, a jacket, food, and anything else I might need. I only fought high-profile shifters at this point. The rabble could duke it out in the muddled lower ranks. I was one of the top fighters, but the press was divided on the whole 'brutal murder' side of things, so I never received a placing above fifth. Wouldn't want people to actually complain about their legalized killing rings.

There were fighters who got good press. People with stories like Chainsaw's, people like Mercy Night, the second place fighter, and the ninth rated, Banshee. They both used 'mercy' as a tactic, asking their opponents if they wanted to back out right before the counter finished, without enough time to really do so. Thing is, you go into a fight with a top tier fighter, you go in expecting to die. What's more, saying a prayer over their dead body (Mercy Night) is really no way to pay respect. She only does it for the press. Banshee does something similar, goes on a silent vigil for 24 hours after a kill. Personally, I think his screaming ability wears on his vocal cords and he just does that to rest them, but the press latched onto it, and now he does it to respect the dead. Now, if they donated their proceeds to a worthy cause, or perhaps gave a portion to the deceased's family, that would be mercy. No one enters the Arena without a cause, and that's mostly the need of money.

Some are given a choice between prison and almost certain death. Convicts are a common sight in the arena, and while many die within a few months, a few make it pretty far. Both four and seven are like that, using their status as a convict to garner attention. They both claim to be reformed, and at this point, are one court-order away from being released back onto the streets as normal citizens. The only problem is that the public doesn't get to see their records. I do. Four, Red Hand, raped and abused countless women and men before being caught disposing of a victim he'd gone a little too far with. He likes to say he was caught 'Red Handed', hence the name. Seven is perhaps worse, though it's hard to say. He was caught leading a drug syndicate that used children as carriers. He used a gas stimulant to essentially damage their memories so his men could 'reprogram' them. At least one child died in from an overdose. Others are still missing, though they could just be normal teenagers whose memories are so damaged they can't remember what happened to them.

The Arena is a good system only for the strong and poor or those with immense power who were falsely accused or arrested on trumped-up charges. A story about one of the mid-tiers bubbles up to my memory. He was pulled over on a DUI, and after discovering how powerful his shifted form was through a DNA test, his charges were completely faked. The man was offered a sleazy lawyer who was probably bribed to lose the case. He was essentially ordered to either enter the Arena for five years, or go into Solitary for twenty years. At that point, what's there left to live for? Naturally he chose the killing ring, and the poor fellow has been murdering for his own life ever since.

I might be one of the highest ranking players, but even I know the game is rigged. If it weren't, I doubt the Arena would even exist. It's a money-making device for everyone involved. The rich get richer, and the poor are kept in the dark, offered a chance to become wealthy under the pretense that they could actually have a chance of making it. Everyone's shrouded with the illusion of equal chance, and life goes on being lived.

Something squelched underneath my bare foot, by now completely skin, free of the rugged burgundy scales. I winced and kept walking. Hopefully that wasn't another dead rat. Those smelled terrible at low tide. Suddenly, I became aware of something wrong. The air smelled off, the water was already muddy, not settled out like it should have been after I'd been away all day. Without really meaning to, I started to shift again. This time it was much more painful, a strain on my body. I'd used up my power for the day, and instead of a mild ache, it was a tearing, rending feeling as scales slipped out to cover my skin. They were patchy at first, but filled in quickly. My enhanced senses detected a shuffling ahead, a hint of sulfur, just a touch of iodine in the air. I knew slogging through ankle-deep water was no way to sneak up on someone, but the tunnel was too enclosed for me to glide, and flapping would not only be cramped and uncomfortable, it would also be a dead giveaway as to who was coming, and how fast. Instead, I kept plodding. They had to know I'd catch them eventually, and this was as good a time as any to make my presence known. I just didn't have to be stupid about it, is all.

My feet, talons by now, carried me to the arched opening set midway up the curving wall of the sewer, then paused. The scrabbling noise was now a pacing. Someone was moving around within my inner sanctum. I let my wings flex free of my back. They were in for a fright.

My scaled feet padded softly into the large space, slitted eyes shifting to assess what was damaged or stolen. Everything in its place. The intruder was sitting with his back to me in my favorite chair (also my only chair), currently rifling through an envelope of pictures. That, if anything, was the one thing I never wanted anyone to find. I snapped my wings out to their full length, felt my muzzle extend the last segment until the transformation was complete, felt my muscles swell with sudden power. Aaah, adrenaline. My figure was thoroughly imposing I knew, and the noise of my wings should have alerted the intruder to my presence. He stayed seated. Making this a little too easy for me.

"Well?" I asked, my voice rough in the transformed state. I looked closer. He had earbuds in, the volume up so high I could almost make out what he was listening to. Daft Punk, it had to be. I was actually somewhat amused by this point. He'd snuck into my house, was going through my things, and was completely oblivious to my presence not thirty feet behind him. I closed the distance swiftly, let a clawed, twisted hand fall on his shoulder, sharp and menacing.

"Oh!" He started suddenly, flinching violently. I frowned down at him as he turned the chair around. "Hello! You're back." I put on my best 'I'm hungry and you're right here' face and glowered at him.

"You realize I'll have to kill you now," I stated blandly. He shrugged.

"I'm a dead man anyways, didn't think it would hurt to ask you for a favor first." I contemplated that. He'd come empty-handed to ask for a favor from one of the strongest shifters in the city?

"What do you want?" Thought I might as well ask.

"I want your help in freeing my little sister. She's been inducted into the Arena." He turned briefly to set the folder back on my desk. "As for what I can offer you, well, take a look around."

"I like it here." He shook his head. Something was off here. He wasn't all that terrified. Usually when people see my kaiju form, they're scared out of their minds. He was just sitting there. Nothing left to lose, or something a little more ominous?

"Okay, for starters, all I see are floppy discs and CDs. Who even uses floppy disc anymore? Also, your video game collection needs a major update." I let my form start to shift back. I was too tired for all of this, and my hands were still slick with blood, crusty when I moved them from all the dried gore.

"Go on." My wings were eager to fold themselves away, the rest of me following. Life was simpler when I wasn't a dragon. Plus, I'd be killing him anyway so it didn't matter if he saw my true form. I set off in the direction of my kitchen area, complete with swords, knives, and a mini-fridge.

"Well, uh, also I overheard some men talking. They're planning to kill you, Dragon." I stopped, turned back toward him. Was he joking? He looked dead serious. I started laughing, his frightened face only making me laugh harder. After a while, I was able to stop. My stomach hurt from laughing too much. Or that last heart, I wasn't sure which.

"Everyone wants to kill me. I'm the Dragon, a terrible beast. People assume I'm a middle-aged man with a kink for death. Sure, I have a god complex, but that doesn't mean I haven't realized half the planet wants me dead."

"No, they had an actual plan. It was detailed, and they had a map of-" I cut him off.

"Listen. No one- save you and I, that is- even knows where I live." I paused to unscrew the cap from a carton of milk. I sniffed it. Yep, still good. "Now pretty soon, you'll be dead, and I'll be the only one who knows where I live. People don't even know my gender, let alone who I am. As an added plus, I'm pretty much impossible to kill in shifted form. Don't worry your pretty head over me. Go make peace with yourself over there and I'll come kill you in a minute." I replaced the milk in the fridge after taking a long swig from the carton. Life was decent. My hand, by now almost completely human again, found a lovely broadsword hanging on the wall. I wrapped my fingers around it. Collecting historic weapons was one of my favorite pastimes. Wi-fi down here could be fidgety, but I managed to bid in time for most of the items I wanted. Pawn shops were another great way to go, if I knew exactly what I wanted ahead of time, and how to tell if wasn't just a knock-off.

Lifting the sword carefully off the wall, I carried it easily, the weight familiar in my hand. Just because I had a killer form when I shifted didn't mean I never worked on weapon skills in my normal one. I frowned slightly. This would be annoying. Killing someone in my kaiju form made it easier to distance myself from the action, almost as though a monster had taken over and done it for me. Doing so in my own form was unheard of for me. I could feel the sturdy chest plates receding, so I leaned the sword against the wall, grabbed a hoodie and pulled it on.

I hefted the sword once more, turning back to see him just sitting there in my chair, casual as could be. Well, not exactly. He wasn't running screaming, and that was what made me pause.

"Why aren't you afraid?" I asked. He knew who I was. I'd shown him.

"Oh, I am. But, ah, I don't think we've really been properly introduced yet." He slid a hand into his pocket and pulled out a crisp, only slightly crumpled business card. I strode forward to accept it.

"Tau. I wish I could say it's lovely to meet you." He held out a hand to shake. I frowned slightly. What harm could it really do, though? He noticed the hesitation and wiggled his fingers slightly. Taunting me? I shook. Instantly, an electric tingle ran up my arm, numbing it. I tried to pull back, but he held on. With one final yank, I freed myself, but my whole right arm, my dominant arm, was limp. I could still feel it, but it reacted slower, felt sluggish. "What the hell," I growled, annunciating each word clearly.

"Sorry. Wouldn't want you killing me too soon. Turn the card over." He didn't look very sorry.

I flipped it over, and froze. Number three, huh? Technado. I always thought that was a stupid name. His shifted form was rarely used in a fight. Instead, he set up electronic attacks and outsmarted his opponents.

"We both know you could easily defeat me. I use tricks to win, and the only reason you're not higher ranked is because of negative press. I could still do a number on you, though. Before you ate my heart, or whatever it is you're doing for attention these days."

"Alright, number three. What really brought you to my lair? No more sob stories. I want the real reason."

He sat back in the chair, pulled a flash drive from his pocket, and popped it into my computer. "Let me show you."

I rolled my eyes. "Go right ahead." While he was preoccupied with whatever he was doing, probably downloading viruses onto my computer, I flexed my right arm carefully. It was still numb, but I could form a loose fist with my hand.

"Alright," Tau said, cracking his knuckles with a series of pops before continuing, "here it is. The schematics for the Arena and attached office buildings. I need your help to infiltrate them and remove a file."

"What's in it for me?"

"I update your hardware, and make this place completely unfindable."

"It's been years. No one but you has even found it. No one even knows I live down here."

"Hah, so that's where you're wrong." He pulled up a video from the same drive. It was of me, landing, heaving up the storm drain, and entering the sewer. "Want to see today's footage? I found this just a bit ago. It was installed about a month ago."

"Have you been spying on me?"

"No, actually. I only found you yesterday. I did a light bit of reconnaissance and decided today would be a nice day to drop by and visit." Tau was entirely too cocky for my liking. I suppose when one has an armada of superpowered tech, one can afford to be that way.

"Okay, so who planted it?"

"Unsure. I did hear someone talking about wanting to kill you, though. Doubtful it's the same group. I don't think someone smart enough to find this," he gestured around the hidden, spacious room, "would talk about their plans in broad daylight. Could be a cover, though. Maybe they knew someone would pass it off as nothing."

"Let me get this straight. I help you get a file, and you make my secret room completely secret in return?" I frowned, sensing something off about this. What was on that file? Should I just ask him outright?

"Yep." He made the 'p' sound pop, still typing on the computer. "Man, this thing is old," he muttered, "Apple. Who even uses that anymore?"

I decided just to go for it. "What could be so important about one paper file that you'd need a dragon to steal it?"

He glanced up briefly and smiled. "Don't worry about it."

"You want me to risk my life, my job, and everything I live for over some file, and you won't even tell me what's on it?" My wings were returning, a slow formation, exceedingly painful. Nubs, now, but all I had to do was wait. I still had a sword, too, but it could conduct electricity so that maybe wasn't the smartest weapon to use.

"You risk your life every time you step into that arena. For all you know, they could pit you against someone even you can't beat, but you still do it. This is similar. Same location and everything."

"Somehow, I don't think this is very similar. For starters, eating a security guard's heart isn't going to get quite as much applause as I'm used to."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever. I just need that file. I'm fine if you want to duke it out here or forget this ever happened. It's not like anyone knows you live here, right?" He raised his left eyebrow slightly, in a quizzical look.

I growled. This one was really getting on my nerves. "Alright, Tau. I'll get your stupid folder, but don't be surprised if you wake up one morning to find my hand buried in your chest."

He grinned and held out a hand- his left hand- for me to shake. "Sounds kinky." I grabbed his hand, squeezing enough for him to wince. "Oh, and one more thing," Tau said, actually looking a little concerned now. "For your own safety, it might be best if I stay here until this is all over. Wouldn't want the peeping toms to see me coming out of your secret lair or anything."

I considered it. He did make a good point. "Fine, but don't try anything."

"Don't worry. I'm not a scaly." He grinned at his own joke, a little lopsided. I had to fight the urge to smile back. My human form was complete by now, and I was realizing just how little of a substitute for pants a long hoodie was.

After showing Tau to a side chamber, something of a cluttered operating room for whatever this area used to be, I grabbed a pair of sweat pants off my couch and prowled into the kitchen again to search for food. All I really had was milk, bread, and entirely too many avocados. I'd done a photoshoot in Dragon form to promote an avocado grower a while ago, and had gotten a tip in coupons for free avocados. I may be the most hated fighter, but I was still a famous one.

My stomach rumbled ominously and I reluctantly decided shopping was a must. Tomorrow. Today I could just eat avocado toast for lunch and dinner. For some reason, having a camera trained on my front door made going outside a little less appealing.

I called over my shoulder to Tau, who by this point was probably rewiring all the lights and disassembling my space heater. "Hey, want food?"

"Please don't poison it!"

"No, I meant 'want to make yourself food?' I'm busy." He shuffled in after a minute, taking stock of the kitchen's contents in a glance.

"Yeah, I'm getting groceries."

"Ah, no you're not. For all the reasons you already listed."

He considered this for a moment, then stated, "This is an emergency. I'll have someone drop it off at a nearby house." He proceeded to make an online shopping list, grumble about the wi-fi, and stalk a nearby apartment building using traffic cameras until the delivery man showed up with the food. "Alright, here's an alternate route out of the sewer. This time of day, no one's in the area. Back in twenty."

I rolled my eyes. Clearly, Tau was a little weird, but at least his methods had worked. That was probably for the best. I'd been eating avocados and bread for a few days, and it was getting old. Plus my avocados were all a little mushy at that point.

While I waited for Tau to return, I decided to poke around in his new room. Sure enough, he'd gone ham on the wiring, but it seemed like he was mostly just coiling loose ones and making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. He didn't seem to have brought much stuff, despite the fact that he'd been planning to stay here. At least he had a backpack. I was hesitant to snoop too much, fearing another trap, so I dragged a mound of blankets over from the couch I used as a bed instead, plopping them in the middle of his temporary room. I doubted either of us would get much sleep, though. I would probably end up sleeping as Dragon, if I slept at all.

I wandered out to the couch, set neatly in the corner of the central room opposite the entrance. The kitchen was across from me, and the remaining corner housed my gaming setup, as well as being adjacent to the entrance to the electrical room. The center of the room was set up like a small gym, with two pells (I went through those fast in my shifted form), a treadmill, and a punching bag suspended from the towering ceiling overhead. I'd also hung a number of ropes with weights attached from the ceiling as a sort of obstacle course. It was pretty close to the ceiling to conserve head room, but it worked. My lair wasn't fancy, but I didn't need it to be. I just needed it to be unfindable.

I lay back on my couch, exhausted after all the shifting that day, and extended use of my form. It would be a while till I felt comfortable sleeping with another person in the area, so all I could hope was that we stole the file soon so I could have my home back. I'd probably have to kill him to preserve the secrecy of my place, but maybe we could manage to reach an agreement. It wasn't impossible to find another place to live after all, just hard.

My eyes somehow closed of their own accord. Since no one else was currently nearby, I felt safe relaxing, so I did so. Unfortunately, I got a little too relaxed. Next thing I knew, I was reliving one of the more terrifying memories I have.