And here's the second chapter, note that none of them have been proof read. I've merely given them a quick glance over when I finished the,. I hope you enjoy the reading.

*****

Sin's Judgement
Chapter Two
First Few Steps


Doctor Thomas Patricsson was enjoying a small breakfast in his office, going over the reports from the night nurses. There had only been some trouble with patient sixteen, the nurses having to sedate him to having him go to sleep. But other than that, it had been a clam night. At least for those that could sleep. Thomas always had trouble sleeping while he was here at the tournament, not because he was nervous about any of the fights straying into the Sanctuary. But rather the noise from the night fights that were going on. And even if one of the fights would come too close, there were singularity shielding in place to keep even the strongest of attacks at bay.

Sanctuary was at the centre of Fortuno, and was a sort of hospital for the contestants that had been struck down. With the rules of Sin's Judgement being as they were, it was a good thing. As a contestant was out of the game when he was unable to fight any further, but if he or she could recover before the the tournament was over. Then he or she could return to the fight if wanting to. Thomas had often tried to talk them out of it, having been along since the start, he knew that the number that lost their lives in their second battle were far higher than those losing it in their first battle.

Raising his coffee mug to his lips, he was just about to take a sip when there was a knock on the door. Stopping him in mid-motion as the door was pushed open, and nurse Judy leaned herself against the doorframe, panting.

"Doctor, come quick, patient sixteen is out of control!" She called out between pants.

Thomas put down the cup, spilling a little coffee out onto the reports and reached for his desk drawer. Standing up as he pulled out the tranquilliser gun hidden inside, just in case something like this happened. So far, he'd have to use it five times over all the tournaments. His step was hurried, but not running. Just in case he wanted to save his stamina from running away if the gun didn't work. Rounding a corner, his hurried steps slowed to a halt as he overlooked the "out of control" patient. Then slid the gun into his pocket, putting his hands behind his back and slowly walked the rest of the way down the corridor. After he'd dealt this he would have a word with nurse Judy about what over exaggerating meant.

"Mr. Toumal, please return to your bed until your injuries have healed." He said in a firm voice, trying to keep from smiling at the rather humorous scene of the half were struggling against the nurses that held onto him. He had two hanging each arm, one hugging each of his leg and one hanging from his neck. As well as three that were holding around his waist.

"Bah! Toumal fine! No time for rest!" He bellowed and lifted the two nurses on his right arm, trying to shake them off as gently as possible.

"No, you're not fine, you got a broken collarbone and three ruptured ribs, please return to your bed until they heal." Thomas said, walking slowly down the hallway until he was standing in front of the giant man.

"Toumal heal fast, be healed before day's end!" The only tone of his voice seemed to be loud, very loud.

"Yes, you heal fast because of your lycanthropic heritage, but not that fast. So please return to your bed chamber, you should be ready to return to the tournament in two or three days." Thomas said, having a soft smile on his face as he spoke with words of reason. Changing Toumal's mind of fighting was impossible, the people of Lycantria were a stubborn people after all. But delaying it until he had a chance in battle was hopefully not too difficult.

Toumal let out a heavy sigh and relaxed, the nurses just sliding off his body as they too could relax.

"Fine... but you better keep your word for Toumal." The bare-chested man said and slowly walked back to his room.

Thomas just slowly shook his head and smiled to himself, turning to head back to his office to continue his brekfast while whistling softly to himself. He liked this day already.


Tompson Str, Fortuno Child Asylum


Nurse Harriet scowled as she took a large puff of her cigar, she already hated this day. Being one of the few people not related to the damnable tournament left in the city, she had to deal with all sorts of things. And this was one of those she found to be very annoying. The asylum was a haven in itself, but was not supposed to house contestants unless it was absolutely no other place to be used. This year, that had happened. And it annoyed her to no end. At least it was the unused east wing that would house the contestant they were bringing in, which meant she wouldn't have to deal with it.

Harriet was a large woman, with a rounded belly and wide hips. But one would be mistaken if one believed it was all fat though, her muscles simply laid itself out so she looked fatter than she actually was. It didn't make it better that her nurse's uniform was rather lose fitting around her, bloating her up even more. Her cheeks were rounded as well, and was covered in clusters of freckles here and there. She had neck long, red hair that was tied into a bum at the back of her head. Hanging down to cover her forehead she had a thick fringe of hair that would bob slightly as she walked, it was just long enough to brush against the edges of her upper vision.

Taking another deep breath from the cigar, she glanced up. Seeing the guest, and his guide walking down the street. The gods had actually sent one of their messengers to help the freaky thing find his way. Of the three gods, it was possibly the only one who's servants she could stand. The nature god, who had butterflies as her hands on the world. And the reason Harriet liked them was because the couldn't speak, just transmit their emotions and change the colour of their wings to communicate. Which she could easily ignore

Dropping what was left of the cigar onto the ground, she ground it down with her shoe to put it out. Looking up in time to greet the butterfly and the contestant with a heavy sigh. The butterfly itself was what she would consider medium size, it's body about the size of her pinkie, and it's wings about as large as her hand. It had long feelers that were curled at the ends, swaying softly as it fluttered through the air. And behind it would fall a trail of a glittering dust that dissolved before it hit the ground. Harriet considered it to be pleasant to look at with it's patterned, multicoloured wings. The contestant on the other hand, was just freaky, with his pitch-black skin, unkept hair and large, green eyes.

"This way, try to keep up." She said and turned on her heel, pushing the heavy wooden doors to the asylum open and walking inside at a brisk pace. Going past the wards with distant children, the isolation rooms, food court, and other facilities. The walk continued, once in a while she'd glance over her shoulder to make sure that she still had them behind her. Even though one of them walked, he would hardly make a sound, it was crazy how quiet he was. As the silence of the hallways, and the floor, made it even hard for a barefoot child to walk through them without being heard.

Pulling the key's from her pocket she unlocked the east wing and pushed the door open.

"Here you are, try to remain in here." She said as she stepped out of the way, letting them into the unlit wing of the asylum before closing the door behind them.

Aberrant on the other hand just glanced behind him as he heard the door close, shrugging to himself and going down on all fours. Pressing his face to the ground and sniffing, a amazing feat since he lacked a nose. But he quickly raised himself again slightly as he felt a pleasant chill run through his body and something bubbling inside of him. Looking around, his eyes fell on the butterfly as it fluttered above him. It's wings changing colours slowly and it seemed to be a bit more energetic than before. Deciding that he liked the strange, bubbling sensation he went back to sniffing the floor. Crawling around on all fours as he explored.

Eventually, he ended up in a room filled with old mattresses and blankets. At first he seemed mostly curious about the soft, cushioning things he'd found. Experimenting by putting his hand on one of em and pushing, the softness putting him off a little. But he experimented on, putting his face down on it and resting it there. Murring softly as he found it comforting, so he climbed onto it and laid down. Curling up softly and drifted off to sleep within minuets.

Above him, the butterfly had landed on a shelf. Looking down on its charge from its perched position, finding him to be not as intimidating now as when it had first seen him, cleaning blood of himself with his tongue. Taking flight, it fluttered down to one of the lower shelves, gripping a blanket in its legs and lifting it. Being a divine creature, it was granting abilities a normal butterfly was not. Fluttering softly, it'd lay the blanket down over Aberrant's sleeping form and then fluttering back up again to the top shelf where it would wait.


Jachten St, Transmission Station Three


The eye-pod hovered high above the street, having pulled back far enough not to get caught up in the rather indiscriminate fight that was going on down below. Destruction of buildings were something that was a given in this tournament of course, considering the monsters and freaks that came here each year. And it was with a profound glee that the e-pod zoomed in as a building was reduced to a whirling cloud of dust and sand.

Down on the ground, Al'Ziam turned his hand slowly. The cloud responding to his commands and swirling towards him, wind and sand coiling around him like a serpent before it lunged itself towards his enemy. Whom he'd not even bothered to ask for a name, or even a single word. He didn't care, not the slightest, his goal was simply to win and be granted the wish. All other things were of no concern of his. A scowl crossed over his face as his intended target threw herself out of the way from the stream.

Al'Ziam was a tall man with dark skin and shaved head, the narrow features of his face was naturally set into a unfriendly manner. And while his soft, billowing clothes would hide his build. He was making sure to keep himself in shape at least enough to get around.

Slamming his hands together, he then pulled them apart slowly. The winds around him kicking up, bringing sand and dust with it in a thick wall. Holding his hands out fully, he lit fire with his mind. Engulfing the sand surrounding him in a blazing inferno. But he would not be bothered by the heat, it was his fire, and his alone. The flames died away suddenly, leaving a shining pillar of glass in place instead. And with a ear piercing crack it all fell apart, shards of glass breaking away from each other and aiming in on the girl before whirling towards her at frightening speed.

Clarinze dodged for her life as the glass shards whistled by her. Rushing like mad to the side to avoid the hail of needle-like slivers that seemed to home in on her even in flight, she jumped in behind a boiler that had fallen from the crumbled building, Hearing the metallic echo and sound of shattering glass as it was pelted by projectiles. She'd hoped that she wouldn't run another monster, Toumal and Aberrant being the first. Even though the later hadn't been trying to kill her. But of course, with her luck she'd have to run straight into one, quite literally as well. Their encounter having been of pure chance, as the two had walked right into each other when rounding a corner. No time for introductions or even apologises, he'd simply attacked her. Not that Clarinze was planning to go down without a fight.

Rushing from her cover, she turned and treaded backwards, her right side turned to him and steam gauntlet raised. She could feel the cogs turning as the automated guns were loaded up with rounds. Letting her mind do the work, she pulled the trigger, sending her own hail of projectiles towards him. Her jaw nearly dropping as the glass around him closed together for form a single sheathe in front of him, and it held! Glass strong enough to stop bullets, that was something new to her and it did make her gulp a little as she slid to a halt.

"Oh crap..." She mumbled to herself as she saw the glass shatter again, all points pointed at her.

Darting to the side again, she rushed towards a alley between two buildings, glass shards striking down all around her. A shield, that was what she was going to get next, definitely a shield. Rushing down the alley she rounded the building corner, glancing back, she couldn't see him. Taking the chance she popped the underside of he gauntlet open and let the empty ammo box fall out, and pushed a new one back into place. With an affirmative click she closed the hatch again and glanced back into the alley, no sign of the glass throwing freak. Maybe he'd given up? She thought.

But oh so wrong she was as there was a sudden jab into her left shoulder, and her entire body froze for a moment. Glancing down, she saw a spear of pure glass protruding from her. Funny how she didn't feel any pain until she looked at it. The scream bubbled up inside of her and she threw herself forward out of pure reflex as the spear suddenly yanked to the side, tearing the wall down with it. Clarinze skidded on her side over the ground, clutching her wounded shoulder with her gauntlet.

"And the game comes to an end..." Al'Ziam said, the first words he'd spoken as he raised the spear above his head. Driving it down into the ground, missing Clarinze with mere inches to spare as she rolled to the side. Fighting against the pain and rolling onto her feet, rushing as fast as she could down the street, each step sending mind numbing pain from her shoulder and through the rest of her body.

"Frustrating.." The glass sorcerer said to himself as he let the sand-filled winds flow around him, picking him up from the ground. Holding his arms out, he felt the sand with his mind. Taking out the hardest grains he could find and focused them into a single point in front of himself. There he made the fire, liquefying the sand and using the basics of alchemy to transmute the molten sand into glass, which he then let harden as he dragged it out into the shape of a dagger. And then another, and another, until he had a score of them circling around him. With the glass daggers moving around him in a circle, sharp ends pointed outwards. He made them spin, faster and faster, and the winds take him forward. After the fleeing girl.

As she ran, Clarinze could hear the buzz saw like sound behind her, coming closer and closer. But she dared not look, not yet. And as pain coursed through her system, she lifted her left hand. Raising it until she could feel the gauntlet against her skin, she had to go by feeling as she was focusing her eyes on guiding her over the rubble filled street. Further up she slid her fingers over the lukewarm metal until she felt them brush against a valve. Gripping it tightly she bet her life on this and stopped, turning and throwing her gauntlet towards Al'Ziam, who was mere feet away from her. The wind kicked up by the spinning blades blowing her hair in a wild tussle around her head.

Closing her eyes tightly she turned the valve, a sudden jolt running through her hand as the steam whistle blew out the execs steam as the chamber was flooded. The thundering boom overshadowed the whistle though as a huge cloud of white steam billowed out around them and Clarinze was knocked off her feet, flying backwards and onto her back, skidding over the ground for at last a dozen feet before she stopped.

"Oww.... never... doing that... again... ever..." She whimpered to herself as it felt like the recoil had shattered every bone in her arm. Climbing up onto her unsteady feet, she let her arms hang down as she was slightly lurched over from pain and numbness. Looking down the direction she'd fired, a sudden shudder of excitement ran down her spine as she saw the clear swept trail that went all the way down the street, rubble and debris blown clear as the steam shell had travelled. Somewhere down there her opponent was, somewhere... in that crumbling building. Gulping down the bulge in her throat, she watched how it crumbled down completely and became just a pile of rubble. A cloud of dust rising up towards the sky and dissipating high above.

"Congratulation on your victory, aid personnel will be here shortly." Clarinze heard a mechanised voice say behind her, causing her to turn around. Coming face to face with the e-pod that had been recording everything. She didn't thrust the arcane science behind these things, not one bit. But she couldn't care much about it at the moment. She just let out a happy sigh of relief as she saw her picture next to Al'Ziam's, and his being crossed over and removed. Slowly, she slumped down onto her knees and relaxed. Glad that she had won, and survived.


Tompson Str, Fortuno Child Asylum, East Wing


Aberrant woke up slowly, sitting up in a dragging motion with his limbs trailing behind. For a while he just sat there, staring out into empty space. His eyes half open and blinking a little now and then, irregular and out of sync. Lips parted, revealing rows upon rows with sharp teeth and a long tongue that rolled out to hang as he yawned, filling his lungs with air. Then his mouth snapped shut, mind not even taking note of his tongue still being outside of his mouth, he simply dragged it back in again.

Legs gathered up beneath him as he sat cross legged, hands coming to rest between them as he looked up at the only window in the room. Iron bars outside the glass meant to keep people inside. But then something else caught his eye, a fluttering motion of colours and wings. Watching the butterfly with half lidded eyes he simply followed it as it fluttered down from the window towards him. It's short flight came to a soft end as it landed where Aberrant's nose should have been. Wings opening and closing softly.

"Right now, you're not so scary as on TV." Aberrant heard a voice as smooth and as sweet as liquid honey, made by the most dedicated bees, say. Turning his head towards the doorway. His green eyes, partially obscured by butterfly wings, came to land on a woman. She was about a head shorter than Aberrant with a smoothly curved body, her nurse's jacket wrapped tightly around her modest chest. A lightly curved waist expanding softly into hips and moving downwards to full thighs and legs. Long, curly blonde hair would frame her pretty face, and she had a soft look to her. Full, unpainted lips would smile at him as he sat there, staring at her. He'd note her eyes as well, the same deep green as his, just human eyes and not glowing. Her nurse's uniform was the same as Nurse Harriet's, just tighter. Consisting of a white jacket with two sets of buttons and a pair of plain white pants. She didn't have a nurse's cap like Harriet did though, but she did have a pair of cat-like ears sticking out from the top of her head.

"The watcher told us to look after you, so I brought you some clothes and food. I'm Catarina." She introduced herself and put down the tray with hot food on one of the shelves in the room, holding a cloth bag in her hand as she came and crouched down next to Aberrant.

"I do hope you eat food and not people though." She giggled playfully and patted his head. The monster on the other hand could only stare at her, blinking now and then as he found himself having trouble breathing with her so close. And as he stared, she just went on talking about things, about the asylum, the tournament, and a world of other things that he couldn't even follow. Sometime during this, the butterfly moved from his face to sit on the tip of one of his pointy ears.

"Here, let me help you." She said as she softly took his hands and stood up, pulling him up with her onto his feet. The bag still in her hand she pulled open and removed a shirt and pair of pants from within it.

"I do hope these will fit, they were the largest size we had in storage." Catarina said as she held them out to him. Aberrant was at first a little hesitant about accepting them, but after a while he took a gentle hold of the pants and held them in front of him. Turning them slowly in place and looking at them. Then looking back at her and tilting his head, confusion written over his face.

Catarina seemed to get what was going through his head and slid in behind him, taking his wrists in her hands and lowering them until the pants were just beneath his waist.

"Put one foot in, and then the other. Careful to slide it down the right side." She instructed, having done this quite a few times with the children she cared for in the asylum as well. And as a good patient, Aberrant did as instructed, having a little trouble getting his foot into the right leg at first. But he worked it out eventually.

"Good." She praised him and helped him button the pants, and to get his tail through the hole in the back. Then she grabbed the shirt and held it up for him, instructing how he'd slide it on. Then she did the buttons for him, the cloth buttons being a little trickier than normal ones. When she was done he was looking less of a monster, and just a little misplaced. Now that he was wearing a pair of soft, grey pants and a soft grey shirt. The collar of the shirt being wide and slightly stiff, while the sleeves and legs of the pants were a little widened and lose around his wrists and ankles. Unlike the normal clothes worn by the children though, Catarina had picked away the number tag and the tag that said "Fortuno Child Asylum" from the chest.

"Let's take a look at you..." She said and stepped back, pulling away from him and looking him over. He stood with his cheeks slightly purple now, with his right hand he was rubbing his left arm. He felt... different, wearing clothes was odd to him. Kind of made him feel, vulnerable.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Catarina said and smiled at him, making the purple areas on his cheeks grow slightly. "Well, I'm sure you can eat on your own, I have to get back to the wards now. Bye bye, I'll stop by later to get the dishes. Good luck in your next fight."

And then she was gone, waving at him with a friendly smile and then walked away. Leaving him mimicking the motion of her wave awkward, once she was gone, he'd look at his hand. Trying waving it a few times, until he felt like he understood the motion of it. Then he turned to the food, putting his face up over the edge of the shelf and first looking at it. Letting his tongue out to lick over the salad, the taste sending a horrid shudder down his spine as he pulled his tongue back in. The rice was even worse, he tried eating it. But it didn't work. Until he encountered the little cup with four blocks of chocolate in it, that one he gulped down happily and felt sated on afterwards, cup and all.

Sitting down after his meal, he tilted his head a bit, the butterfly taking flight and fluttering in the air at the door. Stopping, it would turn, as if looking at him, expecting something. Aberrant would stare back at it, tilting his head a little at it. Then he felt a tugging sensation inside of his mind, and a urge to follow the little butterfly. That's when he got the hint and crawled after it, heading back into the city.


Justin St, Water Heater Plant


Thalk whistled as he turned the wrench that extra turn to get the bolt in place, some quick repairs and he would be back in the game again he thought. All for the glory of Acbeck Republic, his home country. Thalk was a soldier, and was sent out by his government with two objectives. Find and battle the soldier sent from the Lycantria Union, and do everything within his power to win the tournament itself.

The reason he was sent out after another solider in this manner was because their countries was at war, and rather than having hundreds of soldiers die pointless deaths on a battle field. Both nations had agreed to settle it in this manner instead. And Thalk had every intention to uphold the honour of his nation. All he had to do was repair his steam mech and he'd be fit for fight again.

He was just about to climb in and give it a test run when something caught his attention, a sound, a light thumping. Putting the wrench down, he pulled his steam gun from it's holster and followed it. Deciding to be cautious even though he was in his haven. Then again, it could be his daughter, who was also fighting in the tournament, that had decided to come by for tea. Following the noise, he came to a large access hatch that lead down into the severs below.

There was a nagging little voice in the back of his head telling him to leave it close, but being a curious man he couldn't help grasping the turn handle and twisting it until the lock came open and he could open the hatch. At first there was nothing, just darkness, until he reached for a light stick from his belt. That's when movement caught his eye and hands reached out from the darkness to drag him down into it.