A/N: I've taken the liberty of editing the story in order to continue and finally finish it after so long. I hope you like the edited form.

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She raced for her life.

She never liked running; she only saw it as the final option if all else had failed and even when a moment like that had appeared, she never ran. Her refusal to retreat had resulted in multiple victories for her…and even caused her death.

But now, here she was, running and ducking amongst the tree branches, leaping over the roots that sought to send her sprawling to the ground and give her pursuers the time they needed to catch up.

She wasn't running, she tried to tell herself, merely falling back into a better defensive position in order to come up with a new plan of attack.

Sometimes the best offence is a good defence.

And that's what she was planning to do right now. As long as she could get enough time to form some kind of offence that would allow her to see another day. Already, she could hear her pursuers gaining on her and she knew that she needed some kind of plan fast. She couldn't outrun them forever. Their snarling echoed throughout the forest, reverberating all around her, closing in on her, overwhelming her.

That put some extra kick into her tired legs and propelled her to run faster, pushing her body to its limits and then past it, dodging around the trees as they groaned and moaned, wearied by their old age, however, she barely gave them a thought, her hands gripping her razor-edged fans tighter to avoid losing hold of them. She couldn't afford to lose her grip, for while she could defend herself without them, it would be tantamount to suicide.

A small clearing opened up before her and she came to a stop, acknowledging that she was at her limits. She wasn't going to run anymore, not when she could go no further. Her body begged for rest, but she knew she had enough in her for a fight and right here, she was making her stand. She would fight until the very end and she would give it everything that she had. Perhaps luck would be on her side and she would kill every single one, but she was no fool; at best, she'd take down some with her, but not the entire horde.

Still, it'd make for a good story.

She tried to catch her breath, trying to ready herself for the impending battle and before long, they arrived; feral gold eyes glowing in the darkness, their sharp fangs dripping with drool, their blades flashing as they advanced on her, surrounding her like a pack of wild animals closing in on their prey, grinning with sadistic glee. She was surrounded, with no way out and they knew it; she knew it too, but she would fight, even though it wouldn't last for long, not in her current state in the face of such overwhelming numbers.

It would be over before she knew it.

She closed her eyes, taking in a few deep breaths, going over everything she knew, everything she had learned in her long lifespan, everything that she could use that would help her to increase the odds of her surviving.

She opened her fans, the blades glittering under the moonlight, as the creatures snarled; they weren't fools, despite their savage appearance. They knew of her skills and some of them were right to be wary of her, but they knew they had the numbers. She was just one. They were many. She assumed her stance, prepared to fight to the death. The first of the hellish creatures charged, the forearm blade slashing through the air with such speed that she barely dodged it; a single strand of black hair floated as a sign of how close she narrowly avoided instant death.

She moved just as quick, her right fan ripping across his exposed torso. It wasn't enough to severely injure him, but enough to make him recoil and she slashed again, this time splitting his throat open; his blood gushed from the gaping wound like a waterfall. The metallic stench of foul blood permeated the air, sending the creatures into a frenzied state.

One of their own had fallen quickly under her blades and they bellowed in rage, their snarls flooding the twisted forest and eager to avenge the dead warrior, the disgusting beasts moved towards her as one overwhelming unit. She froze for a moment, only a moment, the tiniest of moments, a foolish mistake as their blades came for her, hungering for her flesh. She cut down one, cut down another, but there was too many and she steeled herself for the impact that would end her life as she continued to fight to the end. She knew that no matter how many she killed in her desperate last stand, her life was over. It would end in a flash of organic steel and blood, shredded flesh and bone.

She didn't fear death, but she didn't welcome it either, however, she didn't have a choice.

And then, he arrived.

A burst of hellfire, a kunai zipping through the air and he was there, fighting off the beasts with unparalleled strength, breaking their bones and crushing their faces, his sword ripping through the air; horrific screams of agony reverberated throughout the trees. Fire burned and flesh melted in his wake as he terrorised his way through the vicious monsters.

In the face of his hellfire, they had become his playthings and it was an experience to witness.

Spurred on by his actions, she joined him in combat, reinvigorated as she fought against her pursuers. Despite the numbers weighing heavily in their favour, there was nothing the beasts could do against the two warriors, except to receive an ugly and painful death, which was granted to them with aplomb. Together the duo fought, back-to-back, taking turns, kunai and fans tearing through the air until their enemies lay dead around them, the dirt floor drenched with blood and the trees groaned around them in approval, appreciating the liquid that vitalised their decaying and twisted bark.

That was when she learnt he had been watching her trying to defend herself against the horde and although he was initially going to leave her to a horrible fate, he had decided to step in; he insisted that he wasn't there to save her life, but rather, have a good fight and let off some steam, figuratively speaking of course.

He was on a mission, although what mission he wouldn't disclose to her, saying it was none of her business, before asking her what she was thinking in taking on a small force of Tarkatans, to which she replied that it was none of his business. She swore she heard a glimmer of a smirk behind his golden mask. He then snorted and left to clean off and she decided to follow him, grateful at least for some company that didn't want to kill her and to show her thanks for his assistance. He threatened to kill her if she didn't leave him alone immediately, but she retaliated, saying that she was going to watch his back just in case a revenge group arrived; after all, that wasn't the only Tarkatan force rampaging through the perverted forest. Another scoff at her comment and his reply that he didn't need some damsel to watch his back, considering said damsel had been in distress and needed his help. In her defence, she stated that she was trying to split them off and pick them off one by one; she also pointed out that together, they were quite an efficient team.

She then went on to say that even though they weren't fond of each other and weren't disclosing the personal missions they were on, that perhaps they could use each other's skills and abilities to complete the missions that the two parties were on, using the decimated Tarkatans as an example. He had pondered this for a moment, before saying that he didn't need any help and that he worked alone, despite acknowledging that they were indeed a deadly force. She refused to relent, saying that together they could defeat the threat invading the realms and that he would be rewarded greatly for his help. Upon hearing that he didn't care about any rewards, she pointed out that they could learn from one other and that the battles would require both of them. At this, he finally yielded and agreed to their partnership, but strictly for business reasons. After that, they were to go their own ways and hopefully never meet again; she accepted the proposition.

He then left the violent scene, leading the way to a small stream that she never knew existed in such a haunting and godforsaken place. Once there, he stripped off to nothing, leaving her shy of such display, not that he gave a damn about what she thought. To him, it was the one perfect ways to clean himself off after a bloody battle. That and skinny-dipping was somewhat relaxing to him, a rare occurrence for him given his nature. He even removed his mask, revealing his skull with empty, cold sockets and hair of flames, burning brightly in the night. He dived into the cool, refreshing water, relishing the rare opportunity to bask in the calm. She sat under a tree, relaxed but wary at the same time, watching with amusement as he swam about to wash the blood off his body, his flames unable to be extinguished by the water. He then retrieved his clothes and dunked them into the stream, watching as the water turned red, an example of his violence that would never end until his vengeance was sated.

Five minutes later and he exited the stream, his toned and chiselled body on display to the princess. She looked away in modesty, as he dressed himself, using his hellfire to instantly dry his person; he slung his swords across his back and gruffly told her to hurry and keep up, otherwise he would leave her behind. She quickly followed after him, her mahogany eyes scanning the woods for any threats, while he appeared calm, unfazed of whatever could be lurking out there and before long, they left the Living Forest.

And so, these two unlikely allies began their journey into the unknown together.

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