“You’re retiring?”

The masked man fingered the brim of his magician’s hat. By the slump of his shoulders, he appeared kind of exhausted. He looked up at the creature that sat across the table from him. His mask sat on his face and smiled (because it was created that way).

“Yes.” Abra sighed. “I might go out, see a few friends, explore some places…lots to do.”

The creature, Vamprina, spread her bat wings high over her head in a stretch, and then returned them to her sides. She stared searchingly at his face, looking at more than just what lay beyond its mask. Her red eyes narrowed a little, and her large pointed ears slicked down onto her head.

“You’ve been replaced by…?”

“A bounty hunter.” Abra replied. Then he snorted, tracing circles on his hat. “He’s not as talented as I am at all. I would confess, however…that his desire to kill is near similar to mine. Perhaps he just needs a little motivation.”

Here, the genocide magician cracked his knuckles for effect. Then he looked over at Vamprina. Her ears were pricked forward, almost expanded fully. She smiled.

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t need to motivate him with any tricks. Your appearance would be enough now, won’t it?”

If Abra could blink, that’s what he would have done. Instead, he laughed and patted one of his pockets. “This will make my appearance much more attractive, if we ever happen to cross paths.”

By this he meant his morphine IV. He still had plenty of the stuff. Vamprina had experienced its full effects during their battle not only once, but twice. Abra gradually left his hat alone and put his hands together on the table’s surface. Marionette hovered beside him. Vamprina could sense that her own shadow was unhappy that they were leaving. Abra stared into Vamprina’s glowing red eyes, and then he showed her a set of cards he’d summoned into his palm.

“Pick a card.” he recited, his mask smiling away. “Any card.”

Vamprina’s eyes narrowed, but she complied. Her claw withdrew from the deck, and it held the Joker card. Abra’s deck vanished in a puff of smoke, and he clapped his hands.

“What a lucky one you are Vamprina!” he laughed.

Then both were silent for a few moments. Abra had heard of Volt’s death a few days ago, and he felt more than sorry for Vamprina. Volt had been such a talented youth. What a shame. Then both the genocide magician and the assassin turned to the third person in the room.

A bald, brown human with baggy pants slumped against his chair. A mole was nestled comfortably in his lap, snoozing away.

“Digkid,” Vamprina said slowly. “You’re leaving too?”

Digkid nodded, and then he folded his arms. “You-you told me I had a chance! You told me I needed more battles for people to see my fame! I-I wasn’t even close!”

He buried his face in his hands, trying not to cry. The tears moistened his hands, and soon he returned his palms to the table before him. Vamprina reached out, stroking a tear from his cheek.

“It’s alright.” she hissed softly. “I’ve fought you guys once, and now I’ll never forget you.”

Then Vamprina smiled at Digkid. Digkid looked back, confusion swimming in his gaze.

“What?” he asked.

“You’ve been replaced…by that thing?”

Realizing she was reading his mind, Digkid rubbed one temple, and then folded his arms across his chest with a huff.

“Yup. A drunk. He says he knows karate, and he doesn’t like moles even a little bit!”

“Don’t worry. You’ll never diminish as a gladiator. Some will remember you forever.”

“But I still want to fight!”

Vamprina sighed. “I don’t know about that. Maybe you don’t need to fight officially for the wRHGs anymore. You could have your own unofficial battles somewhere else.”

Digkid sniffed, and began to stroke his mole. Abra leaned back on his chair and put two feet on the table.

“Hey, cheer up mole kid.” he chuckled. “My shows aren’t official, and I do them all the time. I don’t need permission from anybody.”

“Well…” Digkid began. “I guess I could try fighting someone unofficially.”

He turned to Vamprina.

“Any ideas?” he asked her.

Vamprina leaped to the ceiling, digging her talons into the metal and hanging there upside down. She smiled.

“I have lots of ideas earthling. But I think a little fight with Venox would do you some good first.”

Digkid frowned. “Who’s Venox?”

“Venox…” Vamprina started, “is a good friend of mine. He fights with serpents that shoot lasers and fire, but at heart, he’s a coward. Just defeat his serpents, get him in a corner, and you’ll win easy. But don’t get bitten by him or you’ll start seeing things.”

The human nodded, and his mole twisted into another sleeping position in his lap.

“So…gentlefolk.” Vamprina hissed. “Are we done here?”

Abra rose, and Digkid did too, cradling his mole in his arms. Both gladiators wished Vamprina luck, and vanished out the door of the room. Vamprina stared at the metal walls all around her, and then she dropped off the ceiling. She looked at the shadow nearest to her, and it stepped into view, forming into a stick-like figure of Slinx. He closed his eyes and expanded his senses, making sure they were alone. Then he turned to Vamprina.

“What did he give you?” the chemical bender asked. A mix of slight interest and eagerness dwelt in his gaze.

Vamprina smiled, wrapping her wings around her. “A joker card. With it, I can always return to this world.”

“Cool.” Slinx replied. “Can I see it for a second?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You’ll mess with its properties or something.”

Slinx narrowed his eyes. “Fine. I guess we’ll see if it works later.”

The two figures vanished, and the room was silent.