[youtube]ieolfQpQuGg[/youtube]

Fitch didn't say a word as they walked. As would be expected, he was extremely nervous, though he did a good job hiding it. He kept his blade drawn at his side, the steel straight sword was a dull grey with a topaz-coloured edge and a jagged cross-guard. His shield was not quite a tower, but it was no buckler either. It had a nice moderation of size in a kite shape with plenty of stopping power. Over his armour, he wore a long, white cloak with a leafless tree growing from the base all the way to the hood, which was drawn over his head. He wore a simple, silver headband that gently hugged his forehead from under the gold-trimmed hood and provided a much-needed speed boost. As Doku spoke, carefully outlining the plan, Fitch showed no sign of faltering, despite his heart rate, "Understood." He tried to distract himself, but his mind was truly void of thought. [I]What does it feel like?[/I] He wanted desperately to ask, [I]To take a life... Do you feel anything at all? Does it stay with you, even when it's as justified as this? Or does it feel relieving to expunge such bile from the world?[/I] However, rather than asking, he resolved to find out firsthand.

They grew close to the oasis and he opened his map; they were just up ahead. He could see the glimmer of the water tucked away in the desert. He pulled the shield from his back, preparing for the fight to come. As they were eyeshot, the small group all had their backs turned, likely enjoying a nice lunch before hitting the field again. Clearers who wasted their talents - Fitch had never seen them at the boss fights, but he knew that they were grinding on the highest floor open to the public. Once upon a time, he would approach these people and see him and all of his friends sitting there, talking and laughing. They would all join up together, maybe even take a swim, but today... He only saw a PK'er, for whatever reasons the man had, and his cronies. Was it truth? He thought so. Did it matter? No, not at all. The fight began and at that point, he was rather grateful that he had not been thinking at all, because his mind kicked in on instinct, and as Doku began his physical confrontation with the leader, all of his friends turned to see it in shock. Just as they began to mobilize, Fitch was at Doku's back, raising his shield just in time to directly catch a thrusted blade. Colours began to flash as Fitch pushed the underlings away from their occupied leader. He ducked, rolled, and bashed his way into the center of three. Strategically, it would, at first, be thought of as stupid. But from this angle, none of them would see how easily their leader was being taken down.

He smirked and flipped attitudes from hiding behind his shield to slashing away incoming attacks and returning their power with an equally powerful skill. A long spear narrowly missed his head and his shield dematerialized as he released the strap and swiftly thrust his hand up to grab it. This was where his leveling came in - he had been focusing his level-ups on strength rather than dexterity and relied on boosts to keep his speed on-par. With a grunt and a bit of exertion, he yanked the spear farther into the direction it had been thrust before he released it and brought the hilt of his sword down into the man's back, throwing him onto the floor. The spear was dropped and Fitch pulled his shield from his back once more, where it had returned to after being "dropped." His ears rang as the powerful [i]'thump... thump... thump...'[/i] of his blood pumped loudly in his head. He felt the thrill of the fight and had all but forgotten he was fighting real people. It just seemed like a duel, if even that. As the other two moved in on him, he deftly blocked each attack - one with his shield, the other with his blade - before moving on the offensive, his blade striking powerfully against each of their attacks, wearing each of them down. The spear user eventually recovered, rather worse for the wear, but each of them grew fatigued as Fitch only felt more and more power surging through him.

The strategic part of his mind lined it up perfectly - somehow he managed to get all three of them clustered, surrounded by... only him. His sword flashed as he started the skill 'Vertical Square' - however, rather than centering on one, he was able to actually hit each one. the final blow actually knocking all three to the ground as the square burst from its landing point. His breathing grew heavy as he stepped over the spear user - each of their health bars were now red, fractions of where they once were. Fitch's glowed a vibrant orange, nearing on red, and he glanced at it with a bright smile, [I]High Score... Maybe next time I can do even better...[/I] He activated a Finishing Skill - a simple downward stab to be used on a downed opponent. He held the skill high above his head, a bright red emanating from the entirety of the blade as he met the spear user's eyes. They plead to him - why? Fitch needed not answer - in fact, he only grinned. The sword entered the boy's chest in a mere moment, twisting angrily. Thrice he repeated this action until each one was disintegrated, and as the last one's eyes lost life, he actually felt something swell in his chest.

As it took shape and formed, he made a noise, "Heh.... Heheh...." His downward gaze was clouded in shadow by his hood. Was he crying? Getting ready to puke? Breaking down? These were all normal things one would do after coldly murdering three human being. But no, it was a laugh. His shield disappeared and returned to his back as he sheathed his sword beneath it. He fell to his knees and turned his head to the sky, his hood falling back, his eyes wide. "I did it... I actually... fucking... did it..." His gaze turned toward Doku, "And it... felt... [I]amazing[/I]," He hissed with a grin. His eyes were mad, but he felt free... He didn't have to think about anything, not really, he just knew that before the fight, his heart weighed heavily with everything that had recently happened, but with this... it all fell away. When he could not help others before, now he felt [I]true[/I] power. The monsters in this game held only strength, they had no true intelligence. He did. And the other people in the game did. That was the [I]real[/I] challenge - fighting something that could think, that could [I]reason[/I]. And he easily resisted it.

Fitch rose to his feet, slowly, thoughtfully, before brushing himself off. The oasis was now empty, save for the two men standing before it. "Three," He held up a hand with his thumb, index, and middle finger up, "Piece. Of. Cake," He crossed his arms and rose a brow at his newest friend, despite the fact he had nearly forgotten his health until the very end. "What's next?"