[center][img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjYwLjlmODgzOC5TbUZqYXlCRmJHeHBjMjl1LjAAAAAA/vtks-radicale-v2.regular.png[/img][hr][b][i]Seven months ago...[/i][/b][/center]
It was a telltale sign that your life was boring as hell when walking around aimlessly was exciting.

But here Jack was, walking around the less savory parts of Korven with hands in his pockets, and he felt more alive than he ever had. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, maybe a bar or a strip club where he could drown his sorrows and drool over some girl, shoulder-to-shoulder with other losers like him. A beer was sounding pretty good right now, and so was drooling over some girl in a revealing outfit if he had to tell the truth.

He looked up at the flickering neon sign just ahead of him. The Ghost Light Lounge, beneath it a smaller sign in red reading 'bar'. Way too fancy name for what was probably just a rundown watering hole. But what the hell, he wanted a drink, and this place had them. He pushed open the doors and made his way inside.

As he did so, he was greeted by the sounds and sight of a bar fight. A few undesirables all ganging up on some poor guy wearing this ratty green trenchcoat. Jack shook his head, approaching the bar but still watching the proceedings over his shoulder. The guy in the trenchcoat was putting up a good fight, broke a chair over some guy's head, a bottle over another's, before long he had taken out a crowd of four or five guys all hellbent on beating the shit out of him.

The trenchcoat-clad man approached the bar, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and plucking one into his mouth. Quirking an eyebrow at Jack, who was still staring at him, he pushed the pack towards him. [color=lightgreen][b]"Want one or something?"[/b][/color] the man asked as he lit up his smoke.

Shaking his hand, Jack replied, [color=darkkhaki][b]"Uh, no, I don't smoke. I just want to get a drink."[/b][/color] He turned towards the bartender. [color=darkkhaki][b]"Give me a beer. Whatever's cheapest."[/b][/color] The bartender slid a bottle towards him and pushed forward a brand scanner. Wordlessly, Jack pulled down his sleeve and allowed the man to scan his tattoo.

[color=lightgreen][b]"You look like you're aching for something, and you just don't know what,"[/b][/color] the other man observed as he grabbed at the nearest bottle and took a drink from it.

[color=darkkhaki][b]"I... I guess? I don't really know, I'm just here to get a drink."[/b][/color]

[color=lightgreen][b]"No, you're here to find out how to feel alive again."[/b][/color] A total stranger, managing to nail the exact reason he left Eden and journeyed into Korven for the first time in over a decade. Smart cookie.

[color=darkkhaki][b]"... Yeah. That's exactly right."[/b][/color]

[color=lightgreen][b]"Good luck with that."[/b][/color] Almost as surreally as he came, the stranger made his exit. 

Jack took another drink from his beer, pondering the man's words.

[center][b][i]Ten minutes later...[/i][/b][/center]
He wasn't sure exactly [i]what[/i] he did to piss this guy off, but it must've been big, because now they were heading outside and taking their jackets off to fight. Jack had never been in a fight before in his life, and he wasn't exactly planning on starting now. So instead, he took the diplomatic approach.

[color=darkkhaki][b]"Hey, c'mon man, we don't have to do thi-"[/b][/color] His words came to a halt as a fist barreled into his gut, knocking the breath out of him. The angry man swung again, hitting Jack square in the neck and knocking him to the side. Jack coughed, wheezing for a breath.

The other man grabbed him by his collar, hauling him up and throwing him into the wall of the bar. He began to charge.

For some reason, Jack stood there. He knew that if he didn't do something, that the man would ram right into him and he'd be walking home a bloodied, bruised mess. There was nothing he could do to stop it. Nothing, that is, except fight back.

[i][color=lightgreen][b]"No, you're here to find out how to feel alive again."[/b][/color][/i]

The stranger's words echoed in his mind. This. This was it. He felt [i]alive[/i]. He wanted to keep the feeling, the adrenaline, flowing.

So when the man was just an arm's length away, Jack socked him in the ear, causing the man to double over. Then came a kick straight to knee, bringing the man into a kneeling position. Looking around, Jack spotted a glass bottle, and brought it down onto the man's bald head. It didn't break over his head like Jack was expecting, but the satisfying [b][i]*CLUNK*[/i][/b] as it knocked the man out felt [i]good[/i].

Jack stood there over the defeated behemoth, a few other men watching. He even recognized one guy from work.

The guy from work stepped forward. What was his name? Jerry? Phil? Whatever it was, he raised his hand and asked, [color=lightsalmon][b]"Can I be next?"[/b][/color]

[color=darkkhaki][b]"... Alright man. Lose the tie."[/b][/color]

[center][b][i]Two nights ago...[/i][/b]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9dbRXJbMWs](Recommended Listening)[/url][/center]
Every Saturday night, he returned to that bar. For the first few weeks they were fighting in the parking lot. After a while the bartender got in on it, and let them use the basement of the Ghost Light Lounge. Eventually Jack decided on a set of rules, and tonight was the night he would finally give them out officially.

The Ghost Light Lounge looked like it always did; rundown, dirty, with that bright neon sign trying to make it seem like it's fancier than it actually is. As Jack approached the bar, he noticed a few of the members of his little fight club approaching it as well, already loosening their ties and taking off their rings. They entered the bar and took a look around, Jack giving a nod to the bartender.

[color=slategray][b]"Alright everyone, closing time! Go home!"[/b][/color] the bartender, Ozzie, barked at the patrons. It led to a few grumbles, but they all complied and exited the bar. Ozzie nodded to Jack, and the group entered the back room. Through there, Ozzie unlocked the cellar, and the club entered the basement.

The group lingered about, and Jack backed away from them. Normally, he just said who would be fighting who, but tonight was a special occasion.

[color=darkkhaki][b]"Gentlemen. Welcome to fight club..."[/b][/color]

[center][b][i]A few minutes later...[/i][/b][/center]
Blood was pouring into his mouth from a gash inside of his cheek. A tooth had just gotten knocked loose. Salty sweat dripped into his wounds, giving him a sharp kick of mingled pain and adrenaline.

Jack slapped aside Ozzie's punch, delivering a cross punch straight to the other man's face. There was a wet [b][i]*CRA-CAK*[/i][/b] as Jack's fist connected with Ozzie's nose, and it gave Jack just another kick of adrenaline, that feeling of bone breaking against bone. It felt good. Made him feel alive.

[color=slategray][b]"Stop! Stop!"[/b][/color] Ozzie tapped out. That was one of the new rules Jack implemented, rule #5 to be exact. So with those two words, the fight came to a grinding halt, and Jack offered Ozzie a hand up which the older man happily accepted.

[color=darkkhaki][b]"Good fight, man. See you next week?"[/b][/color] Jack asked, shaking Ozzie's hand.

[color=slategray][b]"Ha! Maybe next [i]month[/i]."[/b][/color] Ozzie's quip led to raucous laughter from the others. Who you were when you were fighting and who you were when you weren't were two extremely different people. In a fight, Jack and Ozzie were monsters, feeling only rage. Once the fight was through, they were best buddies again.

[color=darkkhaki][b]"Alright, Phil and Zeke, you're up."[/b][/color]

[center][b][i]Now.[/i][/b][/center]
He could feel the blood pooling up in his mouth, but he just powered through and drank it. The stitches he had gotten yesterday for the gash in his cheek had come loose, and he had to keep tonguing at it to stop the blood from dripping out of his mouth. What a Godawful time too, because he was in a business meeting, discussing some new software for the accountants.

[color=chartreuse][b]"I showed this to my man the other day,"[/b][/color] one of the accountants... Who was it? Allen? Paul? Whatever his name was, he pointed at Jack and continued, [color=chartreuse][b]"He liked it. Didn't you?"[/b][/color]

In response, Jack opened his mouth, showing off his bloody teeth to the table. A few just stared in horror and surprise. Some shuddered and turned away. The poor office girl that was fresh out of college fainted at the sight. Jack just shook his head with a suppressed chuckle.

[color=darkkhaki][b]"Yeah. I liked it."[/b][/color]