“It hasn’t been the first thing on my mind the last few days, I’ll admit, but in light of what you just told me about your powers being contingent on winning at Creaturemania and keeping that freaky belt I would have to say I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help ensure you do manage to retain. No offense or anything, but I’d feel much more confident knowing that you’ll have that in addition to your own skills to fall back on whenever the company makes it’s move.”

“And not even a minute ago you accused me of relying too much on it. Now who’s relying on the shiny belt, huh?” Deadblood laughed, unable to resist adding that jab. Sheri rolled her eyes again, and he couldn’t help but find the fact he’d managed to irk her at least somewhat satisfying.

“I still feel that way, but I’d be a fool to not attempt to at least help you keep it considering how useful it’s proven to be. I just worry that you are leaning too heavily on it. What happens if you lose, Deadblood?” She said, taking another drink, still somewhat exasperated that he didn’t seem to see her point. “Sure, I have my own freaky things, but they are mine, and can’t be taken away from me by some outside event. They are a part of me, as much as your fighting and weapon skills are, and they are not reliant on some accessory.”

“You have a point, but I think you also are underestimating me. This isn’t my first rodeo, Sheri. I think continuing to count on the title’s powers down the road isn’t a far stretch. Excuse me for being pretty damned confident that I will walk away from Creaturemania with my title intact, with or without your help.” He replied, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her a pointed look.

Sheri set her glass down, and looked across the table soberly. She hadn’t meant to insult Deadblood, and to her surprise she felt a bit badly that he seemed to have taken it that way.

“I didn’t mean it that way, Deadblood. I never said I doubted your abilities in the ring, I simply said that I would be stupid to not help you if there was a way that I could. Besides, I’m looking beyond Creaturemania, at the long run. Like it or not we are in this boat together for better or worse. I’m going to do everything thing I can though to try to ensure it’s for better rather than for worse, and if that means me going out there and distracting someone or tossing in a low blow where I can, I will.” The apology seemed to have taken, and he relaxed again and finished off his glass, setting it down as Sheri signaled the waitress for another round to drive home her words.

“I don’t think it’s going to be an issue no matter who comes out to face me there, honestly. Some things you just have to take as they go, and trust in your own capabilities to see you through. You can’t plan for everything all the time, Sheri. Sometimes, you just get out there and you do it.”

She smiled slightly, recognizing his point. Perhaps she did tend to over think things and worry, but it had seen her through many a tight spot working solo, and to a degree it was difficult to escape that line of thinking when partnering up with another individual. If this alliance was going to work, she was going to have to take a step back and trust the man. And after all, she supposed, if anyone was going to know how worried about the match they needed to be, it was Deadblood, and not her. Sure, she’d sneak in what she could to aid him, but at the end of the day it came down to him and he seemed confident.

“Then I’ll just go out there with you and be the best damn valet I can. Deal?” She said, finishing her own glass off, relaxing a bit as the waitress returned with a fresh round.

“I’d say we have a deal then. If you can manage to valet as well as you can argue, I think you’ll do just fine. As I said, I don’t have any doubts about how Creaturemania is gonna end, and that’s on top for us.”

Despite the way his confidence had initially frustrated her to no end, she had to admit it did make the situation a little less stressful, the fact that he seemed to be so sure of himself. Maybe he was right, and no matter what came their way they would manage to prevail and walk away only the stronger for it. She laughed suddenly, drawing a questioning look from Deadblood.

“Heh, I was just remembering something from your apartment the other night, how I said if I saw you again I hoped it was over drinks, and not on business. Funny how that worked out, just saying.”

“I think it worked out quite well, and it’ll continue to be that way for both of us. I know you are worried about the issues with the company, but I do feel almost as confident about that as I do the match coming up. Think about it, we’ve both seen what each other can do, first hand. You really think there is anything out there that could manage to get the best of us working together?” Deadblood said, glad that she seemed to finally be relaxing somewhat.

“I guess you have a point. We managed to kick each other’s asses pretty well, after all. Imagine teaming up and directing all of that towards someone else. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of that, for sure.” Sheri paused, a thoughtful look creeping over her face after mentioning their fight.




“Deadblood?” She asked, shifting in her seat slightly, thinking carefully about her next words. “About the other night, you know?”

“Yeah? What about it? You going to apologize for trying to crush me with a dumpster or something? Forget about it, but you still owe me a motorcycle.” Deadblood smirked. She ignored the jab for the moment and continued.

“I know I wasn’t pulling any punches out there, and I’d say you weren’t fooling around either. I was doing the best I could to make sure you didn’t walk away from that fight alive. We both know how that worked out. However, you could have snuffed me right there. I was out cold. You could have ended it right there. I know you wound up making me an offer I couldn’t refuse, literally, but I find it hard to believe you had that on your mind the entire time I was trying to kill you. And I would have gone through with it too, if the roles had been reversed and I had you down on the ground defenseless. So what stopped you?” She said, asking the question that had been weighing on her mind for several days.