We open onto an aquarium view, with several fish swimming behind the glass. Yellow Python looks at it.
“There’s something special about the oceans. Whole worlds floating beneath the waves. Beneath the salty layers of water, life thrives unlike anything else. Corals that hold the colors of the rainbow. Fish of all shapes and sizes. For some, it’s a paradise.”
The aquarium stirs, and fish scatter as a shark swims into view behind him. It bites down on one too slow to escape.
“But the waves hide deadly secrets. It’s a fish eat fish world, and the monsters down there trade in only one thing:blood.”
“At least, that’s what you’ve always said. Out of all of us, you were the hungriest for blood. If there was weakness, you were the first to hound in on it. From training to our first missions out in the Sanctuary, you had that knack of sensing weakness. Smelling the blood in the water.”
“That turned, more often than not, to me. It’s hard not to remember each blow, the times where I wasn’t strong enough and you struck like your namesake. Rough, violent, and bloodthirsty. Didn’t matter that I hadn’t been there the longest, had the least experience. All you could see was that red, and you struck.”
He turns from the aquarium, facing away as something suddenly lunges out from the blue depths. Long and serpentine, it grabs the shark and pulls it out of view with a plume of red blood.
“There’s always a bigger fish though. You’ve sat on the bylines as I charged forward into the world of OSW. You struck where you saw your opportunity, hunting for brief moments while I went in again and again. I’ve gotten stronger with each foe, honed in all of my skills. I’m no longer that greenhorn in the training rings, that foolish kid making those mistakes.”
“I’ve grown. Sharper teeth, thicker skin. More knowledge.”
“When it comes to the natural world, we both learned that it didn’t matter how big or how strong someone was. If you were able to adapt, be more clever than your foe, you could overcome anything. Even rows of deadly teeth and strength to match.”
“So don’t hold back, got it? I’m not what you’re used to. You may be my brother, but that just means I get to work out all those paybacks I owe you. These lessons, against foes like the ACA, the Uprising, all of them have pushed me beyond what I thought I could do. What I could take. What I really am.”
“I am a fighter. Someone who isn’t afraid of flying high, or falling face first into the dirt. Someone who can take a beating for weeks while his brothers dally to come save him. Someone who gets back up, and keeps at it until their target is really and truly down.”
“So you best be ready. That blood you smell off of me isn’t mine.”
“It’ll be yours soon enough.”