So, before we begin, I just want to apologise for how long the wait has been for this chapter to come out. I moved house a few weeks ago and the moving process has been highly stressful and tiring. Also, I've started a new job with completely different hours from what I was working previously, so I've been struggling to get back into the routine of writing regularly. However, I intend to at least update everything once a week starting next week.
Anyway, let's get on with the chapter.
-X-
If one was to wander across the alleyway at any point in the day, no matter what profession they worked in, no matter what horrors they had seen, none would have been prepared for the sight that greeted them. There were many things that no matter what experiences one had gone through, one could not be prepared for.
This was one of them.
The alleyway was caked in blood and not just a few splatters and puddles here and there. No, it was like someone had gotten dozens of paint buckets and thrown them all over the alley walls and floor drowning them in a thick, crimson red that streamed down the walls like a waterfall.
That alone was not all though.
Scattered around were dozens of teeth, belonging to what one could only assume belonged to a large group of people as there were too many for two people. Chunks of flesh and muscle, some still attached to bone were strewn across the floor, some still twitching as if still in the midst of moving. Eyes hung from loose sections in the wall or from the top of bins, a number of adam apples and pieces of an organ that were still steaming in the cool winter air.
It was a horrifying scene to bare witness to, one that would have many who came across it unable to withhold the urge to empty their stomachs. That was if they managed to approach without being affected by the stench that surrounded it.
However, if one did, they would think they had come across the sight of what could only be the butchering sight of dozens of people. There was too much for a single person to have been the victim of such a heinous crime.
Yet, dead centre, feet splashing in the small pond of blood, were two figures still in the midst of a brutal and vicious fight that should have ended the moment it began. Neither fought in a conventional manner, almost perfect replicas of one another as they fought without any sense of self-preservation.
Silver claws protruding from between knuckles flashed in the night, cutting through flesh and bone with ease, blood spraying from the wound like a fountain. Yet elected no sound of pain, as claws came round and tore through muscle with ease.
Neither man gave an inch as they grappled and tore away at one another's bodies without any form of defence. It was uncessary for as quickly as every wound formed on their body, it healed just as rapidly. There was no need for defending or dodging, instead, each blow that landed upon them was used to land a blow of their own against their opponent, using one another's momentum to their advantage in a near-perfect image of one another that seemed to result in a perfect stalemate.
For a time, it was.
But like all things, the two unstoppable forces that were clashing against one another, something had to eventually give
It just so happened to be Wolverine that made the mistake first.
Though to call it a mistake was not accurate.
Neither man was inexperienced nor unskilled enough to make an error.
They had lived for centuries and fought for just as many years, individually they had more combat experience than anyone could ever hope to match. This was not a matter of making a mistake, but simply being outmatched, one moving slightly faster, hitting slightly stronger or in this case, taking advantage of a minute opening.
It was a minor thing, one that no one else would have been able to take advantage of.
However, Sabretooth came low, claws cutting through Wolverine's Achilles causing him to buckle slightly. They healed quickly and in a timeframe that no one else would have been able to take advantage of.
But Sabretooth was not like most people.
He and Wolverine were alike in many ways, not just in the way they fought.
They had been fighting amongst themselves for centuries, dating back to the times long before humanity had developed the technology to fly through the skies. As a result, they understood how to use those minute openings to their advantage, but in this regard, one of them was better at this than the other.
Sabretooth was that person.
Wolverine tried to spin, claws cutting through the scalp of Sabretooth as he spun and came up. Yet it didn't even stall Sabretooth as he came up, claws digging into and tearing up through Wolverine's stomach till they latched onto the underside of his ribs.
Using them as handholds he lifted Wolverine off the floor and drove him right into the corner of the bin, the metal side impaling through his stomach. Wolverine groaned out, claws stabbing down into Sabretooth's neck and further to cut through his collarbones. Using this he drives a knee into Sabretooth's stomach and pushes himself off the bin.
By this point Sabretooth had healed and drove both claws into his eyes and using them swung Wolverine round and slammed him into the ground, ripping both eyes out in the process.
"Ah, I've missed this," Victor said as he rolled his shoulders, flexing his claws as Wolverine got to his knees, one eye already healed. "Haven't you, Jimmy?"
There was no response.
Wolverine instead charged forwards, right claws swinging around only for Sabretooth to step in, blocking his forearm with his own. The other hand thrust forward and dug into his stomach, but Victor just wrapped his other arm around it, holding it in place.
The two briefly pushed against one another, but neither gave an inch, Victor smiling viciously before leaning in and biting down upon Wolverine's neck. There he jerked back, tearing out his adams apple and spitting it out directly into his face. Wolverine briefly jerked back, allowing a kick to slam into the inner side of his leg, Sabretooth cutting upon his stomach with his right hand, his left hand then digging in and ripping out the intestines inside.
Using that, he wrapped them around Wolverine's neck and began to slowly strangle him with it. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?" He asked. "Still the same old, weakling that I've beaten into the ground for centuries."
Cutting through his intestines, Wolverine slammed his head back into Sabretooth's head, breaking apart his nose. But not in the least bit bothered by this, he just grabs Wolverine by the back of his head and drives head first into the ground, one hand raising up and digging into his neck, making him choke on his own blood.
"I used to love it. Beating you into the ground again and again, because you were the only one who made the fights fun and interesting, even if the results were always the same." Wolverine broke free, managing to cut Sabretooth across the face, removing one eye in the process. He then spun, only for his follow-up strike to be caught, claws piercing through Sabretooth's hand.
A fist then slammed into his face, Wolverine grunting out as Sabretooth kept top position and slammed a few more before Wolverine managed to remove him. The two staring at one another as they slowly rose to their knees, Sabretooth the only one smiling.
"But now, I've found something even more interesting." Victor's words definitely caught Wolverine's attention and it was clear to see. "It's really made the monotony of our little fights so clear to me. I'm just like a child who's found a newer and more interesting toy to play with. Do you know who I'm talking about?"
"The kid."
"That's right." Victor's smile grew even wider. "You've seen it, haven't you? I know you have, the look in his eyes. He's just like us, something I never thought possible and unlike you, it didn't take him decades to get a lucky win. He did it on the first time, which I suppose, makes him better than you."
It was a lie, both knew it, but it was said purely with the purpose to wind Wolverine up.
Scott was by no means on either of their levels, Victor was speaking only of the potential Scott had. Yet, his words worked like a charm, niggling at Wolverine's pride leading to him charging forwards once more to resume their fight.
But once again, despite the two being near-perfect images of one another, Sabretooth was just better. Wolverine got in his blows, adding further to the horrendous scene of the alleyway, but ultimately, Sabretooth got the upperhand, Wolverine slammed into the wall head first, head dragged across the surface as flesh was torn off leaving remnants behind upon the wall.
He was then thrown to the floor where he rolled to a stop.
"But you know what makes me even more excited about the kid, is the look in his eyes." Victor was far from done though. "That determination, that will, that ambition, I couldn't even begin to grasp just how vast it is. When that kid finally steps out into the world, he won't simply shake the world and its current climate. He will destroy it and build a new one in his own image."
Victor laughed.
Almost sounding like an excited child.
"I thought the good old days were gone for good, but now," Victor breathed heavily, relief and a sense of pure euphoria falling over him. "Now I'm certain that those good old days won't be gone for long. In fact, I think we might see something even more new and exciting and I can't wait."
Wolverine frowned heavily.
"It almost made me tempted to join him." That was an admission that neither had expected. "But at the end of the day, I knew that it would be even more exciting to stand in his way. To be his enemy and be an obstacle on his path."
Victor slowly began to calm down, the moment of giddiness being short-lived.
"But don't worry, even though I have a new toy to play with, he still needs some time to grow." He then looked back to Wolverine once more, the same smile coming across his face. "So, until then, I'll still play with you."