WHAT IS HONOR? by KS Claw e-mail: fantasygirl47@hotmail.com or Dr_Viper75@hotmail.com This is based on the e-mail chats I ve had along with CL Furlong. I can say this much: I don t like Darkkat, and a match between him and Viper was inevitable. I 'talked' about this with CL, and he 'challenged' me to write such a fic. The only conditions were: it must be a short story (nothing more than five pages) and that no villain would win over the other in the end. You other people out there are welcome to join in this 'challenge', as long as you follow the same conditions, like CL and myself. And, please, do send me some comments about this, so I might do better if this isn t so good. Don't forget, that this story has nothing to do with any other of my other stories. Anywho, let s start the story. As I quote from CL: Cheers to all of you Katsfans. ------------------ An explosion. A bright flash. Pain. Darkness. Coolness of salty water all over. Darkness.... Viper weakly remembered what had happened. And now, he was on his way towards the bottom of the ocean... NO! He began to move. Kick....kick....kicking with his legs. Swoosh....swoosh....swooshing with his arms. One at a time. Kick...swoosh...kick...swoosh... Air...air...need air.... The burning feeling of lack of air in his lungs, drove Viper to keep going. Kick...swoosh...kick...swoosh... With a gasp that seemed like a roar in Viper's ears, he broke through the surface of the water and breathed in the sweet, oh so wonderful sweet air. *Gasp* Air... Viper coughed up some saltwater and slowly swam to shore. There, he collapsed on the beach, the cool, salty water flushing over his body and stinging in the wounds he had gotten. Darkkat. Viper clenched his fists. Darkkat had betrayed Viper and the Metallikats. And brought them all into this mess... that had nearly gotten them all killed! "If he wasss here thisss minute, I would...." Viper growled and pounded his left fist into the wet sand beneath him. "You would what!?" a deep voice rumbled. Viper weakly looked up as a huge shadow fell upon him. It was none other than Darkkat. Viper gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "You know what I would do. But, right now...." he said as he slowly got up. "I am not able, or in the mood for a fight!" He turned and slowly began to walk away along the beach. Darkkat's voice bellowed after him. "That's typical for you, Viper! Always run like a coward when things become to hot for you!! The weak coward you are!!!" Viper stopped. He stood with his back toward Darkkat, but he could feel the purple kat approaching. "Oh, did I hit a weak spot? Tough!!" Darkkat hissed. Viper stood stiff. He clenched and opened his fists. "But, I guess it has always been like that with you!" Darkkat kept going. "A coward. A traitor. A simple piece of filth, who has never and will never learn the meaning of honor.." Viper's clenched fists quivered. Then.... *PUNCH*!! "ARGH!!" Darkkat howled, more in surprise than pain as he fell onto the sand. Viper stood, tail waving crazily behind him, fists clenched, the right one stained alittle with blood. Darkkat's blood. Darkkat felt his nose bleed and covered it with one of his hands and then looked at it. "No honor!!??" Viper spat. "Look who'ssss talking about honor!! The sssame who dared to even *think* he could outtrick *ME*! Me, Dr. Viper!!" Viper chuckled darkly. "You wouldn t know honor, even if it ssstood and spit in you eye!! AUGH!!!" Viper cried out as Darkkat kicked out with his leg and hit Viper in the stomach, sending him flying backwards and out in the water. Darkkat jumped up and took a fighting stance. Viper came back up, coughing and fuming. Darkkat sneered. "You foolish reptile!!" he bellowed. "You really think I am just gonna stand like a fool, and get a lesson from you about honor? FORGET IT!!!!" He ran out into the water and hit after Viper, and hit him in the face, sending him underwater again. Viper gasped as he got his head above water again, but just before he could get to his feet, Darkkat grabbed him by the shoulders and pressed him hard underwater. "Now, let s see how the good doctor can take a little saltwater!!" The purple kat grinned evilly. Viper sprawled in Darkkat's strong grip, his lungs screaming like a banshee for air. Air! Need air!! *SLAM*!! Darkkat yelped as Viper's powerful tail slapped his feet out from under him, sending him into the cold saltwater. Viper got free of Darkkat's grip, and swallowed the air into his lungs. "*That* was a very sssstupid move!!" Viper snarled and jumped onto Darkkat's back and locked the purple kat's head in a tight armlock. Darkkat gasped for air, nearly not able to breathe. Viper gritted his teeth and hissed into Darkkat's ear. "It issss *you* who doesn t know what real honor issss." Darkkat snarled and jammed his elbow into Viper's abdomen. Viper gasped in pain and his grip slackened. Darkkat took the opportunity to grab Viper by the head and send him flying up on the beach, where he landed hard in the sand with an "OURF!!" Darkkat broke through the waves like a enraged sea monster and pressed Viper's face down in the sand, squeezing the air out of his lungs by pressing his knee into Viper's back by the shoulders. Viper cried out in pain as Darkkat began to punch him. "No real honor, huh? I guess it s MY turn to teach you a lesson in real honor!!!" Viper sprawled beneath Darkkat and then shot out with his left arm, smashing it hard into Darkkat's knee-cap. Darkkat yelped as Viper hit a muscle, causing his leg to go limp. Viper slammed hard with his tail, striking Darkkat in his back and managing to push the purple kat away from him. Darkkat fell over on his back and clutched his knee, growling in pain. "Viper, you blasted...." *PUNCH* *KICK* *SLAM* Darkkat cried out in pain as Viper punched him in the face, kicked him in the stomach, and slammed him over with his tail. Darkkat tried to get up, but once again, his face connected with Viper's tail. It sent him flying over the sand, in which the back of his head hit a rock, knocking him out. Viper stood, panting. His eyes glinting even brighter than the sun, his claws fully sheathed. He then took one deep breath. It hurt to breath. Darkkat had kept him underwater a little too long. "I could kill you now, Darkkat," he muttered, glaring angrily at the knocked out megalomaniac. "But, I won t. You're lucky, I ain t one of thossssse who kill without thinking....without honor. I d rather sssave thisss for another day." Then, he turned and walked away. -------------------- Date: August 26th. 2:20 am It s two hours and twenty minutes past midnight. I don t really care about it. There have been many times when I have spent hours working on new chemicals, analysing DNA and such, from dusk till dawn and vice versa. But tonight, I have different things to think about. Namely this so- called thing called honor. What is honor exactly? Pff. It s like asking about what the purpose of life is. But, really, what *is* true honor? To be frank, I have no clue. I listen as the rain falls outside my hideaway. It sounds like a thousand impatient, drumming fingers. Dat dat dat dat dat. Normally, I don t bother with that sound. But, tonight, I have alot to think about. What is true honor? It s such a strange thing. Honor. Honor makes us feel like something. Makes us feel high and mighty. Makes us feel like gods? I don t really know anymore. This thing called honor. Why do we bother? In the Dark Ages, in England, Japan, China, India and such places, honor had a great influence for the person who fought for honor, and for his or her family. Dishonor could be a katastrophe. But, today, honor is a different thing. Today, dishonor is the same thing as saying "Oh you did bad, shame on you!". Pfff. The thought disgusts me. I begin listening to the rain again. The sound makes me feel rather drowsy. Today, I fought a battle. I didn t win it though. And, Darkkat didn t lose, though he might think he did. So what? He would only have lost if I had bothered to kill him. That gives me more to ponder about. *Why* didn t I kill Darkkat? I had the chance. He was knocked out, laying in the sand, defenseless like a newborn kitten. Maybe it s because I am a true fighter? A true fighter sticks with his honor, and never kills his enemy while he is down, too weak, or knocked out in this case. Let him live, and he will have dishonor on his head. I guess it s like that with Darkkat now. Nah, I don t think it s dishonor he got. I d more call it a headache. There will be another day, another fight, to make me able to ponder about true honor. This is Elrod Purvis, A.K.A Dr. Viper, signing off. ---------------------- Author's last note: You people know the mail. Comments, flames, and all the yadda will be accepted. Ta till next time.