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**New RP**

Tommy pushes his walker slowly, breathing in the cool night with a slight smile on his face. Tonight he just felt good...be it the pint of blood he drank before leaving his duplex, or the fact that his hips had stopped hurting, he couldn't say. He just felt...right for once. He picked up the pace with his walker, trying to see just how mobile he was now.

He stops after a few steps, starting to feel a little unbalanced, when he gets that feeling like someone was watching you. Tommy raises his head and lets off three quick bursts of echolocation.

Zach leaned against a forlorn tree left growing in the wide sweep of a path that wound between duplexes and the main building of the village. Between the buildings he could see the jungle as a silhouette. It seemed he'd slipped into being nocturnal now, though he could still see as clearly as he could with sunlight. The only darkness he knew of now was the utter absence of light, and that was quite rare to come by here. Regardless, here he was with what was either a case of insomnia or instinct, and trying his best not to think about Victor. There were other things to think about. His wings, for instance. With all this open space he could spread them wide, as far as they could go. The right was still sensitive and scarred. It was hard to imagine flying when he was not built for the task, but maybe there were ways... certainly he could ask again about the possibility...

A light breeze swept up the loose ends of his scarf before gently dropping them again. This was winter weather in paradise. Once again he carefully readjusted the hat on his head. Along with his simple clothes order following his... rebirth... he'd asked for a simple thing, another hat. Not just any kind of hat, either, but a top hat, universal sign of a certain doctor in this island. Unlike his previous one, this one matched the other clothes with its pure white. With care he'd punctured horn-holes into either side of it, and it fit quite well. He'd learned, though, that wearing it in broad daylight was asking for trouble. He needed to work up the courage, as he certainly took pride in what he was, but it was slow in coming after being slugged by Gaius. Until he did, he could still wear it at night.

His ears weren't what they used to be, but the shrill sound that hit him made him wince and hiss anyway. What the hell was that? As usual, his first guess was the wolf, Annie, but then he realized that she probably wasn't one to expose herself with a whistle. He repositioned his wings and turned around, intent on driving away any potential predators if necessary.

Tommy closes his eyes as he allows the the soundwaves to bounce back toward him from all directions, painting a picture of his surroundings. A mouse to the left of him at twenty yards, scurrying through some tall grass...An owl upper right, intently watching the mouse at thirty yards...Tommy could see everything around him...and for once, he just smiled. A thought came to him that he still had to work on the right frequency, as many islanders could hear the bursts of sound at his lower range. Tommy made a mental note to up the frequency for next time.

As his brain continued to decipher the message coded in sound, he froze, wide eyed. What was that!? he thought to himself as he let off another round of echolocation, this time at a much higher frequency. The bat-man paused for a moment, trying to unlock what the image was...large, wing like apendiges, reptilian head...long tail...large...larger than Tommy.

His heart began to beat a little faster as he put the clues together. The bat in him wanted to fly...the human in him didn't want a confrontation...and his legs wouldn't heed either advice. He just stood there, staring in the direction of Zach...wondering if the dragon had spotted him.

Zach was expecting something dangerous lurking behind him. He had an adrenaline rush from the noise cutting into an otherwise quiet night, and he always had to be on the lookout. He always had enemies. What he saw seemed to be an inconspicuous bat of a man. He stared a moment, heart still pounding from his fear. The other guy was staring right at him, but not moving at all.

This was awkward.

He turned the whole way around, tail swishing as he moved. It was too dark out to care who this guy was. The interruption didn't make him feel particularly keen for conversation. Was the guy in shock? That would've been funny. Zach knew he was an awesome sight, but nothing that could freeze another man in his tracks. His reputation definitely preceded him sometimes. He was itching to flap his wings, given how rare such opportunities were, but he folded them back instead. After giving the other man one last chance to speak or move, he tossed out a vague question, not bothering to disguise the amusement in his voice. "Something wrong?"

The scene from Halloween flashed through Tommy's head as his stare turned into more of a glare at Zachary. He could remember it vividly...the exchange of words...the flash of a taloned hand...Richard's blood spraying over him. The fight to keep Richard alive and conscious...that night...that goddamn dragon...almost killed his friend. His only real friend on this godforsaken island.

His eyes scanned the dragon for a moment, lingering a bit longer on the wings. He idly wondered if the b*****d could glide with them...if he could feel the release from gravity and soar. Some part of him raged in jealousy of the dragon as another part receeded deeper into his psyche. At that moment, he loathed Zachary with every ounce of his being. Suddenly, Tommy gave a wide grin, though there wasn't anything friendly about it.

"Oh...there's always something wrong...be it the changes, or the food...the cameras or the labs...something's always wrong here. But that wasn't your real question...no no...no it wasn't. You're real question was why was I staring at you...yeah I guess I would be asking the same thing...I'll answer it though, yes I will. Why do people slow down to stare at a horrible car crash?" he says with chuckle, his eyes dark with loathing.

Zach didn't miss the change of expression, and he matched it with his own grimace of disgust. Oh, this was just wonderful. Some other psychotic, lab-hating islander. What did they want from him? It wasn't like he'd gone up and jabbed the guy in the eye or anything. Was it the hat? Damn, most likely. They just never gave up. Confrontational, irrational, and unwilling to see the truth. He hated this. He hated being treated like he was something worse than they were when he was far better than any of them. They were animals, just animals. He was a dragon! Zach felt a flush creep under his scales at the last comment, though his lizard-shortened temper was already reaching a critical point. He'd had it. He didn't even want to wait for whatever else this moronic bat planned to say.

"Oh, funny. Very funny. Look, if you want to be an ungrateful b*****d you can go do it somewhere else and leave me out of it. I like it here, okay? I get enough trouble from idiots like you who think punching me is going to make me magically see things from their selfish perspective. You're disgusting, all of you. Whining and whining about how horrible you've got it. What's so horrible, huh? A few aches and pains? Be a little more mature, would you? It's not all about you here." He took a couple breaths, raising his wings a little more. He wanted to look threatening, dangerous. He took a couple steps forward, but he didn't want to get too close to the bat. He'd sworn off violence himself. He knew Sabin didn't like it, and he knew he got buzzed for it. So why bother? People who tried to hurt him would get punished... "So what, you think you can take your petty anger out on the guy who disagrees with you? Gonna have a go at me? Try investing in a punching bag or something, it'll save you a lot of trouble."

Tommy didn't even notice the hat...having never seen Sabin wearing his calling card. To him, it just looked ridiculous. Once more that small part of him...that part raging with jealousy and hatred toward the dragon...reveled in the rise he was getting out of Zachary. His grin widened at the thought of a cripple taking down the mighty 'dragon.' As Zach began to speak though, his grin faltered and his eyes narrowed. He gave off a few bursts of high pitched echolocation by instinct as his anger began to burn hotter with each noun, verb, and phrase.

Tommy didn't flinch as Zach took a step foreward, though it took almost every ounce of his human self-control and pride not to turn around and flee from the scene as fast as possible. A drop of sweat beads down the side of his face.

Once Zach had finished talking though, Tommy just sadly shook his head with a look one normally reserves for only those pitied. "Oh...God...you really don't remember...do you? Has your mind lost that much humanity that you wouldn't remember almost killing someone. I don't give two rat ******** if you like it here. If you're that deluded I know I sure as hell couldn't change your mind...but...you don't even remember..." he trailed off with a sad laugh before continuing. "Let me refresh your reptilian memory then...Halloween night...you almost succeeded in murdering a good friend of mine. A friend I had to bandage up with these! *he shows his wing/hands for emphasis* And for what!? Words exchanged! You almost ended a ******** human life! Can your pea sized brain comprehend that!? Am I reaching you yet!? And you ******** forgot! Jesus Christ! You're right, you deserve to be here...you're just a goddamn child with a shiny new b.b. gun...can't wait to ******** try it out on the first stray dog you see."

Tommy's glare could whither flowers at this point with the amount of anger and hate flowing through him. His eyes were wide with wild malice, his razor-like fangs bared.

"Is that what this is about? Hmph. I've already been made aware of it, but I didn't see a reason to apologize. I could tell from the way he talked to me when I was sober that he didn't deserve one. I don't know what he was expecting, trying to call me a pet." Seething, he put a hand over his eyes, opening his mouth to take in a deep breath. "Of course I don't remember what happened that night; I was drunk. Don't remember a damn thing. And those were just scratches, the labs would have dealt with him if you hadn't. You just wasted your time, so don't pretend to be a hero."

"Don't you know what a predator is? What do I look like I'm built for, building a dam? I'm a dragon! These claws are all part of the grand design. But see them? There's a lot worse fates than at my fingertips. Just keep fighting the doctors, you'll find out exactly what I'm talking about." Feeling self-righteous, he took more confident steps toward the apparent cripple until he was just out of assumed range of those wing-hands. Like a shark, he circled slowly around the man and his walker, flexing his clawed fingers and glaring bitterly. He wouldn't hurt the man, didn't have to hurt the man at least, but he wasn't just going to walk away. "I didn't forget. I just don't let my days revolve around this stuff. I don't let my mistakes run my life like you must. I get forgiveness from the doctors, the people who count. I don't need to stoop to begging for yours, because I don't need it from lowlifes like you. I've done a lot worse to someone once than I did to your friend. I guess not too many people talk about it. Anyone ever tell you that story? The one about a power outage and Dr. Lockheart?"

"...you're out of your ******** mind," Tommy says with a shake of his head as he stared with pity at Zachary. "Christ, I didn't even see it till now, but you really have gone insane. I mean...are you even listening to yourself anymore!? ******** hell, man! Open you ******** eyes! What goddamn grand design!? You're not a ******** dragon and you won't ever be as long as you've got a human brain trapped in that thick skull of yours. But apparantly, that's what you're trying to get rid of, isn't it? You want to be an animal, think like an animal...don't you? Jesus...I was ******** right, a goddamn child with a new gun..." he trailed off as Zachary began to circle him.

His anger flared anew at this and he mentally kicked himself for allowing himself to be put into this position. But again, that small part of him reveled in it. It wanted blood tonight...it would be more than happy taking it by force. And the thing that terrified Tommy was that he knew it wasn't the bat that wanted it.

Tommy began to grin at Zachary as he continued to talk...that small side worming it's way through to the front of his mind. "That a fact, eh? Forgiveness from the doctors? Or just a Scooby snack. I wonder. Goddamn, Richard was right..." he says. The bat-man's grin gets wider as Zach mentions Dr. Lockheart. "Oh...the good Doctor's fiance? You mean the one I, myself, almost murdered? Yeah, I remember her...she remind me of you actually. Both grovel to the good Doctor, hoping to get their treat...you're ******** pathetic."

During all of this though, he was tensing up, waiting for an attack. Training from bootcamp came back in a flash and while he talked, his mind ran through ways to adapt the moves he knew to his current form.

"I am a dragon!" he growled, open wings beating the air uselessly. He was furious. There was nothing crazy about stating the facts. And there was nothing crazy about conforming to the ways of the island. He wasn't some pathetic, useless human being any more, and he didn't have to act like one. It did nothing for him. "I'd rather be this than human! I finally have purpose. I finally have my life back. I've moved on. What do you get out of insulting it?"

He seethed at the not-so-subtle pet crack. He was close, so close, to snapping. Of course he could defend himself. This bat-person was nothing to him. Every insult he threw made him more despicable. But Zach was reformed now, above this cycle of violence. It was exactly what he was trying to stop. He held back, but just barely. His mind caught a short statement as the other man talked and he hung onto that, tearing into it with words instead.

"Oh, hey, that's right! Slipped my mind. All these pathetic attempts to 'escape' just sort of... end up a blur. But you did try to kill her, didn't you? Funny, isn't it? You think you're so much better than I am just because you hate this place, but in the end you're just as deluded as you say I am - no, you're even more deluded. Because you wanted her dead. I may have attacked Aubrey myself but I wasn't consciously trying to murder her. It was an accident. You, on the other hand... I think courts give a death sentence for what you almost did." He was grinning now, delighted in how the bat's words were suddenly made meaningless. He didn't have to listen to this garbage. The man was a lunatic, and nothing he said would make Zach question his situation or himself. He moved closer, confidently, though force was unnecessary. He wanted to make the man squirm, make him see his mistakes. Not too close, though - no one on the island was truly made crippled by their changes. He had scars on his wing to attest to that. "You should be thankful the labs didn't kill you like they could have. They had every right to, but they spared you like they did me. You're the monster here. People like you make me glad I'm not hung up on my 'humanity' any more - you'd kill for your yours, huh? Just some common psychopath of a murderer. You are sick."

Tommy just gives a mocking laugh at Zach's vehement claim to be a dragon. "You have your life back...what ******** life is this? Let me guess, you're mommy didn't hold you enough. You're daddy spanked you...or even better, you're a ******** orphan. Whatever the goddamn case, you have a new daddy now, don'tcha? He'll save you from all the highschool bullies that used to shove you into lockers too. Even better, he'll give you horns and claws so you can feel big and bad like the DnD dragons you used to j** all over in your closet. Hah!" His eyes grew more and more manic as Zach stepped closer and began spouting off about him being a murderer.

He grinned sadistically, "Actually, in all fairness I was going to kill Moreau. She would've just been bonus if she fought back..."

As Zachary leaned ever closer (but still out of reach) Tommy's grin falls back and a gaze usually reserved for a natural born killer pierces into the night. Saliva drips from a tooth as the heat sensors in his flattened nose picked up the blood coursing through Zach's arteries. The bat came awake...joined with the human in him. "You best step off before something bad happens to you," he says with cold intent.

More mocking that made his blood boil. His father was dead... he didn't have a father. Sabin was the closest thing he had to one now. The doctor both looked out for him and kept him in line. It was a kind, if unavoidable, gesture of his. Zach's memories of the normal life he'd carried on for 25 years had grown fleeting with the pressing urge to purge himself of them. They were false memories. All he knew was that he'd barely had a life before this place. Sabin reminded him again and again of that. He had nothing to go back for, anyhow. All he wanted was the safety that he thought he was entitled to. All the time he feared the next punch or bite or whatever else islanders could do to him. It didn't have to be this way... but it would never end, would it? And they'd never leave him alone. His anger turned into a rumble in his throat, which was soon expelled as a short roar of exasperation. "Just shut UP!"

He could see that strange look come over the other man's face, but perceived it as part of the man's constant arsenal of insults. Against his better judgment he moved closer, intent on calling the guy's bluff. This man wouldn't honestly try to attack him... he already knew what Zach's set of claws were capable of. That was a deterrent enough for many. His tail slashed at the ground behind him, fueled by adrenaline. "Was that supposed to be a threat?"

Tommy's eyes drift down to the arteries pulsing bloody heat at Zach's neck. Even at the roar from the dragon, Tommy's muddied mind could only perceive one thing: a geyser of blood, a fountain of Zach's life juice as it at first forcefully erupts out of the slit in his neck...until it softens...the pulses of the heart slowing...his pupils relaxing...eyes showing nothing but a dead, vacant stare. Tommy's dream...his fantasy...drinking it down until he was sated. But he could never be sated. The hunger pangs come closer and closer now with each packet of blood he drains. Like an addict, the last one never fills him up as well as the one before.

Claws meant nothing to Tommy...jaws just a hurdle...everything the Dragon represented, just a hurdle for that life-blood superhighway at the lizard's throat.

And for once, the little voice in the back of his head offered nothing to quell these murderous...animalistic urges. The lock-boxes of repressed emotions, feelings of hatred, pain, and loss...now poison...escaping through the seems in the well of his mind, poisoning the water. His entire body, mind, and soul focused on the symbol of his hatred. The Red Dragon.

Tommy's eyes become hodded by his brow, teeth bared, echolocation blasting away at an extremely high frequency. And then...a spark. A spark of himself...seven months ago. The one who had a loving family, a bright future, and his only cares being which classes he'd have the next semester. What was left of that young-man gave the slightest bit of force to try to negate the tidal wave of negative energy battering down Tommy's self-control.

A gravily voice, accented by what could only be defined as a chittering escaped from Tommy's throat. "G...Et....AwaY....FrOm...ME!"

Zach still regarded the strange look on his face as simply another insult. At least he shut up, for a time. His confidence was renewed by the temporary silence, resulting in a staring match between him and the slack-jawed bat. He was tensed up, nervous. The adrenaline was mixing with the wordless wait to create an uneasiness. Sure, if it was a joke, it was a pretty mean one. But... what if he wasn't faking that expression?

He was relieved to find that the human bat apparently wasn't going to stay in his morbid-looking trance. The ugly face, the huge teeth... teeth that reminded him he wasn't the only one packing a set of sharp fangs. The screech made was too high pitched for his ears, only adding to the strangeness of the way the man looked when he shot it off. It was frightening on some level. Deep down he knew the smartest solution was to get the hell out of there and let his pride be ravaged. He just couldn't stand for that. He didn't want some crippled, venom-spewing bat to claim a personal victory over this. "I'm not going anywhere. Don't try and threaten me. I'm not afraid of you. What are you going to do, screech in my ears? Huh?"

And the last barrier was broken. The small voice that was Tommy seven months ago gets a bullet in the brainpan and collapses at the clawed feet of the bat-man. Somewhere across the Atlantic Ocean, a mother of a son lost at sea finally has a proper reason to lament her son's death. The Tommy that was, like so many repressed memories, was shoved into an iron coffin and tossed down the well of his mind. Long live the bat-man. May he fair better than his weaker, human counterpart.

The only physical manifistation of this internal murder of a human soul was a slight twitch of his left eyelid as he, to use the vernacular, went batshit nuts.

With a move as fluid as a ribbon caught in a soft breeze, Tommy used the walker as a stand to push off with his deceptively powerful arms, sending the bat vaulting up and over to try and tackle the large dragon. If successful, he will enter his feet into a vice-like grip meant to withstand the entire weight of his body hanging from a ceiling, using his claws for support. At the same time he will attempt to lodge his fangs into Zach's neck.

He supposed in retrospect he should have been expecting this, but he was too busy being surprised by the bat's sudden movement to mentally slap himself. Running should have worked. If only he'd tried running. His legs were locked up. Too many instincts, some fight, some flight, were overtaxing his mind, leaving him paralyzed in shock. But the strange chittering from the other man just moments ago brought his own bat instincts closest to the surface of his mind in his panic, and a bat's method of escape simply didn't work for him. He flapped his wings for several seconds before trying to take a step back with the intent to turn around. It was a little too late for that.

The bat slammed into him. He scrabbled on awkward feet but couldn't find his balance and toppled, off into the grassy ground on his side. It was too much, too fast, and his mind with its conflicting interests was no help. He saw the fangs again, growled, tried to lash out blindly with his own claws in an attempt to get the bat off. His wings and tail were thrashed about as well. His scales were a protection of sorts, hard rather like a crocodile's, but not enough. Sharp pain pierced his neck, through his scales, and with it came the unpleasant and hot feeling of blood welling up in the wounds. Thinking became impossible, and he stiffened his neck in fear that those fangs would rip it apart if he moved it at all. All he knew was that he didn't want to die.

He was flying...for that second and a half, he was flying. Nothing could stand between the bat-man and his prey. While the bat was confused as to why his prey was awake and moving, the human in him soothed these fears with the floodgate release of hatred for the dragon. His taloned feet found purchase and dug in. His maw inched closer to the scaled neck as time began to slow down for Tommy. He could feel something in the distance, beating at his shoulders, but the pain and wetness that sprang from the blows were of no matter to him. His hunger engulfed him; adrenaline fueled him, and the razors that were his teeth inched ever closer to the dragon's neck.

A hard feeling of resistance transforms into a soft one...and then the euphoria came as the skin and scales gave way to his fangs and blood rushed into his waiting maw. Oh for the taste of a dragon's blood...

A sensation...unpleasant...tingling at first which grew in intensity. The bat gave off quick bursts of echolocation in anger before the tingling became a torrent of pain. Tommy's eyes rolled back into his head as the chip's electricity caused him to jerk back and off of Zachary. He twitched a few times, but finally was still.

The bat-man lay there in blissfull unconsciousness, face coated in a dragon's blood.

Those loud, high pitched screeches right at the spots his ear used to be stunned him. The human reasoning that existed deep down within him had simply shut down rather than acknowledge that he was going to die. It was being prolonged by the sudden, painful movements of the bat, jerking backward and pulling sharply-clawed toes out of his sides. His eyes burned and his vision swam, and all the while a hissing noise seemed to permeate things. He didn't even realize it was coming from himself. But all of a sudden it was off, gone, an inert body covered in both its own blood and his, and Zach was left there to bleed into the dirt and grass like some sacrificial animal with its throat slit.

As soon as the bat had stayed lying prone on the ground for five seconds Zach shot up to a sitting position, one hand clasped to his neck. He felt extremely dizzy, and the puncture wounds stung even at the touch of his hand. When it came away, it was bloody, though it was hard to tell with the color of his scales. The steady, painful burn and oozing wetness that crept down the length of his long neck were another hint. He was overwhelmed with fear for his own life. Deep down, he was so weak, so mortal. It was inescapable. But he didn't want his death at the hands of another islander. This was madness. This was the insanity that plagued the island. If he was the only one among them who could see it, he'd have to show them all. But first... he'd have to deal with the dizziness that came with blood loss. He sincerely hoped the bite wasn't infected.

Gingerly he tried to wrap his scarf around the spot and tied it again, but the blood just kept on flowing and the material made it sting. He was afraid to stand in case he fell or moved his neck too much, but he didn't know how he was going to get away from this psychopath. Luckily, or unluckily, an ever-unwelcome tingling down his neck and spine gave way to unconsciousness. He wouldn't even recall the sharp shock that followed - it simply couldn't compete with the injury he'd just recieved.