Jonas had lost count of how many times they had sex that night, but he knew that it had been enough times to nearly destroy her bed. He didn’t wake until the crack of dawn, and when he opened his eyes he could see that Yuki’s small body was wrapped tightly around his own, and he couldn’t help but smell the cotton candy from her hair because her head was resting under his lips.

He smiled to himself as he turned his head and began examining her sleeping face. Her breathing was rather controlled, but her features were so soft and girlish that he couldn’t help but feel like she wasn’t a trained killer, but rather an innocent woman sleeping gently in the arms of the man she adored.

He very carefully grazed a finger across her cheek, and he watched as a small smile bloomed on her sleeping face, and Jonas couldn’t help but wonder if it was his face she was seeing in her dreams. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t wish for his relationship with her to be exposed, so he softly untangled himself from her body, skillfully rolled out of the bed without making too much movement, and stealthily put on his clothing.

Grabbing two custard tarts from the silver platter near the lounge, he quietly tip-toed up and out of her room, but not before taking one last endearing look at her sleeping figure. The door quietly closed, and Jonas came face to face with that same gangbanger who always brought him to Yuki’s when she came calling.

“What's your name?” Jonas asked quietly, and the guard huffed impatiently.

“Mother fucker, do you think I have all day to spend here and listen to you get laid?” He exploded into a furious whisper, “My shift ended nearly two goddamn hours ago, but I was told by her to wait until you left!”

“Shit, man,” Jonas looked apologetic, “Sorry about that, I didn’t know,” and he offered one of his custard tarts to which the gang banger scoffed at him. Jonas shrugged his shoulders and followed the guard back to his cage, where the slaves were still sleeping.

“Night, Jed,” said Jonas, who had finally learned the name of the low-ranking gangster that was on Yuki’s payroll.

“Fuck off, Slave,” said the gangbanger angrily as he locked the cage and went off to the barracks, presumably to finally get some sleep.

“He didn’t have to be so mean,” said Jonas to himself, his voice was rather offended, but his expression was so relaxed it looked like he was on top of the world.

“Mother fucker, were you with Yuki?” Johnson suddenly opened his eyes and turned to face Jonas. “You were, weren’t you?” and he could tell by Jonas’ guilty expression and the custard that was all over his face.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Jonas whispered.

“Oh, kiss and tell my ass,” said Johnson with an irritated expression.

“No, I don’t think I will,” Jonas pursed his lips and considered his friend, “I think you need to meet a lady, maybe then you wouldn’t be so grumpy.”

“Oh, fuck you, lover boy,” said Johnson, who hadn’t been able to get a wink of sleep since Jonas had left. “Some of us were rather worried that you might, I don’t know, come back without a fucking head!”

“Shh,” said Jonas quickly, “You’ll wake Simon.”

“Too late,” Simon yawned, “I woke up at the part when Johnson said he wanted to kiss your ass,” and he made Jonas choke with laughter. “What happened?”

“Oh, nothing really,” said Jonas with the straightest face he could muster, “We just talked.”

“Talked?” Simon asked skeptically, “You talked for nearly five hours?”

“It was a good conversation,” said Jonas, while thinking back to that night of passion. “Very constructive.”

“Well,” said Johnson, “Did you two talk about the dance?”

“Yeah, we talked about dancing,” said Jonas. “I think I’ll probably start the dance very soon.”

“How soon?” Simon and Johnson asked at the same time.

“Maybe next week, maybe next month,” said Jonas mysteriously, “Soon.”

“Fuck,” said Simon, “I’m getting antsy right now, we need to tell the others.”

“Not much to tell them," said Jonas, "I'll let everyone know when I'm ready."

“So what?” Asked Johnson, “You’re just going to walk up to Wolf and kill him?”

“That was the plan,” said Jonas, “Ahmed and you guys will just have to make sure that his little wolves don’t try to jump me.”

“And you really think you're ready?” Simon looked hesitant. “Like for sure, for sure, because if you try to kill him and fuck up, I don’t think Ahmed is going to be able to save you this time.”

“Oh I’m sure,” said Jonas, he was feeling more powerful than he had felt in his entire existence. “If Wolf and I fought ten times, I’d win at least five.”

“Just five?” Johnson asked.

“At least five,” Jonas corrected, “Could be ten, could be seven.”

“Well, fuck me,” Johnson shook his head, “I didn’t think all that confidence stemmed from a lousy fifty-fifty shot.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Johnson,” Simon shot him a look, “A fifty percent chance to take out a top-five fighter is pretty much the best you could hope for, I don’t think even Garth could guarantee himself more than seventy percent.”

“Hear, hear,” said Jonas, he liked Simon's reasonable attitude, “This is the best I’m going to get right now, and the truth is, I’m not going to get much stronger until I escape this place and take the Hell Challenge.”

“So this is it,” Johnson looked nervous, “The beginning of the dance?” Both Jonas and Simon nodded their heads firmly. The time had come for them to make their escape, and all of their hopes and dreams rested on the shoulders of Jonas, who would be required to not only beat Wolf but to kill him.

The next morning, Jonas' crew gathered together and informed the others that the escape plan was going to happen soon.

“But, couldn’t Ahmed just help Jonas kill Wolf?” Pete pointed out, “That way it would be guaranteed.”

“That won’t work, Pete,” said Johnson, “Jonas would never be respected as a top-five fighter if he had help doing it, and besides, you think a Crusader is going to ask for help during a duel to the death?” The entire group couldn’t help but nod their heads as they looked disapprovingly at Jonas.

“Fuck, I can’t help my Sin, can I?” Jonas looked indignant, “I don't fight my nature, and it helped me become the person I am today. I need to stay true to my Cardinal Sin, it just wouldn’t feel right to have help when I fight Wolf.”

“Fair,” said Ralph, “Besides, there's the fact that you need Ahmed to make sure no one jumps in.”

“Very true,” added Ahmed, “For all we know, Garth might be waiting to take both of them out as they fight, I have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“And the rest of you fuckers will be making sure that Wolf’s pack doesn’t try and screw up the fight, especially if I’m about to land the killing blow,” Jonas said.

“Which you will be able to do, right?” Pete asked tentatively, “Land the killing blow?” Although they had an antagonistic relationship in the past, Jonas knew that Pete didn’t mean anything offensive from his question.

“I’ve got it,” said Jonas, “It might be easy to talk about killing someone when it hasn’t happened yet, but once I’ve started this fight there's no going back, and it’s either me or him, and I don’t plan on it being me.”

“Okay,” said Pete, who nodded his head, “I believe you can do it, brother.”

“I’m not sure when the best moment will be,” said Jonas, “But I’ll give you the sign when I’m ready. It could be tomorrow, or even a month from now, I’ll just know once I see him.”

“I still don’t understand what you mean,” Johnson shook his head, “You’ll know once you see him?”

Jonas knew it sounded strange, but after his fight with Wolf, and Michael Davis, he had this new feeling inside himself. It was a feeling that told him he was close to being ready but still needed more time to come into his new strength. “I feel in my heart, eventually there will be a moment when I’ll know that it’s time to face him."

“And it’s not now?” Johnson and the rest of the crew watched Jonas turn his head and look across the fight pits. He stared right at Wolf, who was instructing some of his fighters. Noticing the gaze, Wolf turned his head and locked eyes with him, smiled, and then gave a polite nod of his head.

“Not yet,” said Jonas, who hadn’t felt anything at all.

"Hopefully Jonas' spider senses start tingling soon," Johnson grinned and patted Jonas on the back, "Or else we'll never get to start the dance."

"I respect that the man says he isn't ready," Pete nodded his head, "No one knows better than me and Ralphie of what Wolf is capable of doing, and Jonas is going to need every single ounce of firepower and confidence he can muster. This is going to be a fight for his life, a true death match."

"Like an old western showdown," said Ralph, "Pete is right. Wolf won't hold back, and I know that he'll kill you during the fight if you're given the chance. There's no point running into the room with your guns out, you already tried that, and it didn't work. This time, you have to go on your terms."

"You two have a lot to say on the matter," Ahmed sounded polite, but there was skepticism in his voice, "Are you sure you'll be able to watch your old boss be killed? What about your old brothers-in-arms, can you bear to fight them?" When Ahmed finished, Jonas recalled what he had learned about the old desert warrior, and he knew that the words brother-in-arms had a different meaning for him.

"Fuck Wolf," Pete spat on the ground. "I respected him for teaching me about Sinning, and for occasionally having my back. However, he treats his boys like slaves, and won't hesitate to abandon someone when they embarrass or disappoint him. The people following him aren't there because he loves and cares about them, they're following him to inflate his ego and to do his bidding. I'm not going to blink, when it comes down to it, I'll kill or be killed."

"It's like Pete said," Ralph clapped his friend's shoulder, "Wolf ain't nothing but a hound dog, and he ain't no friend of mine."

"Just checking," no one knew if Ahmed was satisfied with their answers, but he nodded his head and stepped back out of the group's attention.

"Anyone else?" Jonas was itching to hit the gym, but he glanced at Simon, who was the only one who had yet to chime in.

"I've got your back, you already know that. I think that I've seen you perform miracle after miracle. Some came from luck, some from skill, but miracles nonetheless. When the time comes to face Wolf, I'll be ready to fight. You can count on me."

"Good!" Jonas clapped his hands together. "Then let's stop jabbering on and hit the gym, I need my workout," and the rest of the crew nodded in agreement. Soon after, the guards came out and signaled the end of sparring, and all the fighters headed toward the gym, while the dummy slaves headed back to their cages.

Nothing eventful happened during their workout, but Jonas was experiencing a wonderful feeling in his heart, it had started during their pep talk. Looking around, it made him happy to see that he was no longer alone and that he had loyal friends he could rely on. None of them had known each other for long, but he wasn't worried about time because he had all eternity to get to know them.

Jonas could feel it in his heart, he wanted to keep them safe, to put their well-being before his, and to help them succeed in becoming strong Sinners. That way, when it was time to go their separate ways, he knew they could handle themselves. They were his friends.