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Heat, unbearable heat, stifling heat. An ever-present miasma, thick in the air and his lungs, turning each breath ragged and every step into a labor. But regardless of it all he ran on, pounding steps sounding on the metal walkway as he crossed it and countless more like it. Everything was secondary, unimportant next to his ultimate goal; somewhere in the recesses of his mind, in some reason where logic still held sway, he reasoned there would be time to rest later, time for exhaustion, and plenty of it. So for now, a singular focus would suffice. One step, two steps, however many steps til the finish line it took, with nothing in between mattering.

 

Almost there…

 

A turn inward, to a tunnel near the factory’s bottom. The boy allowed himself a quick grin; he was close, so close now. The furnace was a straight run from here; with that knowledge in mind he put on a burst of speed, goal almost in sight. If there was one luxury he could be grateful for it was the conspicuous lack of enemies or obstacles in his path. Considering how knee-deep he’d been in the things the last time he braved this deathtrap, he doubted it was a coincidence. More likely than not a taunt from Prometheus, as if he needed any more reasons to want his ass taken down. Everything came down to this; the twisted mentoring, the barbs and insults they’d exchanged, his death and rebirth, this was the climax to it all. And damn it all if he wasn’t gonna make the best damn show of it.

 

Almost…!

 

Finally he let his pace slacken, slowing to a stop and holding his knees as he took great heaving breaths, filling his lungs with the air they so desperately cried out for, humidity be damned. After a few moments of rest, the only break he’d afford himself, he glanced upward, determination in his eyes as he found himself face to face with a massive steel door.  A quick scan revealed an all-too-familiar symbol, a stylized flame etched into the door’s center, and easily enough he figured out what he needed to do.

A step forward, before his body stopped suddenly. With a blink he became aware of what he was about to do, a half-second after his body, evidently. Even from here he could feel the sheer raw power Prometheus exuded, the power that had nearly killed him once before, the power that he knew he simply couldn’t match. He’d told himself he’d gotten better since that encounter, created better equipment, honed his skills, and grown enough to bridge that gap with raw talent and will. He had an abundance of both, to be sure, but in the face of a veritable titan, would they be enough? More likely than not he’d just suffer a pointless death at his hands, and then what?

 

…And then…

 

…No. Another step forward. No, he wouldn’t allow that. Another step. He would win this fight, because there was simply no alternatively. No matter what it took, no matter how large the gap between their powers was, he would find a way. Beautifully, elegantly simple in its idiocy and genius.

 

One last step.  Heart steeled he reached a hand forward, laying it on the symbol. Almost immediately it lit, taking on its proper color as a line split the door down the middle, and the thing crawled open.

 

“Hello, Thief.”

 

“Hey there Promie.”