Champion

*Champion* is the tenth chapter (in this case, *Episode*) of Deathmatch. It is preceded by Breakthrough, and succeeded by Aftermath.

## Synopsis

The Participant and Mylan awaken to find that the screens on their bands have changed to include a radar, showing the locations of the last four aliens alive. The two decide to head out immediately, before the last two find them first.

The radar leads them into a cave, and they soon discover the dried remains of an underground grotto. Mylan is suddenly separated from The Participant by a slide of rocks, a trap constructed by Jahood, having survived their last encounter after all. With his Uzi out of ammunition and his Magnum left with only one bullet left, The Participant is left to fight Jahood alone with nothing but his fire axe.

The two engage in an intense fight, with Jahood suffering major wounds that he laughs off, much to the horror of The Participant. Eventually, The Participant mortally wounds Jahood by impaling him with his own bladed staff, creating a gigantic wound that finally downs the alien. As Jahood struggles to breathe his last, The Participant is overcome with pity, and offers to finish off Jahood quickly. Jahood only spits on him, driving The Participant into a berserk fit of hatred, and he violently bludgeons Jahood's face to death with the blunt end of his axe, until it finally breaks. With Jahood finally dead, The Participant begins to excavate himself out of the grotto to find Mylan again.

Elsewhere, Mylan is chased by Grendan, having survived his betrayal at the hands of his former allies, but not without several large wounds. Mylan manages to destroy Gendan's chainsaw with her glob bomb, but Grendan manages to throw it away in time. With nothing left but her knife, Mylan tries to stab Grendan in the chest, but is effortlessly disarmed. Grendan grabs Mylan by the throat and holds her over the edge of a cliff, preparing to drop her to her death.

The Participant finds them just in time, and threatens to shoot Grendan with the last bullet from his Magnum. Grendan laughs and points out that killing him would not only kill Mylan too, but the contest would be won as well, and dares The Participant to shoot. After a brief internal crisis, The Participant fires his gun into Grendan's shoulder, weakening his arm just enough for Mylan to struggle free. The Participant tries to ram Grendan off of the cliff, but fails miserably and just bouces off of Grendan, landing at his feet. Grendan throws a punch down at the ground towards The Participant, but Mylan pulls The Participant backwards to safety. Grendan's fist hits the ground, and the section of cliff that he was standing on gives way, leaving Grendan to fall, managing to cling to the edge of the new cliff face. Mylan grabs her gun that The Participant brought along, and shoots Grendan in the face, leaving him to plummet to his death.

With Grendan finally dead, The Participant realizes that it's time at last to fight Mylan. Just as The Participant turns to face her, Mylan points her gun at her head, telling The Participant that he deserves to live more the she does before firing a bolt of electricity at her temples. Mylan collapses, and The Participant, wrought with grief, tries in vain to revive her. The band on his arm begins to sedate him, and The Participant's consciousness suddenly fades.

## Behind the Scenes

Like Activation, the final scene with The Participant and Mylan was from what Asylum calls one of the strangest dreams he's ever had.