The next day, they make their way to a crowd of people standing by a fence about 15 feet tall. Monitors rest atop the fence, on them they can hear a man yelling something from a monitor.

"Step right up to the monitor folks. Who’s gonna do it? Our boy here has never been beat, 6 years and counting. For a ticket across the line and possibly the big time."

Stan looks to Dariüse and gestures towards the monitor, "Well, you gonna claim your golden ticket or you gonna keep us in suspense?"

Dariüse looked shocked and said, "What? Me? Why?"

Quiet shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "Well the ticket was your idea."

Dariüse let out a small sigh and said, "I guess that's fair." Dariüse makes his way to the front of the crowd.

Dariüse raises his hand and ironically says, "I volunteer as tribute!" 

As Dariüse makes his way through a doorway in the fence, the champ takes a look at him. He’s just as tall as me but his arms seem a little short. Lucky for me I have an above average arm span. Maybe he’ll trip up on the climb the champ thinks to himself. He smiles and takes one last look at the crowd and waves. The crowd goes crazy as they get set to start. A man in a black and white striped shirt walks out in front of them.

The referee looks between both men and says, "Alright here we go. Champ I know you know what's going on so just be patient. New guy, listen: basically it’s a race to the finish line, first one to cross wins. Just like with all the games, your life's on the line and there are no rules. Race to the finish and may the luckiest man win."

The Champ gets into a sprinter stance. The referee pulls out a starting gun and fires. POP! The Champ takes off throwing dirt up in Dariüse’s face. 

The announcer narrates the race with enthusiasm, "And he’s off folks. And from the looks of our speed cam. The champ took off at a speed of 30 mph."

Dariüse quickly shakes the dirt out of his eyes and takes off. The announcer seems a little shocked but continues, "And the race is started with our competitor starting at an amazing 35 mph! HOLY SHIT FOLKS THIS KIDS FAST!"

The Champ looks back. Shit must have some runner mods or some shit. No matter. The Champ thinks to himself. There are enough turns, flips and climbs to trip up any sprinter. As they pass the first block on the mile long race Dariüse catches up to and passes the Champ, who seems unbothered. In fact he slows down a bit. 

BOOM!!!! The buildings around them start to fall. The Champ stands just far enough away to miss the falling rubble and finds a path to begin climbing through. “Guess this is the end for him," the Champ thinks. 

Dariüse see’s a path through the rubble. He jumps to a piece just above his head and uses it to jump off of. Then, he flips, barely missing another falling piece while in the air. The building tumbles to the ground and Dariüse lands on top just as the Champ makes his way up. The crowd goes wild.

The Champ looks over at him and snaps, "So, you got some moves. Psh, this race is gonna test everything you got; trust me and I’ve never lost."

Dariüse rolls his eyes and takes off running. The Champ takes off after him jumping in one of the windows in the crumbled building. The Champ flips over rubble, furniture, and busts through a door onto the road. Meanwhile Dariüse runs along the top of the building. When he gets to the edge he jumps down the 20 foot drop, and rolls when he lands taking off as he regains himself.

One of the Spectators said, "This is crazy, we might actually get a new champion!"

But the other spectator was doubtful, and countered, "It’s been 6 years, bro, and with no rules, anything can happen. I wouldn’t count The Champ out yet."

For the next two blocks, Dariüse stays at a good pace in front of The Champ. Man, this guy is really tryna catch up, he thinks to himself. Dariüse begins to smell gas coming from somewhere. He looks behind him to catch The Champ climbing a nearby building. The Champ looks down.

The Champ yells in Dariüse’s direction, "Ha, Ha, Ha! Prepare to fry, lowly challenger! They call me 'The Champ' for a reason!"

The Champ takes off across the top of the buildings. Dariüse looks over just in time to see a fire hydrant spitting out fire. Everything around Dariüse erupts into flames. Damn, they release gas from the pipes under the city and then use fire hydrants to ignite the gas. Fucking sick, Dariüse thinks to himself.

He calms himself, puts on the hood from his cloak and wraps himself up with the cloak. Dariüse takes off at full sprint blowing flames away around him, then he dives to the ground and begins to roll as fast as he can down the block. The crowd stops in confusion, even The Champ looks down in amazement.

What!? No, No, he should be dead or at least badly burned. Those flames are so intense, I’ve seen them melt sign posts, The Champ thinks. Dariüse rolls for two blocks to escape the flames. When he gets up and dust himself off everyone stares intently. Dariüse pulls back his hood and everyone can see he’s just fine. The crowd erupts in cheers and applause.

One Spectator said, "This guy is incredible!"

The other spectator was incredulous, "Yeah I think we might finally see The Champ lose!"

The Champ was visibly angry now. He climbed down to the street to continue the race. They approach the last two blocks of the race and there is a sharp turn in the road towards the finish line. As Dariüse is turning the corner The Champ uses his shoes as a bola and throws them at Dariüse. 

They catch Dariüse. He does a front flip and uses one of his hidden daggers to cut the laces. Dariüse lands and The Champ tackles him, slamming them into a wrecked car on the side of the road. The Champ begins raining blows. Dariüse puts his hands up and blocks the blows.

The Champ screams, "I WILL NOT LOSE! I CAN NOT LOSE! SO THEN, YOU MUST DIE!"

Dariüse grabs The Champ around the waist, lifts up, and slams him onto the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

Dariüse looks at the man, and yells, "The hell is your problem man, it's just a race." The Champ gets to his feet catching his breath.

The Champ says, "Look at you, I can’t lose to you. I was made for this race-- runner’s legs and climbers arms, with a little height to top it off. I was always destined to win this race, and for six long years I have stayed on top on the other side of the line, AND I WILL DIE BEFORE I LOSE ALL THAT TO YOU!"

The Champ launches himself at Dariüse. They ram their shoulders together. The Champ throws a jab and cross. Dariüse easily dodges, and hits him in the body knocking the wind out of him, sending him to his knees. Dariüse laughs and says, "I don’t understand why you look down on me, but this race doesn’t have to cost you your life." 

The Champ says, "If I lose this race, I might as well be dead."

Dariüse laughs again. "Dawg, this whole 'I’m superior in every way so I can’t lose' attitude is why you are gonna lose. Someone’s better than you, so what? It happens, but if you look down on others and don’t take challenges seriously, you will never be your best. Now, we can keep fighting, or you can accept that you lost." 

The Champ looks at Dariüse with tears in his eyes and says, "Okay, I have lost."

Dariüse turns away from The Champ to walk away. The Champ lunges at him as he goes to walk away.

Dariüse sighs and mutters, "Wrong choice." Dariüse quickly turns and hits The Champ in the temple with a solid punch knocking him out cold. Dariüse shakes his head and walks towards the finish line

END OF THE SIXTH ISSUE