Board Thread:The Mech Bay Bar'n'Grill/@comment-24930445-20140526230330/@comment-25064783-20140615052500

Coming around a corner, Ry saw Axin stopped at a T intersection, looking both ways as if trying to decide on a direction. Ry never slowed down. Anything to say between them had already been said years ago so Ry immediately took the offensive. Knowing Axin as he did, Ry was sure his attack wouldn’t be completely unexpected. Axin’s instincts mirrored Ry’s exactly. Instead of surprise, Ry attacked to draw Axin away from the one section that Kat and Aerli could use to get to the bridge.

Spinning, Axin caught Ry in mid flight, grappling with his other half as the two bodies collided. Ry launched a flurry of blows, but none of them hit their mark as Axin managed to dodge, block and deflect them. Axin, in deflecting one of Ry’s blows, managed to use his other’s momentum to slam Ry’s back against the wall, gaining the offensive for himself.

Although he managed to barely avoid most of the attacks, Ry began to realize he hadn’t really kept up with his training over the years. Yes, he had sparring matches with Kat, but it was more in keeping with her training than his own. In the past ten years, running the small city on board the Vextis, searching for Ben, singing Leona Lewis songs with the family, he was paying for it now.

Ry grunted as Axin’s hand connected with his stomach, claws spearing flesh to the knuckles before Ry was able to grab Axin’s wrist to keep him from going further. Axin’s free hand was quick, taking swipes at Ry who managed to defend with his own free hand, but his movements were limited. He was barely holding back the attack to rip his intestines out and his back was firmly pressed to the wall.

In desperation, Ry decided on a sacrifice move which, if not executed properly, could go badly. He sensed another blow coming from Axin but rather than block, he fired off his own attack. He knew he’d take the hit, but if his gamble paid off, Axin’s blow wouldn’t be fatal and his own shot would put Axin off balance enough for him to break free. He knew blood loss would take its toll soon, but he took the gamble.

At the same instant, both men connected, Axin raking claws across the right side Ry’s face slicing deep and causing major damage to Ry’s eye. Although the eye would be useless at the moment, Ry’s healing ability would give him its full functionality back in a few months.

Ry’s attack connected to his other’s shoulder and neck, slicing deep and damaging muscle and tissue. Axin stumbled back, the sacrifice having been unexpected. All in all, Axin’s wounds looked much worse than they actually were, the blood standing out in sharp contrast to his white fur. Of the two men, Ry was by far the more severely hurt, however. He knew he had a couple of cracked ribs, maybe even one or two that were broken. He was counting on internal damage not just from Axin's hand piercing his stomach, but from several of the blows he had managed to land. The fight had not been a spar by a long shot. Each man had been out for the kill. For a brief moment, the two men circled, each sizing up the other trying to regain some advantage.

“MOM!” Kat tore her eyes away from the fight, seeing Ilrea and Brandy sprinting around the corner behind her. “Mom! What’s going on?!” Brandy didn’t notice when Ilrea skid to a stop her eyes going wide as she watched Axin and her father in what appeared to be a “to the death” fight. “NO! Dad!! Axi…..” the girl never finished what she was about to say. Ilrea was grabbed suddenly from behind and flung across the hallway to crumple against a wall.

“ILREA!!!!!!!” Brandy screamed as her friend hit the floor, racing to her side. Her yell broke Axin’s concentration on Ryax and he spun in search of the reason Brandy had cried out his daughter’s name. Seeing the girl crumpled form on the floor, all thoughts of killing Ry were dashed from his mind for the moment and he raced to Ilrea’s side. Ry, seeing Axin’s target had shifted to Ilrea and Brandy, growled and gave chase, fully intent on killing his other half once and for all.

Kat saw none of this. Instead her focus was on the force that had just thrown Ilrea across the hall. She stood completely immobilized at the sight before her, knowing what she was seeing was impossible. They had killed him on Pelvar more than ten years before, turned him to nothing more than mere dust particles, yet standing there not three yards away: Pyster Darrak. She screamed.

The sound stopped Ry dead. He had never heard anything like it from his wife and he prayed he never heard it again. Spinning, he saw the reason for her terror, a hulk of flesh and machine he just barely recognized as a man he vaguely remembered.

Ry watched as Darrak took a step towards the girls, his evil grin speaking volumes. Then his heart nearly stopped as Aerli stepped into Darrak’s path, brandishing Ilrea’s fighting blades. The girl growled darkly, crouching in preparation for a fight she could never win. “Stay… the FUCK… away… from.. my… sister!”

Surprisingly, Darrak did stop. Slowly, his gaze lowered to the little girl before him his head tilting slightly in curiosity. Her four-foot, five inch frame was a little more than half his height, yet here she stood doing something that no man had ever attempted before. It was as if time had suddenly stopped. Silently, the girl faced the monster, neither moving, everyone around them holding their breaths, then the second hand moved once and time sped up

He grunted as he reached down for the girl before him, his twisted mind seeing a past that was too many years before.

“Aerli, run!” Ilrea’s weak voice echoed off the silence.

Seeing Aerli face down Darrak, seeing Ry’s damaged face, seeing Ilrea crumpled to the floor with Axin over her, Kat simply forgot all of Mogieno’s training. Emotional stress was the one thing he could never break her of when it came to her powers, and now Darrak would face it all.

“Kat, no!” She never heard Ry try to wave her off.

Several things happened at once. Ry launched himself across the hall, snatching up Aerli then rolling away from Darrak with her tight in his arms. They came up hard against the far wall, Ry taking the brunt of the hit and nearly passing out from the combined damage of his fight with Axin and the jolt of his back hitting. Ry gathered Aerli tight and curled them both into a ball, using his battered body as a shield against his wife's fury.

Kat also took a step towards Darrak, her hands by her sides, palms facing the monster, fingers spread wide. The chaos that was her emotional turmoil exploded outward towards Darrak, stumbling him with the sheer force of it.

In an instant, Darrak was in a hurricane of debris. Anything that hadn’t been tied down in the hallway began flinging itself at the huge man, beating him with superhuman force. In her fury, Kat didn’t give any thought to control, and the hail of objects battering the monster also battered Axin who hunched over Ilrea and Brandy, trying to protect the girls, though he really wasn’t sure what the hell from.

At first, the only sound was the objects hitting, then, very slowly, Kat’s scream built and, with that scream, the force of the hurricane centered itself on Darrak’s upper body. As her power grew, Darrak took notice, his cybernetic eyes searching for his attacker.

Though the debris field, he found her. In his damaged mind, the woman before him became the devil herself. He had spent years being tortured by Joslynne, unable to move, unable to slip into unconsciousness, unable to die. The woman had taken great pleasure in his torment, going to great lengths to ensure he never spent a moment in relief and now, here she was before him, obviously extremely upset by something he had done…. and he was terrified. Darrak screamed.

Aerli had managed to wiggle out of her father's arms, his body having gone limp for a brief moment as Ryax fought the blackness threatening to overcome him. She never saw Darrak focus on her. She never knew that, in his warped mind, she had become the little girl he had cared for in his own twisted way so many years before. Her attention was all on her father.

In his panic, Darrak ran towards Aerli, scooping her up before turning to sprint down the hallway. It all happened so suddenly no one could make a move to prevent it. With his back to her, Aerli screaming under his arm, Kat focused her power to send the blades that Aerli had dropped. They found their way into Darrak’s retreating back, puncturing a kidney and a lung. The monster never seemed to notice.

Items fell. Aerli’s scream broke through the red haze of wrath, replacing it with cold terror for her daughter and abruptly ending the torrent of power rushing from Kat’s body.

“Axin. Get my sister back. Please.” Ilrea’s hand gripped the blood covered hand tightly. From across the room, a mostly conscious Ry watched the scene in confusion.

Brandy, glanced down at Ilrea and smiled softly. “He needs to know.” Ilrea nodded slightly as if giving permission before Brandy looked to Ry. “They’ve… we’ve been meeting up with him months. They’re friends. He won’t hurt her, Ry. He.. he loves her. He thinks of her as his daughter..”

Axin had been staring down at Ilrea, though he obviously heard Brandy. His growled reply was fierce. “She *is* my daughter… as much as she is his.” He smiled at Ilrea, a hand reaching out to gently stroke her cheek. “I’ll get her, honey. Just rest. I’ll get her back to you.”

Standing, he glared across the hall at Ry, the look on his face promising a continuation of their battle another time. Turning, he began to sprint past Kat, who had been bent over trying to calm her emotions. Axin thought she was out for the count so he paid her no mind as he rushed past.

Intently focused on regraining control, Kat hadn’t heard the conversation with Ilrea but as Axin passed she was suddenly on him, a flurry of fists as she tried to prevent his escape. She was no match for him, though she was able to slice into his arm with her boot knife.

Once his initial surprise faded, however, he had easily subdued her while knocking the knife from her hand. He pressed her back against his chest, his claws gripping her neck from behind, piercing a layer of flesh there. His free hand had wrapped around her waist and, with a chuckle at her ear, she felt his hand slowly slide up her ribs to just under her breast, his fingers framing the base.

“Don’t! I swear I’ll snap your neck, bitch.” He had felt her tense, knew she was about to renew her fight, even saw the dagger come loose from the wrist sheath, but she stopped when he tightened his grip on her throat drawing blood.

“Good girl.” he laughed softly. “I wonder…. would ya scream like Jos when I take her.” His voice was so soft, his breath warm against her face. He took the time to nuzzle her before running his tongue slowly up her neck to her ear. His eyes never left Ry’s as he tormented the woman in his arms. “You would enjoy it, I’m sure. You’re so like her.”

For her credit, Kat never moved, her gaze locked on her husband as she waited for the inevitable. Ry couldn’t hear what was being said, but by her expression and the malicious glint in Axin’s eyes, he knew he had yet another reason to kill the man.

"I’m going to get the girl. Not for you and certainly not for him, but for Ilrea. Keep her safe, Katrylle. If she dies…. “ his meaning was clear and he was suddenly gone.

Ilrea had passed out, so she never saw the exchange. Brandy cradled Ilrea’s head in her lap as she stared at Kat wide-eyed. Ry was slowly getting to his feet and, though he seemed worse for wear, he was mobile. Licking her lips, Kat made up her mind. Tossing her personal comm to the girl, she nodded then smiled. "Brandy. Call LaeAnne and Dante. Get them out here."

Stepping to Ry, she gently ran her fingers down the undamaged side of his face, then kissed him softly. "Find us." was all she said before she spun and began to run after Axin.

“Kat!” Slowing, she turned to Ry and smiled softly as she backed away from him.

“Fer lack o’a better word, love.” She gave him no chance to argue but turned to continued racing down the hallway Axin had used, leaving a trail of weapons behind her.

"Brandy.  Do as you're told.  Make sure Ilrea gets taken care of.  She can't go by herself." Ry started down the hall, but only made it a few steps before he fell to his knees, his arm wrapped around his stomach. Frantically, Brandy punched the comm, screaming into it for Dante to hurry as, in slow motion, Ryax crumpled to his side and finally succumbed to the darkness.