Home Plot: Day 2

[verynaughtymutant]

The Askani were a warrior people, their armed rebellion was in many ways the thing that defined them, that marked the clan from outsiders. And so when an Askani camp was attacked, all of its members joined in the defense because all of it's members knew how to fight.

In this case, nobody was quite sure who the attackers were, whether it was the Chaos Bringer or forces from the Cannanite government but they were warriors, they knew how to fight no matter the enemy.

There had been a bombardment, first, bombs and shells falling onto the camouflaged camp and then attack from several directions, by flying vehicles and soldiers suited up in combat exoskeletons. And nearly every man and woman in the Askani camp was trying to repel them.

The anti missile auto-systems were in full flow, shooting down the shells and everywhere there was hand to hand battle and gun fire. Here a robot man was dispatched with a psimeter, there a giant mutate who looked practically reptilian was shocked by an electrical bolt tearing through her skin. To the north a towering black man was commanding an artillery barrage that was driving off the attackers, while to the south two askani priestesses, Aliya and Hope, were leading another force in hand to hand.

But of the two leaders of the fight, Cable and Stryfe, the Askanisson and the Chaos Bringer, there was no sign at all.

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[verynaughtymutant]

All of Stryfe's focus was on the woman in front of him so he was completely unaware of anything else happening.

When a furrow appeared at his feet, he rose himself into the air above it and turned that dodge into a flying teke-powered leap that brought him upon her, his sword smashing at her barrier as he probed at her mental defenses at the same time as her physical ones, searching for a way in.

"Do you think such obvious lies will unsettle me, little Askani? I am your doom."

[starchilde_lost]

"Lies?" Rachel paused imperceptibly when she noticed Zell. One the one hand, she knew he was good in a fight and if she knew he had some serious magical mojo that could be brought into play. On the other was the fact that his mind had zero shielding and that meant she was going to have to split focus if Stryfe noticed him.

She took the leap as well as she could, giving ground and moving backwards. She didn't want to change position, didn't want Stryfe to notice Zell in any shape, way or form and that meant she had to keep him focused on her. So, she decided to take a chance. If Stryfe thought she was lying, she'd let him see the truth.

Putting all her memories an knowledge of Stryfe in the front of her mind, she opened the smallest path right towards it. If he wanted into her head, he was going to have to get through all that first. In the meantime, she tried to think of a way to use Zell to take the bastard out.

[spirited_hero]

Man! The guy's back was to him, and Zell wanted to run up and smash Stryfe hard! But there was the mind stuff. Things Zell didn't understand. Instead of giving in to his urges to run in fists blazing, he kept himself back. He figured the best way to help would be to lie low and only do something if Rachel needed him. If Rachel won, then cool. If Stryfe started getting the upper hand, Zell would try frying the bastard with a nice big fire spell.

Hiding was so hard!!

[verynaughtymutant]

He eagerly took the mental territory she let him, of course. And then his mind screamed out with rage and shock at what he found.

"No!" he shouted and all the rocks and trees in the area started lifting up and swirling around him as he unleashed his teke wildly like a storm and suddenly his mind was wide open and everybody close to him felt a raw powerful mental barrage of hate and anger directed wildly outwards. It was never pretty when someone with his power lost control and went into a rage. Though it did mean he wasn't putting any energy into his defenses.

[starchilde_lost]

It was never a good idea to let your mind get entangled with absolute madness and rage and the instant Stryfe screamed, Rachel remembered exactly way. Clutching her head at the barrage of images and feelings that assailed her, she tried to reach out and protect any and all of the minds that might be in his range. The problem was, she wasn't entirely sure what that range was and she was still fighting to keep her own mind in one piece.

She was good, damn good, but multitasking like this was going to take its toll and quick.

Almost in vain, she tried to marshal her strength to push Stryfe back, peel back his armor, and expose his vulnerabilities. And she hoped like hell Zell took the hint.

[spirited_hero]

Zell felt all of the images of hate and anger coming off Stryfe. It made Zell loathe him. The trees and stuff around him began to move, and Zell could feel the damaging physical force around him.

He moved to strike. The images Stryfe was sending him were too much to keep himself in check. Despite the overpowering feelings and thoughts being blasted towards him and the uge to cower there as it washed over him, Zell attempted to hit back. Charging towards Stryfe, Zell reared back a fist filled with junctioned magic and went for a strike.

[verynaughtymutant]

Beneath the rage, beneath the hate and the shock, Stryfe was still a little aware, of what was happening. He could feel his armor being peeled back and he felt a blow that drove him to the ground and responded in kind, pushing outwards and sending rocks and trees and everything nearby not tethered down in that direction, and for a moment the hate and rage slowed down as he got his mind back into some kind of order.

[starchilde_lost]

Rachel gave Zell as much protection as she could, deflecting individual rocks away from him so that she didn't impede his progress with a full-on shield. She'd been sparring with him enough to have a fair idea what he could and couldn't dodge on his own, but mostly she focused on keeping his mind clear, making sure Stryfe didn't take any opportunities to mess with him.

As for the man himself, she pushed the memories at him, needling at him, trying to keep his focus on her. "All your little goals and dreams will die, Stryfe. Just like you. Like the failed copy you are. And at the end, we're the ones left standing, we're the ones that put an end to you. The Askani. The X-Men. We endure and you're nothing but a footnote in a history book."

[spirited_hero]

The wave hit Zell, and he flew back. Not only was he protected by Rachel's shielding, he had his Guardian Forces linked up. It wasn't so bad of a hit. Zell got up, but staggered a moment by all the rage. The depths of Stryfe's hate were appalling! But then he shook his head and launched himself at Stryfe once again.

This wasn't any sparring match, and Zell didn't intend to stop until Stryfe stopped moving. He felt a force pushing him away, but Zell's enhanced strength kept him moving. Then it was time to unload on this stinking bastard. Zell did his utmost best to bring the pain.

[verynaughtymutant]

Stryfe could feel everything slipping away from him, feel that damned woman's words needle at him like daggers as she slipped memories (terrible, awful memories) into his mind and punches like boulders shattering his armor from behind and sending his sword spinning to the floor. Even his advanced physical strength wasn't enough to take the edge off the force of that beatdown.

"No!" he yelled again and he used all his remaining strength to grab his attacker in a full body lock, his Teke holding him in his place until he could seize him with his own powerful hands. "Not like this!"

And he put all his telepathic powers into the task of ripping through Zells's mind, breaking the shields, seizing control of it as brutally and quickly as he could and then sending him after Rachel. He wasn't beaten yet, whatever those memories said.

[starchilde_lost]

"ZELL!" Rachel called out as she saw Stryfe move to attack and she tried to put her mind in-between the two before it was too late. As she did that, she managed to get back to her feet, holding her psimitar and aiming it at Stryfe's back. It was nice to have something that could focus her power and she sent a powerful jolt through the staff.

[spirited_hero]

It felt good to pummel the sadistic jerk. Served him right. All of that hate could only come from someone really depraved. Then, Stryfe managed to trap Zell up in the air using the force of his mind.

"Nnnn-rrr!"

Zell wasn't about to make this easy, and he struggled hard. But, then he started getting hit with that horrible mental force. That's when Zell started to yell out, just about screaming. He wasn't equipped to fight against something like this. Only when he was suddenly released did he realize that Rachel had been helping him.

Zell fell to one knee. He'd been battered by Stryfe's teke force before, but the mental onslaught had hit him hard. He felt faint, and could barely go on. Could he end up nothing but Stryfe's helpless victim once again? Zell's resolve didn't die. It was at points like these, at the brink of defeat, when SeeDs could really tap into their inner power.

"RrrrrrrAAAAAAHHHH!"

Zell's fists clenched, and he was consumed by his own aura of power. He dashed forward and delivered two sets of left-right punches to Stryfe's head. Zell pivoted and sent a powered kick straight into Stryfe's midsection, with Zell's leg leaving an arc of power in its wake. Zell lifted Stryfe's huge frame over his head. He looked up, and, with a single jump, shot up like a rocket instantly into the sky, then came back just as quickly, slamming Stryfe's body into the ground. Stepping back, Zell prepared for the final blow. He leapt and paused in midair for a moment as a ball of power grew between his hands. He then sailed across and jammed the brilliant point of light roughly onto Stryfe's back. Zell landed and concentrated as the energy grew then exploded.

Zell's limit break was finally over. He dropped back down to one knee, in pain once more.

[OOC: Canon reference: Duel = Punch Rush + Mach Kick + Meteor Strike + Meteor Barret]

[verynaughtymutant]

Stryfe had just about had the boy's mind, had busted through the last shield when suddenly he felt a second mental energy reinforcing them and at the same time was blasted by the full power of a psimeter.

He let go for only a moment, but it was enough: once free the boy battered him and for a moment Stryfe thought he was dead, but finally the attack stopped and Stryfe emerged: injured, bruised and with his armor largely broken and falling off but still alive and ready to finish this.

He haltingly reached out with his teke and grabbed the sword that had been knocked out of his hand.

[starchilde_lost]

Rachel didn't intend to let him hold the sword long. Running forward, she used the weapon in her hand like a staff, attacking mercilessly. He had killed, would kill, so many people, cause so much harm and it was all her fault. Not that she would change it, she couldn't. But it did nothing to diminish the sudden flash of rage she felt.

Illiyana. Moira. Nathan's family. Dead. Lives lost so she could save her brother and all the people he'd save someday.

She only used power enough to counter his, lashing out physically instead of telekinetically, instead of telepathically. She wanted to beat him. Here. Now. In this bubble-world where it wouldn't matter back home. But she had to know, she needed to make sure, especially after that display.

"Zell! Talk to me. Are you okay!?"

[spirited_hero]

"Yo, I've had worse," Zell managed to groan out. It was true.

Though battered, now that Rachel was fighting Stryfe and Zell's mind was free, Zell could focus on a casting a spell.

"Curaga!"

Bright white lights whirled around him, and his form became obscured by a brilliant blue. The magic faded, and Zell was good as new.

"That's better!"

[verynaughtymutant]

Stryfe was many things but he wasn't a coward and he certainly wasn't unused to pain. He struggled with every blow, reaching blindly out for a weapon with all the strength he had. His sword, a rock, whatever he could bring to his hand would do.

[starchilde_lost]

She didn't want him to have the luxury of a weapon, not ever again and she tried to knock his hand away every chance she got. He wasn't going to walk away. Not after his crimes, not after the people he'd killed.

She struck viciously, looking for weaknesses, looking to break him. One opening. That was all she needed. One good, solid opening and it would all be over.

[verynaughtymutant]

And she soon had it. It only took a few more blows before he stopped struggling, the blood from his wounds dripping down his side and across his exposed neck. And shorn of his armor, and with his helmet removed, he looked exactly like her brother would have done without his metal parts as he lay there waiting for the killing blow.

This was, he thought, all life was, pain and misery and everyone doing their best to dish it upon somebody else. In the end his only real regret was that he had caused too little and received too much.

"Perhaps," he whispered with the last strength he had, "you were family after all, Rachel."

She acted like family, at least.

[starchilde_lost]

She should have paused. Maybe she did when she saw the familiar face. But there was no familiarity in the gaze, there was no friendliness, no love, none of the things she saw when she looked in her brother's eyes. Sneering, her voice was almost a growl, "Blood isn't everything, Stryfe." With all her strength, she thrust the spear into the space between his ribs. "Family isn't blood. This is for mine."

[spirited_hero]

Zell walked over and stood next to Rachel and watched Stryfe die. She'd just killed him. Though Zell was often kind-hearted, and most of the time he simply left his enemies unconscious, Zell didn't have any qualms about what Rachel did. Zell was also a trained mercenary and knew sometimes things had to be done. Stryfe couldn't be allowed to keep on spreading the hate he'd felt.

Zell wasn't about to interject himself into a family matter now that the fighting was over. He waited there standing next to Rachel.

[starchilde_lost]

It feels hollow. Empty. The only thing she feels is a feeling of... finality. Like crossing the line at the end of a long race. The anger was still there, the guilt, after all, this wasn't a "real" world, just an echo. An alternate timeline. But maybe, just maybe this timeline would be a little safer now.

"Nathan probably felt this. We need to find him and finish this battle. This has to end."

[spirited_hero]

Zell turned to face Rachel and nodded his agreement.

"I'm with you, Rachel. Let's go."

Zell hoped she'd be okay later after she'd had time to think back and process what just happened here. He made a note to mention to her, but later, that he thought she'd done the right thing.