"Where is she?!"
"She's resting... "
"What have you done to her?!"
"I just fixed her..."
The nuke had gone off. Zoey had been blown towards Lalna's castle, and he had gotten his paws on her. It made me furious and I didn't understand. I was sure he would have left her to die and yet, I had to break into his castle to get my hands on him. "Fixed her? You were the one who put the nuke below our castle! This is all your fault!"
I held his collar and only his toes touched the ground but he wasn't phased by me. He seemed annoyingly content actually. "I saved her. Why are you beating me up over that?"
"I haven't beaten you," I held my fist up as if to punch him. "Not yet."
"Rythian, stop."
I looked to see Zoey standing at the doorway, staring at me like I was a monster. Though there was confusion because of it, I still worried more about her wellbeing. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, "I'm better. Lalna patched me up."
"See," His arrogant tone made me turn back and scowl once again. "You can let me go now."
"I can beat the hell out of you is what I can do!" I threatened, still holding my fist up.
"Rythian!" Zoey called, and I turned to her again. "Don't. He saved me. We- we should just go home..."
"What home?" I asked, full of anger. "This bastard destroyed it and almost killed you!"
"I know, but we can rebuild it. Like you said before, it was just blocks."
I shook my head. "That was different... Very different... This man deserves nothing but pain and I'll give it to him." Still in my grasp, I would beat him into a bloody pulp. That's what I wanted to do for so long. He's been nothing but a thorn in my side, and a constant danger to everyone. I would... I would make him pay.
As I raised my fist to do just that, she called my name again. I would ignore it this time but only so far. "For me! Do it for me!"
Frozen inches away from his face, I couldn't push myself to go farther. Not now. I looked to her once again. She was the only one I would ever heed to. The only person who would ever get me to let go. I had my worst enemy right here and yet, I let him slip away.
Falling back while catching his footing, he made distance between us. I wouldn't grab him again no matter how much I wanted to and he knew that. Still, he would rather be far than close.
She sighed in relief and I tsked angrily. "Let's get out of here."
Walking away, I knew he was making faces behind my back. If I we're alone, I would have turned back just to catch him doing so... and knock the look off his face.
0o0o
Outside, I was already regretting not beating the shit out of that lab coat wearing bastard but she was rushing forward and I didn't know where. There was a hole where the castle was and other than going back to live in that hole, we had nowhere to go.
That was the least of our problems. Something had changed in my absence. She had changed. It was subtle, but the old Zoey wouldn't have interfered. That's for sure. "Look Zoey... I only let him go because you begged me to but why? Why would you make me do that?"
She turned to me and I stopped to avoid running into her. "I just thought that fighting him would be useless and how could I let you after he did this?" She held up her arm up and I winced at the sight. No longer was it flesh but a mechanical travesty.
"I could have fixed you too..." I assured her.
"Of course," She agreed with a smile. "But he saved me this time and with the help of science, it was a simple procedure."
Praising him. Praising science. It made me uneasy and I didn't understand once again. "Is that what he told you? Magic would have fixed you just as well and better at that."
She sighed, "It's not a competition, Rythian."
"Of course it's not. That would make us equal,"I said proudly. " I just don't understand what he told you to change your opinion so much."
She looked at me, sighing again. 'Maybe what I needed to hear but it doesn't matter. I know who my enemy is and in the end, No one else needs to get hurt. I'm fine. You're fine. Isn't that enough? Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you!"
"Then trust me." She said grinning happily, "You have no reason to go after him anymore and lookie, I've got a super cool robotic arm."
"Zoey, I don't think you're treating this situation seriously."
Grabbing my hand, she shrugged. "I choose to make light of this. What so wrong about that?"
Something she needed to know... It was all so cryptic. Whatever Lalna had told her, he didn't want me to hear it and neither did she. It made me feel even more uneasy and I thought back to the look she gave me before, that cold judgemental stare that seemed to have disappeared. Now she smiled. Was it because I turned my back to him? Was it because I spared his life? Maybe for a split second she believed I was her enemy... or simply a threat. Either way, whatever feeling she had was gone now. I could let it be. The nuke had gone off. We had survived.
"Nothing... There's nothing wrong with that."
A/N: Lalna told Zoey the truth but Rythian would deny that truth outright… yep, I'm teasing you. Hey, you might be able to guess it though. ;)
