hey, sorry that took so long. I've been quite busy! But I've finally managed to get this chapter together! Hooray! Well... Maybe not hooray. The fight isn't over, and the worst is yet to come. Hm... I think after the fight I might just write a fluff chapter as a treat. Those are fun... Well anywho, here's the next chapter.
Vriska was on top of it all. She was vicious, taking down her foes left and right, leaving them in the dust. The only reason she hadn't made it out the door and into the fresh air yet was that she wanted this. She needed to land hit after hit on these people who had imprisoned her here all her life.
No, it wasn't a game this time. It was revenge. Vriska relished in the satisfying crunch of her fist connecting with someone's nose. She spun and ducked and kicked so fast she didn't even know what she was doing anymore. To her, all she knew was that she was winning, and that these torturers were feeling pain from her own fists. It was all a blur, kicks and punches and strikes. No one even touched her.
And to anyone watching, she seemed unstoppable. The way she moved was like a spider, slinking through gaps in the defense, taking down from behind, finding openings too small for any normal person. It was graceful, almost like a dance. Beautiful, in a way. She was in her element. This was what she was created for. The heat of battle, the wrath of enemies, the stink of blood.
Perhaps some might be disgusted. But Vriska knew this was her battlefield. She had luck, strength, determination, speed, wit, and yes, grace.
But for some reason, she faltered. At first she didn't understand why. Then she heard his voice, coming from somewhere behind her.
"Please... Please don't hurt me." That dumb, weak, stuttering voice that made her want to strangle the body it was wrenched from.
But he also had a kind smile that no one else gave her, and he at least tried not to treat her like some sort of bug to be run from or squashed under foot.
"I swear, idiot..." She grumbled under her breath, then spun to find him.
He was trapped in a corner by a woman, lean, cold, calculating. Vriska darted toward him, swerving in between attackers she could be bothered to fight. The woman wasn't paying attention to her, focused keenly on Tavros. Easy opening.
So Vriska went for it, kicking the woman's feet out from beneath her and elbowing her in the face in one swift, smooth movement. She was unconscious, no longer a threat, so now Vriska could deal with Tavros.
"What do you think you were doing?"
"I... Thanks Vriksa. For, uh, saving me."
She almost smiled, but caught herself. "Well, I'm not doing it again. Learn to not be a loser Toreasnore."
"I-"
"Don't even. I don't want to have to do it again. When we get out if here, I swear you are sooo learning some basic defense sk-"
Tavros gasped, his eyes widening as his hands clamped over his mouth. For a second, Vriska wondered why she couldn't breathe, and time was still. The look on Tavros' face was one of pure shock and horror. She noted sluggishly that the world around her seemed less stable than it had been a minute ago. It was swaying... No, she was swaying.
Then her pain sensors kicked in, and time resumed. White hot pain shot through her entire body, and she choked, coughing up cerulean blood. Her brain made the connection slowly. The woman had gotten up. She had stabbed Vriska in the back. The knife had penetrated her lungs.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Never turn your back on the enemy. Why did I forget that? Was it that Weakling? Did he make me forget? The idiot, mixing up my brain like that. Look what him being adorable cost me. Wait. Adorable? Did I think that? Do I think that?
Yes, she decided, as she fell forwards. Tavros caught her. She could feel his warmth, the rapid beating of his heart, but she couldn't hear his voice. It was all a bit distant. Maybe because she could hardly breath.
Hardly breathe.
Vriska gasped for air, but merely choked again on her own blood. Her mind went into panic mode. Her need for oxygen overruled most other things in her head. She spat out a mouth full of thick cerulean blood and tired to suck in more air. It wasn't working well.
Tavros didn't know what to do. Vriska was limp in his arms, choking and gasping, coughing up blood. Fear gripped his heart so hard it hurt.
"Vriska. Vriska can you hear me?"
Vriska didn't respond. She groaned in oxygen starved pain, still coughing, but growing weaker.
Tavros looked up, remembering the woman, but she was on the floor again. He guessed someone had hit her as they ran by, but he didn't care, not really.
"Vriska, speak to me, please. Uh, I mean, you probably can't... Uh... Just..."
Tavros lowered into the floor, barely able to look at Vriska without bursting into tears. At this point, he wasn't sure if she would die of suffocation of blood loss first.
"H-hey."
"Vriska, oh gog. Don't, uh, don't speak. S-save your, um, strength."
"Sh-shut up, Torea-" Vriska coughed up more blood, gasping. "I'm d-dying. L-et me s-speak."
"I... I won't let you die. It... It can't happen."
Vriksa didn't respond immediately, mostly because she stopped to vomit some blood into Tavros' lap. "I s-saved your... Stupid l-life, so d-don't w-waste it."
"I... I... I..."
"That m-means... run, idiot. Just... D-don't die. Kay?" She whispered weakly.
Tavros nodded, trying not to cry in front of Vriska.
"F-feel free to..." She choked. "Stretch the s-story. T-tell it with m-me as the hero."
"But... Vriska... You were the hero..."
"Th-thanks... Tavros." Vriska shuddered, smiled, and closed her eyes.
Tavros wiped the tears from his eyes and tore himself away from Vriska before he could change his mind.
-/-/-/-/-/-
John fought well, as surprising as it was to his friends. They all stuck together, fighting back to back, efficient and effective. All four were actually decent, which no one expected. Jade had amazing aim, which wouldn't have been useful had she not acquired a handgun from a fallen guard. Dave was all around a good fighter, probably from years of dueling in the roof with his older brother and being ambushed when he came out of the bathroom. Rose, while not seemingly great at combat, was fast and strong, as well as educated and clever, knowing exactly the right places to throw a punch or kick for instant disarming of the enemy. But John, no one had a clue that he was this good. He fought nearly blind, frequently closing his eyes and swinging his fists, but somehow he always hit. His feet found just the right places to put themselves, and his limbs moved almost on autopilot, as if he were geared for fighting this exact fight. Maybe it was genetic enhancements, a product of his few weeks in captivity, but he didn't care, it was helping keep him and his friends alive.
He caught a glimpse of a pretty troll girl with horns like Vriska's take a nasty hit, and fall backwards into her friend who looked like a much better fighter. The second girl stopped to help the first for a minute, then continued fighting. But then the first fell again, distracting the second. Moments later, both were on the floor, a man with a gun standing over them. John quickly turned the other way, and heard two consecutive shots in the din of the fight. He tried not to think about it too much.
The four were nearly to the door, but none of them were dumb enough to relax just yet. They needed to get all the way to the forest to be safe. Busting out the doors was easy. The group was out in no time, sprinting across the grass. John was careful not to pay attention to the colors staining the lawn.
They were closing in on the trees. John spotted Nepeta crouched behind a large tree, and gestured for the others to follow him.
"Nepeta!" John called, reaching the spot that had apparently become a rendezvous point, judging by the group gathered closely in the area.
He counted up everyone he saw. Nepeta and Equius were watching over Terezi. Gamzee was trying to calm down Tavros, who was quietly sobbing into his hands. Latula was watching for others to arrive, while Mituna plucked nervously at the grass. Cronus hung nearby, watching Mituna. Sollux paced back and forth, Aradia trying to get him to settle down. Karkat weaved restlessly in between people, alternating between staring off towards the lab and glancing worriedly at Terezi.
There were too many missing for John to feel comfortable with this situation. He realized Vriska wasn't there, and hoped silently that she would come running across the grass at any moment.
"Karkat." John waved his friend over.
The relief on Karkat's face when he saw the four of them made John a little warm and fuzzy inside. So he did care.
"Oh, gog, you guys took so long I thought you were dead." Karkat tried to sound nonchalant, but it wasn't really working.
"We might have well been dead if not for John. I, personally, do not know what came over him, but his fighting form was near perfect." Rose commented.
Karkat nodded, "If he wasn't good before it was probably the same type of genetic enhancements they gave Vriska. It makes you faster, stronger, and wired for fighting. I mean, it's not useful unless it needs to be, but... It did save several lives today. You four, Tavros."
John didn't need to ask about Vriska. He tried not to think about it, push it out of his brain until he was ready to confront it.
"Now we wait. See who comes out... And who doesn't." Karkat tightened his jaw and stared back toward the lab.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Kankri did not like his chances. He wasn't a fighter. He wasn't that tough. He wasn't like most of his friends. Karkat, though he didn't see himself as so, was strong and brave, which made him a decent leader here. Latula was, well, she was Latula. She could wind her way out of a tough situation, if she put her mind to it. Cronus was tough, he could make it out. Porrim... Porrim was amazing. He'd seen glimpses of her in the heat of battle. When she took her foes down, there was no blood. She wasn't ruthless or cruel, she simply did what she had to. She utilized her surroundings, resourceful and smart. Her enemies felt pain for only moments before they lost consciousness, and Porrim did this on purpose. Minimal pain. Minimal mess. She took hits now and then, but she bounced back quickly.
Kankri was a complete different story. He was clumsy, simply put. He managed to avoid major injury by being small and fast and clever, but he never could land a hit. And even less so could he bring himself to genuinely hurt anyone. It might have been a good trait for so some with a normal life, but Kankri cursed himself for it. He couldn't stand blood either. He almost passed out, seeing the bodies scattered around him. Kankri, typically composed and above it all, just didn't know what to do.
A man appeared in front of him, fists at the ready. Kankri didn't have time to react before the man's fist rammed right into his stomach, sending him reeling backwards into a wall, struggling to breathe. The man's right hand wrapped around Kankri's neck, trying to choke him. His brain panicked. Kankri flailed out with his arms, trying to pry the mans iron grip open, and failing. Black spots swarmed his vision, and he knew his efforts were futile. But he did the only thing he could think. He kicked the man as hard as he could manage, right inbetween his legs. Kankri had actually been aiming for his shins, but that worked too.
Kankri dropped to the ground, gasping and rubbing his neck. He had to get out, fast. He realized he was only a few feet from the door, and made a scrambling break for it.
He had almost reached the door when he heard a distinct, heart stopping sound behind him.
Click.
He slowly turned around and saw a new gaurd, this one smaller than the last, with a handgun aimed directly at him. He held it steady, like he'd done this many times before, and was not afraid to kill Kankri on the spot.
"Don't you move. I'll shoot you, and then I'll go out that door and find all you friends and take them back here. The boss'll be very pleased with me."
Kankri didn't move. He was petrified. The man lightly squeezed the trigger, a smug look on his face.
Time seemed to slow down. A voice yelled loudly, "KANKRI!" Which echoed in Kankri's mind. He heard a bang, a deafening gunshot, and shut his eyes, bracing for pain.
But it didn't come.
Kankri slowly opened his eyes, seeing Porrim, standing between himself and the gun, rigid and strait-backed. Then she gasped and stumbled backward, sinking to the floor in front of him. Kankri stared in shock for a moment, then dropped to his knees.
"Porrim! No... Oh gog, no. Porrim?"
She grimaced, pulling a hand away from her stomach. It was coated in jade-green blood, which made Kankri feel sick. The man handling the gun stared at them, shocked.
"We're getting you out of here, okay?" Kankri attempted to pull Porrim towards the door, but she wasn't complying.
"I'll slow you down. I want you to go." Porrim said through gritted teeth.
"I'm not leaving you behind," Kankri responded, sounding hysterical.
"Kanny."
"Porrim, that's not what friends do. I can't just... I can't just leave you here!"
"Yes... You can." Porrim took deep, heavy breaths, trying not to seem like she was in too much pain.
Kankri was teetering on the edge of panic. "I will not leave you behind."
"KANKRI VANTAS YOU HAD BETTER RUN RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME-"
"Porrim..." Kankri interrupted quietly, "I'm so, so sorry. I wont forget you."
He dropped to his knees again and wrapped his arms around Porrim in a tearful goodbye hug, then stood up and bolted out the door, trying not to look back.
WELL... That happened. This is not exactly what I planned on originally, but then my head kind of just went, "Well we know Porrim is gonna die, let's make it as heroic as possible. She should Be protecting Kankri. Oh! She could take a bullet for him, yeah." Anyways, tell my your thoughts! I love to hear them! They make me want to put my whole heart and soul into writing. Feedback is the lifeblood of an author, I've decided.
