Note to Everyone: Now that my university professors have actually started assigning homework my instalments may end up being far and few between but they will keep coming!! I also have in the workings the beginnings of a couple more stories included a SEQUEL to Family Isn't Blood ^^ They include a Gargoyles romance for those of you who loved the 1994 cartoon, and a Yu Yu Hakusho action story with some wicked demons and some sprinkled love! I also have TMNT one in the works but I would rather have the plot a little more finalized before saying anything definite. If any if those interest you I'll be posting them soon and those just need to be proof read so feel free to check them out! And don't worry, I know things were a little strange last chapter but trust me they all make perfect sense! I am the writer and I would never fail you! And if I do feel free to do dirty things in my shoes while I sleep...I may be sad but I wouldn't blame you. Please remember to review I love hearing what everyone thinks!

Mewtrainer: Don't worry I'm not completely crazy and I already had answers to those questions about authority and Lyra's father before you even asked. So trust me after this chapter it will make complete and total sense and you'll go "Oooooohhh". I right out explain the authority thing so that should be easy enough to pick up on but it's a little fast about her father so I'll write it here just in case. She's learned that staying pissed about stuff gets you nowhere so when she noticed her father was trying to mend things with her and be 'a father' she decided to give him a chance to prove himself. Any other circumstances and person and I doubt she would have done anything but tell them to bugger off and shin kick them. :P

Random Reviewer: I totally know what you mean, and though I think he's probably not completely ancient since he was practically the first being to ever try cryogenics (I still wonder how you get frozen in a pose like that haha every time I watch the movie I'm like what the hell were you doing?) so I find him still technically young. But I could see her bugging him about being old more so than letting it bother her. But at the same time I totally imagine her being pissed about him keeping secrets. :P


Chapter 11 – Defeated

"You can take from every experience what it has to offer you. And you cannot be defeated if you just keep taking one breath followed by another." – Oprah Winfrey

"Stupid," Lyra growled as she slammed her foot against the wall where it pinned down the defenceless green shirt do she could pull on it. It protested weakly b in the end it was no match for the raging blonde and tore right in half.

"Lyra, please calm yourself," Tor'ka breathed as he went to nuzzle her gently in an attempt to soothe her.

He recoiled instantly in surprise when she spun around and swung a fist at his jaw with such fury he feared she may have broken a tooth had she actually connected.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" As she screamed the words at him she severed the arm of one of the shirt halves. "Don't you fucking dare!"

She let out another rage filled cry as she spun around and slammed her fist against the wall. Tor'ka silently back out of the room as she continued to senselessly beat the wall. He figured he would instead guard the room as she hadn't bothered to put on replacement shirt after she had ripped the nice green one from her body. The dragon sighed; he couldn't blame her for being so upset. Since she had bumped into Link outside their room he had been given no choice but to responsibly eavesdrop.

"...I love you."

"What?"

"I know. I know it's really sudden but I...I just sorta realised it."

"This is crazy. What did you think would happen if you told me?"

"I don't know Link. I don't even know what's supposed to happen in the real world when you like someone. I just thought you should know...I mean I couldn't just keep it from you and pretend that it's not your business or something."

"We're practically in prison. What do you want me to do?" Though his tone had been simply confused before Tor'ka could hear the rage rising in it.

"I don't know Link! How many times do I have to say don't know anything except that I'm in love with a god damn fish?" The anger in her voice was also beginning to become evident. "But I mean Doc and Susan-"

"Are exactly the same! They both have human bodies Lyra! They were both once human and had their lives messed! I have no idea what you thought but I'm not like that! I never was and never will be human! I was hunting fish hundreds of years before Tor'ka's parents even thought of making him!"

"What?! Link you're- how old are you?! Wait- I mean...I don't get what you're saying!"

"I'm saying: you and me, it's a stupid idea! So just go back to whatever and we'll pretend you didn't say anything..."

Link had walked away after that and Lyra had stormed into the room screaming how she new attempting to tell Link how she felt was a really stupid idea and she wished she'd never listened to him or James. He wasn't sure where Link had gone but hoped that the fish ape knew what he had done.

~~~*~~~

Link groaned and leaned against Insecto who grouchily moved away from him with a disappointed growl.

"What? What do you want me to do?"

She snorted angrily.

"I'm not saying sorry. We're both better off this way."

Insceto bellowed furiously at him.

"I know! I know...that I love her too okay? I get it. But look at me. Look at me!" He stood up and slapped his chest in an attempt to draw Insecto's attention. "I'm a monster...and she's not."

He was only met with another bellow; this one gentler than the last.

"Well she should care! What the hell does she expect us to do anyway? Start holding hands everywhere and going out to movies or something? That's not the kind of stupid life we live. It's stupid. Even Doc and Susan, it's just stupid."

Insecto stopped replying to him after that knowing that he was thinking right now and the worst thing she could do was bother him while he was doing so. He needed the time to consider what he had just done and he needed to do.

~~~*~~~

"This is a disaster," Juggernaut growled to himself as he let yet another body drift into the sea. Everything had appeared to be going so well until today. Today his last subject had finally been destroyed by the experiments. He had nothing. He had come all this way and was left with nothing. He wondered why Monger had not sent his silly little monsters after him; surely the general had seen him. He had carelessly wandered into the eye of satellites too many times to not have been noticed. What was he waiting for then? Or did Monger know it was a trap? He cursed the old man angrily as he slammed his fist against the water. Nothing. Nothing appeared to be working the way he hoped. He had gotten so close to his goal only to have it snatched right from under his nose. He had let his hopes get too high once things had started progressing and that made his slap of reality that much more humiliating.

"I can't go after them myself," he growled.

They had nearly finished him when he had confronted him in New York but he wouldn't make the same mistake again. He needed to bring them onto his territory. And this time he needed all of them. Even that pathetic little human girl that always followed them around.

Suddenly an idea came to him and he almost jolted with the surprise of it. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before.

"It's the perfect plan," he said aloud.

After so long of being alone he had developed a terrible habit of talking to himself, he realised with a laugh. It didn't matter however as no one ever heard him so no one could mock him. His face cracked into a large toothy grin as he made his way towards where he had hidden the deceased sailor's ship.

~~~*~~~

Lyra had finally calmed down enough for Susan to enter the room later on in the day when Tor'ka had informed her of the situation. Susan had since returned to her Ginormica size and now sat in Lyra's room watching the girl sadly.

"Lyra, you doing okay?" Susan had picked the small blonde girl up in her and considered her with a kind smile. "Come on Lyra, you know you can talk to me."

"Why do guys have to be such jerks?" Lyra plopped herself down in Susan's hand and Susan was grateful that the pissed off young woman had finally put her pink tank back on.

"Lyra, Link isn't really a jerk," Susan said calmly in an attempt to defend her friend without infuriating Lyra. "I`m sure if you just talk to him...`

"I never want to talk to him again!" Lyra scrambled free of Susan's hand and fell unceremoniously to the ground. "He IS a jerk! Doesn't he get I've never liked anyone before?! And then he just had to go and...I wish I had never met him!"

Lyra stormed over to the pile of belongings she had slowly developed in her corner of the room and ripped the dark torn coat from the bottom of the pile before throwing her smaller weapons into their proper places on her body. A little while after their last incident with Juggernaut Monger had finally let up on all of the restrictions that were laid upon Tor'ka and Lyra. They were now free to come and go as they pleased just like the other monsters. Tor'ka also didn't have to wear the muzzle at any point in time (as he did before due to certain workers being uncomfortable bringing him anything without it), and Lyra was permitted to keep her weapons in her room though that was mainly because of training purposes. Tor'ka still couldn't understand how Link had managed to convince Monger to allow her weapons with the attitude that she had.

"Lyra what are you doing?" The worry in Susan's voice was evident; she wasn't one hundred percent sure that the blonde wouldn't attempt to decapitate the poor fish in her current rage.

"I'm going out," Lyra hissed back. "To destroy something inanimate before I do something that will get me trouble."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No!" Lyra stormed angrily from the room with her fists clenched together.

Unfortunately for himself James had just been on his way to check up on his daughter and he grinned happily as he passed her in the hallway.

"Hey Kitten, how did things go?"

"Don't fucking talk to me," she snapped at him as she slammed a hand against his chest to shove him away. "I should've never listened to you! I should've never trusted you!"

"Lyra what're you-"

"I said don't talk to me! I hate you! I thought that I'd give you a chance to fix things and be real damn father but it looks like even ten years later you don't know how to fucking do that! I should've have never let you try, I should have never spoken to you!! YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!" She screamed the last words at him and as she ran from him at that point she never saw the tears pour from his eyes and he began to shake with sadness. She never saw him collapse to the ground unable to find a reason to hold himself up anymore.

Lyra's face was red with frustration and fury by the time she burst into the fresh air that Nevada offered her. She didn't know what she was feeling much less how to deal with it. It felt like her heart was pulled ripped right from her chest; an actual physical pain. She sniffed and held her breath in order to stop herself from crying. She felt....so wounded...so betrayed. She didn't know how long she had been walking but the sun had begun to set and her mouth was very dry by the time she even realised what she was doing. She had continued walking...it must have been the whole day. How had she not collapsed? She sighed; absent mindedness and fury drove her forward. Fury...at... at everyone! She hated her father for not being a father! She hated Tor'ka for not knowing better; he should have told her not to talk to Link! She hated Susan and Doc for being allowed to be so damn happy together! She hated B.O.B for always being so happy all the time! She hated Monger for getting her involved in this whole stupid mess in the first place! And more than anyone she hated Link for being such a stupid heartless bastard!! She let out a furious scream and pulled a small knife from inside her coat as she fell to her knees and began to continuously stab the dirt with it.

"As wonderful as you look enraged I don't believe the ground will give you your desired reaction," cooed a charming English voice behind her as a large hand traced its clawed fingers gently across her neck.

The shivers made her straighten instantly and she spun around and slammed her knife into Juggernaut's leg as she jumped away from him onto to her feet. He let out a noise akin to a roar as he pulled the small weapon from his leg and glared furiously at her.

"Now when you start things off like that they can only get rougher as we go," he hissed angrily through his teeth before he broke into a devious grin.

Lyra stared at him with a pained expression on her face of fury and fear. "I don't know what you want but you're going to have to go through me first."

"Darling do you really think that you can pose any sort of threat to me?" His voice was laced with laughter as he started towards her with agonizingly slow steps. "I promise you that if all that stood between me and my goals was you, then I would have already won."

She pulled out her dirks and poised herself to strike with each blade pointing towards his throat as she took another step back. "Don't come any closer."

He smirked slightly but didn't stop. "Dearest I do believe that if you thought you stood any chance against me you would have tried something by now. I do also believe that you're telling me not to come any closer because your little human mind is racing with all of the terrible things I could do to you." He had the brute strength to take her down but he knew he was far too much like a cat to do so. He would batter and bruise her as he toyed with her and he would only end it when she was left too broken to amuse him anymore.

"You wish," she snarled before launched herself at him, a move she knew he wouldn't be expecting.

She swung her arms at him attempting to slice him open with her dirks but though he had been surprised he was fast enough to dodge each swing. He suddenly jerked forward in an attempt to startle her and throw off her momentum but instead she continued forward and her dirk cut cleanly through his cheek. They both halted in surprise though Lyra's shoulders heaved with each tired breath. Her heart had panicked when he had come at her and though she hadn't let her fear show the strain was now evident on her face as she tried to slow her heart and her breathing.

"How amusing," he told her with a grin and she watched in horror as his cheek seemed to ooze and sew itself back together. "I have to admit I didn't actually expect you to land anything. But do you see now? Do you see how hopeless it is to fight me?"

She fell to her knees and her dirks clattered against the dirt. "Oh god...what do you want from me?"

He smiled at her as he got down on one knee before her and took her chin in his hand to make sure her gaze stayed on his. "I appreciate the compliment darling but I am no god." His smile split open to bare his teeth at her. "I am simply Juggernaut; an unstoppable force."

Her shoulders fell forward with her burden of defeat. Even with all the training she had been doing it was pathetic that she had been like a child in front of him. She was so useless it was pathetic. And now Juggernaut was going to get to her family and there was nothing she could do about it. Though she was furious with half of them right now she wouldn't wish this monster on them.

"Now now Princess don't upset yourself. You're important," he cooed as his hand slide across her jaw line until his claws ran teasingly through locks of her blonde hair. "You're very important. In fact I wouldn't be able to win this without you. Right now, to me, you are the most important person in all the world."

Her eyes were riveted to his as he leaned forward and pressed his grey tasteless lips lightly against hers.

~~~*~~~

"MONSTERS!" The call rang through the halls and echoed into every nook and cranny of the complex.

They assembled quickly in the common room where Monger waited impatiently for them. It certainly didn't help his mood when Doctor Cockroach had to go and retrieve B.O.B who hadn't quite been paying attention and then got distracted counting the shades of grey on the wall.

"Monsters we've got a situation. Juggernaut is here in Nevada."

"Here?!," Doctor Cockroach exclaimed in disbelief. "That's impossible! How could he possibly have gotten across the country without a single alarm being raised?"

"That's because we sent out a nationwide alert to not engage if sited and instead call our 1-800 number...which we may or may not have." There was a slight silence at the fact that Monger sounded very proud of his number which obviously existed. "We've been tracking him across the country, following him the best we could with the satellites based on eye witness calls. We spotted him on Clarion Island a little while ago where it seems he took up refuge for awhile. We would lose sight of him sometimes on the island and we assumed he went underground but this morning one of our spotted him here in Nevada." A grin spread around his face. "He's on our turf now Monsters, let's show him what it means."

"Wait," Susan said. "Guys, isn't Lyra still outside somewhere?"

"That's right," Tor'ka said.

Link's heart sunk. She must've gone outside to get away from him and now who knows what had happened to her. It was all his fault...

"I'll go out and look for her," Link announced. "While you guys look for Juggernaut. It's my fault she's out there..."

"No it's mine," announced James from the back of the room and everyone realised he was there for the first time. His face was pale and his eyes red and puffy from all his tears. "This whole thing is my fault...that she's out there, that she even got involved in all of this. It's all my fault..."

He collapsed again in a heap of sobs and Monger called for someone to take him out of there.

"Sir," one of the privates said as boldly as he could as he passed the men taking care of James. "We've got a problem."

"And what might that be Private?"

"Well sir, one of our satellites just captured this image sir." He held the photo towards them for the group to see.

Nothing mattered anymore after Link saw that image. Juggernaut grinned maliciously at them with his tail curled delicately around his ankles. He clutched the sunken and pale form of Lyra to his chest and her limbs dangled where they could. Her eyes were closed and they knew at once she was unconscious. Maybe if he had said something different to her she'd be in his arms right now not Juggernauts.

"No!" Tor'ka's cry broke through everyone's thoughts and the horror was evident in his eyes. "NO!"

Link placed a hand on the dragon's neck in an attempt to calm him. "Don't worry, we'll bring her back. And we'll finish this Juggernaut once and for all."


Dun dun dun... ^^ Oohhhh I had so much fun writing this one and having some actual Lyra and Juggernaut interaction. Isn't he the creeps? i have to admit that is was makes him a cool bad guy is his mind games and deviousness. Alright everyone we're almost there to the end! I promise Juggernaut and all his creep and cool and evil will be explained next chapter. Ohhh only I know what happens after that.