Okay! I stalled long enough! Let's get to the moment we've all been waiting for!
Lunalove25: It shall unfold in due time.
'Fucking kill me…' was Audrey's response to opening Tala's front door and seeing Beli standing on the other side. The towering woman gave a cheery wave in greeting. "Hi, Audrey! I hope it's not too much of a bother coming over, but-"
Audrey didn't hear anymore through the shut door. 'I really don't fuckin' need this shit.' Really? They got one fuckin' problem together and now they're best buds?
Yawning, the drowsy hunie turned to head back to the couch, but no such thing would happen with a grumpy cat girl blocking her path with a broken down mug. "That wasn't very nice, Misses Audrey."
"So? Fuck her! I ain't forgot about that fuckin' neck pinch! Bitch tried to kill me! For minding my fuckin' business!"
"..."
"Oh, I get it! Audrey's the bad guy in this!"
"..."
"Stop lookin' at mt like that."
"..."
"Ugh, FINE!"
"Yaaaay! Momo gets more kitty friends!"
After wondering how many monologues this cat eavesdropped on in her solitude, Audrey opened the door again to find Beli clutching her face and in tears. The redhead snorted. "Jeez, what the fuck happened?"
In similar fashion to before, Audrey found herself in the death grip of Beli, largely ignring the ramblings of "AudreyI'msosososososorryInevermeanttohurtyouIjustgotscaredanddidn'tknowwhattodoPleasefinditinyourhearttoforgiveme!"
Audrey rolled her eyes, waiting for the crybaby to cry herself out. Maybe she could milk this somehow. But then again, the last thing Audrey wanted was Beli's ghost bitch girlfriend haunting her in her sleep. Fuck that.
'Seriously, fuck my life…'
XXXXX
After a lengthy stop at the food court and a few abused drink privileges, Celeste stepped into the training bay, a hint of worry in her eyes as she looked about for her team.
She found Tala sparring bare-knuckle against one of the telepathic Nekorians, Cicinia, their apparent leader. The extra-terrestrial feline attacked without relent, every punch, kick, or swing of the claws marked by a ferocious growl that drove back her opponent.
Tala, on the other hand, could only defend. She rarely attacked, and the few times she would, she lacked the strength, speed, and ferocity that Celeste came to associate with the amazon. Her enemy never faltered, and Tala couldn't even stand up straight in her hunched over stance.
Celeste had seen enough.
Turning tail, the Norai left in a haste, not wanting to see the weakness of her so-called "alpha" for a moment longer. There was nothing to be done. When the day came that they face Feroza again, their lives were as good as gone.
Tala, after a few minutes, pumped her fists in victory as Cicinia stepped down from the arena platform with a scowl, her teammates just as salty.
"Good job, girls. Saw a lotta improvement."
One by one, the Nekorians lined up, and after giving their all for three minutes, the cat-girls had six to rest until their next turn. Tala had given each a light spar since the day started, switching styles enough times for the telepathic Nekorians to question which style was her main. Not surprisingly, they did best when their opponent had the lower workrate, waiting and defending. "But to answer your question, that's why I lead and my girls follow."
The more slender Nekorian, Misa Misa, raised a dexterous leg to scratch behind her ear. "Nyaa, is that also why your blue teammate fears Tal-Tal? Misa Misa is sure she sensed the Norai's presence. Petrified with terror."
Tala raised a quizzical eye. "Celeste? Frightened? Ha, if anything, she's my harshest critic! I wouldn't be half the leader I was if I didn't have her keeping me in line."
"If Tal-Tal says so..." The cat alien trailed off, nose curling with the after-stench of mortal terror. The Amazon cracked her knuckles and gave a satisfied stretch.
"Man, after all those spars, I feel like I could take on a hundred Ferozas. ... In battle," she clarified, noting the triad of raised hackles and disgusted grimaces.
"The Tower of Power," intoned Magog, the larger, panther-like Nekorian. "That's when Tal-Tal and the Silver Blade will meet again. Tal-Tal does know about Rogan's favorite event, nya?"
The question was merely a formality from the telepath, as was the awkward cough Tala released into the ensuing silence. Three pairs of slit-eyes rolled dramatically. They had some explaining to do.
"The Tower of Power," Cicinia began, "is where the most popular rivalries are resolved."
Tala raised a brow. "That so?" Any Nekorians probing Tala's mind would bare witness to an epic trailer full of rapidfire clips, bombastic music and the signature deep movie voice. 'Will Team Terra have what it takes to defeat the Silver Blade and her cronies and stay alive long enough to find a way home? Find out on the next episode of Unreal Tournament!'
Cicinia pursed her lips, but nodded nonetheless. That was a moment after she took time to digest what she just saw behind her eyelids. It wasn't an orgy, so she'd just be grateful and not question it. "My guess, based on the veterans looking forward to your battle with Feroza." She explained, crossing her arms.
Tala reached for her toes, hugging her chest to her knees. "Details?" she gasped.
There was a pregnant pause before Cicinia answered, and she could pick up on the amazon's creeping dread. "Only a handful of memories are experienced within the Tower of Power. There are no objectives. The event exists solely for one team to kill the other."
Tala froze in place, mid-stretch.
"That's not how I do things. My team has spared all the fighters we've defeated." After all, their opponents were just as much prisoners of Rogan. Cicinia gave a shrug.
"Tal-Tal may be a pervert, but we can see her kind heart as well."
"Tal-Tal's opponents may not be so kind," Misa Misa intoned.
Tala didn't have to be a psychic to sense the grim tone of those words. She laughed to diffuse the tension. "C'mon, girls. What's to worry? I've got an 'in' with Feroza. She wouldn't kill me just for the sake of a tournament rule. She can make exceptions. Right?"
The Nekorians said nothing.
"Well, then... guess I really have to win this one."
XXXXX
On the other side of the gladiator habitat, a certain Norai was hammering at the door to the Silver Blade's quarters. 'Rogan lied,' Celeste thought to herself, 'and that Stygian will tell me the truth!'
It wasn't the towering Feroza that the door slid open to, but rather, the lithe and unassuming Luna. But as she looked the Terran Norai dead in the eye, she more than carried her alpha's irritation.
"Death comes swiftly for-"
"Out of my way, slave." Ignoring the scantily dressed Norai's angry words, Celeste shoved past to the innards of the Stygian's bedchamber. The threatening trophies lining the walls were hard to ignore but the scene before her on the Stygian's bed, Celeste found she couldn't turn her eyes away from.
Zathra, a Norai larger and stronger than herself, lay at the mercy of her alpha on the bed, clutching her bare breasts, head and horns buried deep into the sheets as her loincloth barely hid the lewd, lapping movement of jaws. When the Stygian pulled her head free to address her intruder, rather than irritation or anger in those bright, slit eyes at the uncalled for disturbance, there was mirth and a bit of mischief as she grinned from fin to fin, her lips drenched in Norai love-juice.
"Oh, did we break your concentration?" Feroza teased, her long, forked tongue curling to lick clean her lips from corner to corner as the bare tips of her obsidian claws skimmed Zathra's bare belly, tracing the lean abdominals in a slow, sensual weave. Zathra's moan filled the room. "Or am I to make a third Norai sing tonight?"
Despite the sudden shock to her heart - and her legs - Celeste managed to steady herself. "The only song I'd sing for you would be a funeral dirge." The Silver Blade seemed more amused than intimidated, sitting up with a hearty laugh.
"So, if not for pleasure, what brings you to my parlor, Norai?" At Feroza's side, Zathra gave a needy mewl, nuzzling Feroza's leg in a plea to continue. A crack of Feroza's tail silenced her lesser.
"Rogan informed me that my team's matches had been fixed; that we had been placed against lesser adversaries. For what purpose would he lie to me?"
"Lies?" Feroza's chuckle started off slowly, erupting into all-out laughter. Luna and Zathra, sensing their leader's triumph, cackled alongside. Celeste's heart fell.
"I almost pity you," Feroza began, rising from her bed. The loud thump of her tail signaled for her betas to fall in behind her. She began to circle Celeste. "Think, Norai! If you were the demanding little child that you are, would you not kill to see the new upstart test their mettle against the champion? Then scream in glee at one victory or the other?"
Celeste thought.
"I will say that your string of victories did well in stoking the masses. Nothing makes a fight more exciting than the penalty of death. And the crowds love to root for a nuisance." From behind, Feroza reached in and leaned her rows of sharp teeth towards Celeste's ear. She stunk of Norai heat and predatory musk. "But Zathra and Luna could best you and Tala. And we both know I alone can skewer all three of you." She leaned back again, her heat no longer radiating off of her imposing form, but her pungent scent still left the independent Norai reeling. "A lucrative venture for Rogan, and a... fun evening for me." With that, the Stygian rejoined her own Norai back on the bed, reclining into a waiting Luna's lap. "Now go. I look forward to our match."
Wordlessly, Celeste turned tail and fled, heart thundering and breath caught in her throat.
XXXXX
It wasn't until Tala was getting ready for bed that she finally saw her alien teammate again.
The amazon had just slumped into her pillow when she heard the sliding doors to her room open. Celeste? Tala put on a tired smile. "Hey, we missed you today. Are you alright?" Looking up though, Tala regretted asking.
With the last of her strength fleeing, Celeste slid down in a heap. "Lies ... all lies..."
Tala was up in a heartbeat, with Amelie quick to follow. "Celeste? What's going on?" She rubbed the Norai's shoulder and slowly, the truth came out in gasping sobs.
A long, heavy silence fell over the chamber.
"Rogan haz played us," Amelie declared, a tremble overtaking her voice. "All zhis time we thought we were improving ... we're no better zhan rank amateurs!"
"We will die in tomorrow's match," Celeste shuddered. "Feroza and her minions will show no mercy."
Tala saw her team's spirits sinking fast. She had to act.
"And should we?" Tala asked, exasperated as she looked between her teammates, her stare hardened. "Nothing changed! Rigged or not, there's only one thing to do! We fight!"
"Then we die!"
"Tough shit! We fight anyway! We had our backs against the wall before! Remember the othuum hunt? What's different?!"
"Eazy for ze warrior to want to die in battle!" Amelie argued, Beli fresh on her mind. "Dezpite training, we never improved! Ah saw ze Norai beat you, Tala! An' Feroza iz far beyond even them! We cannot run, and we cannot win!"
Tala, fed up, stamped her foot. "Not with that atitude!" Her glare shifted to Amelie. "Beli's waiting for you! You plan to let her down just because some nasty asshole wants to pit us against his nastiest attack dog?!" And then to Celeste. "And you! I can't believe I ever feared you at one point! And you know what I did?! I fought you anyway! I went down fighting! And unlike that fight, I know our enemy this time!"
After her outburst, Tala looked between the two again. Though they were still silent, the way that Amelie looked away before vanishing, and the way Celeste's eyes trained on the floor, they were either lamenting or thinking. Letting out her frustration with a long, heavy sigh, the amazon leaned against the wall. She knew what to do now. "We won't be fighting together. We'll be paired off with our opponents."
"..."
"Luna's style relies on manipulating her opponent. But she can't predict what she can't manipulate." Amelie's disembodied outfit shifted.
"..."
"Zathra takes time to shift balance between advancing and retreating. She slips up, if you don't let her work at the pace she wants." Celeste's laser-focus stare on the floor hardened.
"..."
"They're predators. They only know how to give chase. They don't know how to be chased." Both sets of eyes landed on Tala with mixed expressions.
"Just do your parts, and I'll take care of Feroza." Having said her piece, Tala stalked off to bed. Amelie and Celeste exchanged uncertain glances.
"Incroyable. She makes you feel like you still stand a chance."
"We stand no chance," Celeste reminded her.
XXXXX
When Tala and her reluctant teammates entered the arena, they found the crowd roaring and stoked for blood. Alien species from across the galaxy, all congregated to witness their greatest battle and, perhaps, their final defeat.
'This is it,' Tala thought to herself.
What stood before them was a labyrinth of force fields erected into a five-story tower, surrounded by floating cameras, half locked onto them. 'And the other half locked onto Feroza and her lackeys.' Tala could have dealt with the cameras so long as they stayed out of her way, but she didn't anticipate being subject to the cheers and jeers of a bloodthirsty crowd.
Tala looked to either side, assessing the morale of her team. Amelie looked as if she'd seen a full-fledged ghost, trying to control her trembling by way of testing the functionality of her blaster. Celeste was still as a corpse, staring at the ground in indifference, mixed emotions behind those golden eyes.
It honestly hurt Tala to see her sisters-in-arms so fear-gripped. She pursed her lips. "This is for real this time. If you wanna win this fight, you'll have to fight like your life is already taken. No fear."
Whether or not Tala's teammates adopted that philosophy, only time will tell. Tala brandished her sword and shield, Celeste pulled her dual swords from her sides and Amelie primed her blaster.
When the horn sounded, they took off into the maze of death.
Launching into a sprint, Tala skidded through the nearest entrance. A sizzling force field blocked the corridor not three feet past. At her side, Celeste hammered a red, glowing red wall panel. The energy field blinked out while a new shield at their backs barricaded the tower entrance.
"A damn maze," Tala growled. The Nekorians had warned her that Rogan would outfit the tower with extra death traps. Now they really had to be on their toes. "Ray shields. If we're standing idle on one of those when the doors switch -"
"I am aware of the dangers of photon barriers, Tala Stone. Quickly - the topmost floor will house a master control board. Whichever team access it first will be able to operate all of the barriers at will."
Amelie could see the tunnel split into a T-junction along with another wall panel to rotate the three paths. "We should stay close. We don't want to risk -"
Too late.
A sizzling force field shut out Celeste and Amelie behind her. "Go, we'll catch up," the Frenchwoman called through the red energy.
XXXXX
Tala heard the dainty click of hooves, deceivingly soft given the danger they foretold. In the dimmed passageway, light glinted off a battleworn zanbato.
"Dear me, Luna. We've found a poor, lost Terran."
Grinning shadows and a bloodthirsty scythe joined the scene.
"Indeed, Zathra. Shall we send her back to her maker?"
Tala barely had time to parry the first strike. 'Damn, they're fast!' She'd thought the narrow corridors would trip up the norai duo with their lengthier blades but the cramped confines played to their advantage. Zathra would thrust her zanbato to skewer, then duck back and allow Luna's scythe to claw the air. 'They're tag-teaming me!' Switching out whenever one swung wide, forcing her back towards a solid wall.
"Submit, terran. We'll make your death quick and merciful."
"The Silver Blade will make you wish for death!"
"She can't really do that if I'm already dead, yeah?"
She'd backed them far enough. Tala slammed a fist into the door panel at her side. A sizzling forcefield crashed down not two feet behind Luna. The duo's momentary glance back was all she needed. Using her sword to bat Zathra's zanbato aside, Tala charged forward, body-checking the bulkier Norai into her slimmer companion. Luna went skidding back into the forcefield, shrieking like a bug in an electrical trap.
"Luna!"
Tala pressed her advantage. As soon as Zathra whipped around, Tala seized the larger Norai by the horn and smashed her skull into the wall. Once, twice, three times and Zathra's weapon fell from her limp palm.
'And that's why they say protect yourself at all times.' Tala grabbed the dropped weapons and tossed them aside before stepping back from her handiwork, nodding to herself. "Alright," her opponents disarmed, she marched over to Luna and grabbed the Norai by the collar, hoisting her up to eye level. Whether her heavy breathing was from pain or fear, Tala couldn't tell. "You've got two seconds to tell me a way up before I grill you both on that shield."
Luna cackled until her body twitched. "Go ahead, we've served our purpose. We separated you from your followers. By now, Feroza will have apprehended them both."
Tala, without thinking, forced the norai in for another body-wide jolt. Some animalistic part of her fed off of the resulting sparks and scream. When she pulled away, her captor was ragged. "I could end you right now, you little shit. Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"
"Zathra and I have served our alpha. We are content."
Tala released her hold and Luna collapsed, still laughing over her pain. "What sort of messed up world did you come from where it's okay to throw away your lives for your leader? Do you think Feroza would do the same for you?"
The norai was too far gone in pain to respond. 'Dammit, I'm putting a stop to this.'
XXXXX
Tala honestly wasn't surprised to see a passageway open up before her, if the tip she'd received from Celeste was true. The exchange with the lackeys couldn't have lasted more than a couple minutes, and apparently Feroza was already at the top. 'Waiting for me.'
To her great surprise though, not a single hazard greeted her on the way. 'Your funeral.'
Only one barrier stood between herself and Feroza now. And her teammates' bloodied and limp bodies laid at the Stygian's feet. Their breathing was slow and shallow, but still there. But nothing was gonna happen unless she got through to them. Tala's white-hot glare bored into her enemy's back.
"From this chamber, I control this entire arena, Tala Stone. That energy field will not drop unless I wish it."
"I beat Lefty and Righty without breaking a sweat," Tala responded. "Let's call it quits while they can still breathe."
"Quit? When there's such amusement to be had? I think not, Terran. Wait and watch. I am going to carve your precious teammates into packaged meat."
Tala's armored boot hammered the floor. "Dammit, Feroza - let them go!"
Feroza whirled around, smirk wide and hunger reaching a fever pitch. "What I desire is simple, Tala Stone - you. All of you against all of me. The lover in you is something to behold, but I now want to see the fighter. The very thing that aroused me to begin with!"
Through a bloody fog, Celeste watched in horror as her Terran leader fell to her knees, hands limp and eyes vacant. Celeste understood the expression, it was one that had haunted her mirror all night and day. 'She has lost all will to fight.'
So it shocked her beyond words when Tala gnashed her teeth and slammed a fist groundward.
"I guess I don't fully get you after all." Tala stood, fists clenched and eyes dark. "There's two women out there who love you, who're so crazy they're ready to die for your amusement, and this is what's important?"
The wall at Tala's side crumpled inward under her bloody punch.
"Part of me gets you though. So let me give you exactly what you want."
"Excellent!"
Celeste yelped as a tail wrapped around her ankle and flung her aside to join Amelie's unconscious body.
As for Tala, the human betrayed no hesitation as she stomped towards the force field and threw her shielded fist into it. The blowback from the shock sent the large woman staggering and reeling.
Then she punched again. Harder, with more rage. Same effect. Arm buzzing and hand in pain, Tala tightened the shield strap on her arm, planted her feet, lowered her center, and winded her fist all the way back.
One punch, two punches, three, another. Every time, Tala's knuckles blew back in electric sparks but she continued to throw that right hook with the intent to kill. But that wasn't the part that made Celeste's heart hammer in her chest. It was that not once since the human threw her first punch that her eyes never left her own. 'For me. She is fighting for me!'
The mechanical shielding system held strong t but Celeste thought she saw the energy field flicker and shudder under the repeated hammering of Amazonian fists. With a final, ragged roar, Tala released a sword-hand right hook that burst through the forcefield, shattering the field in an electrical overload.
'Indescribably stellar!'
Tala didn't even pause to catch her breath. She ran straight at Feroza; Celeste watched on as the Stygian raised her spear and assumed a stance.
Or at least that was how Celeste saw it through adrenaline-brimming eyes. She dragged her head around to see, and the first thing the norai noticed was Tala's armor-plated behind squatted in front of her, propped up on an armored boot as the rest she deflected and parried blow after blow from the monster that had effortlessly defeated her.
In her last moments of consciousness, Celeste smiled at a thought.
'No fear.' It rang in her ears, cutting through the pain of her mind, and she felt her heart leap. 'You truly are a woman's woman…'
XXXXX
Tala went skidding back with a grunt as Feroza's foot impacted her chest. The stygian's claw clutched her shoulder plate, wrenching the piece free and tearing her suit.
Feroza grinned, tossing the armor bit aside. "Not your flesh, but it will have to do."
Tala rolled her bare shoulder and raised her weapons. "Mad I'm not doing it willingly?"
"On the contrary. Your resistance is all I desire."
Feroza lunged once again, her speed as terrifying as ever. And following an exchange that resulted in five slashes in less than one second, Tala was forced in the backfoot again with even less armor than before. Feroza eyed her opponent's bare abdomen and licked her lips.
But Tala wasn't done. "Wanna try that again?"
The Stygian's grin widened from fin to fin. "Gladly."
Another clash led to another exchange, but this time, Tala held firm. She thrusted at Feroza's own exposed abdomen as her opponent's blade sailed over her tilted head. Tala retreated with a smirk. "Data collected."
The wound was mostly superficial, given Feroza's much greater size, but despite the thick, burgundy liquid that began to flow, the Stygian grinned.
XXXXX
This is a game of milliseconds.
Feroza, so fast and overwhelming, spent her time rushing past Tala's defense, taking a piece away each time. After again landing her claws upon Tala's flesh when her spear glanced off the terran's shield, Feroza saw a break in Tala's composure. She started chasing for the finish. She got hungry for it. Her confidence was so high, relentlessly dismantling her opponent, the killing intent as she licked her lips was palpable.
When one invests more power, even if they use clinical form, movements have more load-up, the expression changes, which gives off a more readable intent. That one moment where Feroza grew needy for the kill, that animalistic intent to kill, that hunger was coming off of her in droves, growing with every droplet of terran blood that met the battlefield.
Raising her shield on the backfoot, it may have appeared that Tala was just trying to stay safe, but she was also reading the head movement of Feroza as she attacked. The Silver Blade was so fast, but she was also so sure as her spear thrusted for its target, that she threw herself into her attack. Feroza knew it was going to land.
The look in Tala's eyes, not at all of a creature that had been cornered. It doesn't matter how much you hurt Tala Stone. Here, in this moment, when the lover is away and the fighter comes out to play, you see her true nature.
Tala, an apex beast, ready to feast.
A wolf's eyes clearly emanate their intent. You know instantly that this beast exists to take the life of another creature. It's neither good nor evil. It simply is, in accordance with its status in nature's hierarchy.
Tala's eyes widened, seeing this giant, nightmarish creature possessing a clear intent to kill. There was no fear in Tala's eyes. There was no anger. Like a wolf at the top. It just is, in accordance with its nature. She just knows Feroza's next move, alongside the head movement and hand position, whipping her tail and planting her feet.
With a side-step parry and only a slight load-up, the edge of Tala's sword caught the side of Feroza's face, on the half-step stepping out.
That one moment, was all she needed.
That one moment, where Feroza did not respect her looking for the kill herself.
Almost tragic for Feroza. She herself acknowledged, nurtured Tala's potential through continuously sparing her, and the interest she took in the amazon as they explored one another's mind and body over and over and over. Like Celeste upon their first meeting, she should've just broken her before that could happen. But in the end, Feroza got what she wanted.
The best fight, and someone who could deliver it.
XXXXX
It was a game of milliseconds, and it ended with the thrust of a blade and a spray of blood.
Feroza's body fell with a thunderous crash.
The silence blanketing the audience was deafening. Tala found herself alone, only her winded panting and the rush of blood in her ears.
Then -
Terran, Terran, Terran!
The cheer grew into a reverberating applause, a welcoming cheer to the newly-crowned champion. Tala's delirious brain barely registered the adorations.
'Huh...that's nice…' Drained of blood and stamina, she followed Feroza's lead and wobbled off her feet, ready to slam into cold steel.
Instead, she found her fall intercepted, caught in the heavenly embrace of warm, blue arms.
"Tala…" Celeste's melodious voice was the last thing her conscious mind heard. "My Tala. I take you as my alpha. This life is yours."
So, partially in part due to a busted laptop and the process to getting a new one, and mostly by working on so many other projects, I found this chapter really difficult to finish. I had so many ideas for this chapter, but no idea how include them all. But after you absorb the right things, you tend to get inspred to go a certain way. I do hope you guys enjoyed this, and that this was a worthy finish to this bout.
But I always look for improvement, and I am receptive to critique, constructive or otherwise. As always, if there's a part you don't like, a part you feel you don't like but can't pin it down, or simply a part you think could have been improved, maybe we can help each other out. "The road to truth is paved with the bodies of the ignorant." -Miyamoto Musashi
Hah! Philosophy...
