Chapter Eighty-Three: Time To Pay The Piper, Balair (As Nama Would Say)

Two hours, in the corridors of the royal castle…

"NATALA! WHERE IN THE HELL ARE YOU? YOU BETTER COME OUT NOW! DON'T THINK THAT I WON'T FIND YOU, WENCH!"

Natala Chloe's whole slender body shook and trembled at the sound of Balair's loud, baritone voice booming throughout the halls of the castle. She had resorted to biting Balair's wrist in order to force the cruel Sistrai fighter to release her. Luckily, she had managed to bite him hard enough to cause him extreme pain; she never knew that she had that much strength. Before Balair could grab her again, she had managed to fly down several flights of stairs (she wasn't about to use the elevators because she feared that he could vaporize himself to enter the elevator and recapture her) while Balair was screaming about his bitten wrist.

After the Sistrai monster had recovered, he began to search the castle for her, who was now hiding in a cellar on the first floor and hiding her ki fully. Natala wanted to search for a way to the labyrinths, but Balair was getting too close to her now. She sat on her bottom, hugging her slim knees and trembling hard, trying to hold back as many of her unshed tears as she could. She could sense Balair's ki coming closer and closer.

"NATALA!" Balair shouted again, angry with her for leaving him, and angrier because he couldn't vaporize himself into a cloud and find her faster. Curse that weakling brat of hers and Raakon Chloe's!

"NATALA!"

Oh, Raakon, Raakon, where are you now? I need you! Where are you and everyone else? Natala thought to herself, as she huddled further into herself. A few tears escaped her large midnight-blue eyes and fell onto her knees. Her lovely cinnamon-nutmeg hair was tangled and tousled, as it fell about her tear-streaked face like a tattered, golden-brown curtain that reached past her trim waist. The pine-green bedspread that was her only garment was almost drenched in her own sweat, and it was almost sticking to her honey-tinted skin. She buried her light-brown hair in between her knees and soft, medium-sized breasts. She felt her courage and determination slowly drain from her body, as the unstoppable tears continued to flow down her smooth face with delicate features and high cheekbones.

Just before she had bitten Balair's wrist, Balair had decided that he couldn't wait to get her to a bedroom, so he had selected a large closet instead for his intended defiling of her. He had started to unwrap the bedspread from her body, as she continued to fight to prevent him from doing so. While he was trying to strip her, he had forcibly kissed her, shoving his long tongue almost down her throat. Balair had managed to slip her bedspread off of her body halfway, and when it was down to her shaking knees, he had started to feel her in that special place between her legs. And when he tried to do a few other things to her private area with his fingers, she couldn't take it anymore, so she had, in blind fear, leaned down and bit down hard into his wrist, almost deep enough to reach his bone. Within a minute, she had retrieved her bedspread while Balair was screaming about the pain and barely escaped.

Natala was now trying to gather together what wits she still had, as she felt Balair's ki grow closer and closer, so close, that he was actually right outside of the cellar door.

Don't breathe, don't show your ki, don't cry, don't even think, she thought to herself, as Balair's ki continued to hover outside of the cellar where she was hiding at. When Balair's ki seemed to be moving further away, Natala released a sigh of relief.

That would prove to be a mistake.

Balair opened the door then with one quick punch, and he said cruelly, as he stared down hard at his terrified prey, "I knew that you were hiding here the whole time, sweetness. Couldn't pick up your ki, of course, but I could pick up your scent. I never forget the scent of a woman, especially the scent of one that I plan to screw. I just followed my nose." He didn't think to close the door, as he casually and boldly walked towards his intended victim.

"Leave…me…alone!" Natala screamed, as she felt the bit of courage and valor that she had left fade away into almost nothing. "Don't touch me!"

Balair smirked; he was waiting no longer. "You picked a nice place for us to do it in, sweetness. I ought to beat you for running away from me like a naughty little girl, but that wouldn't leave much left for me to work with."

His cruel smile deepened, as he yanked the bedspread off of her with one swift movement. Before she could react, Balair flung himself upon her shaking body and pinned her down with his weight alone. He punched her hard in her face to subdue her, and Natala felt herself beginning to black out. He quickly seized both of her wrists in one hand, and he used the other hand to roughly caress her now bare breasts. He pinched and pulled at her large brown nipples, making her scream in pain.

"Let me go!"

"Sorry, sweetness, but you knew this was coming! If you had been nicer to me, I could have made this easier for you. Now I'm the only one who's going to get any pleasure from this. Hold still, woman!"

"NO! LET ME GO!"

Balair pressed his pelvic region into hers, as he thrust his tongue into her protesting mouth once more, nearly suffocating her. Natala writhed and squirmed under Balair's heavy body, but he would not budge, and her efforts were useless. She could feel Balair's manhood hardening, as his free hand began to roam over her slim curves.

Balair tore his mouth and tongue from Natala's mouth, and he said wickedly, using one of his lyrics (he was a poet somewhat, but a lousy one), "You'll satisfy me better than rum/now open your legs, baby, 'cause here I come!"

"NO! DON'T DO THIS!" Natala gathered what fight she had left in her, but she knew that it was hopeless. Balair would succeed in forcing himself on her; at this point, she just hoped that he would satiate himself and allow her to live.

Balair would remember this day for the rest of his pathetic life, but not in the way that he wanted to remember it…

…For at that very moment, just as he was about to enter her, a very strong Astorian Prince of Chloe roughly pulled the evil Sistrai warrior off of his potential conquest.

"What the hell-" Balair began. He swiftly turned his scarlet, Tyrannosaurus-Rex-like head around to look into the angry eyes of a now merciless Raakon Chloe. Raakon was holding Balair from behind, holding him under his arms. Balair struggled in vain against Raakon's tight grip, and before he could do anything, Raakon shoved him headfirst out into the hallway in front of the cellar and onto the floor facedown. The Sistrai warrior promptly flipped over onto his stomach, prepared to confront his archenemy.

"Time to pay the piper, Balair, as Nama would say from an old Earth expression," Raakon told him coldly, in such a deadly, icy tone of voice that unnerved the normally unshakable Balair.

"How dare you-" Balair snarled, but before he could do so, Raakon punched him hard in his face, and before Balair could react, the Astorian Prince of Chloe socked him in his stomach. Raakon Chloe landed blow after blow onto Balair's body, and while Balair managed to land a few punches and kicks, they were ineffective.

Balair had been considerably weakened by Raakon's previous Shock Cage attack, and he was only able now to fight at one-third of his true strength. He could not even vaporize or liquefy himself to gain an advantage over his Astorian opponent, and he could not even get away from Raakon long enough to use his Fire Flare attack. He was forced to fight Raakon in hand-to-hand combat, with all of the martial-arts abilities that he had learned. He tried to belt Raakon's face with his tail, but Raakon, being significantly stronger than many of his Astorian cousins and siblings because of his Awakening when he had been seventeen, easily squeezed the tip of Balair's tail, crushing it further.

"BASTARD! YOU RABBIT BASTARD!" Balair hissed, just before Raakon slammed his medium-sized fist into Balair's ample jaw, breaking the jawbone.

Raakon rained blows and kicks upon Balair so swiftly that the Sistrai Top Elite officer had little time to react. Balair's physical brute strength would have normally been greater than Raakon's, but Balair had been greatly damaged so far by the fighting that he had done. Raakon had been a diamond statue for much of the war until Tayla's spell freed him, so he was still fairly fresh and very strong and more than ready to kill the Sistrai monster who had dared to force himself upon Raakon's beloved wife.

Raakon landed one final punch into Balair's now-terrified face. Raakon swiftly grabbed Balair by his throat, and he flew into the air, holding the hideous, bruised, and battered Sistrai alien. Raakon found an open window, and he flew out the window with a worried Balair's throat still held tightly in his.

Balair did not know what to make of the situation, and he did not act quickly enough, for Raakon flung him away from him hard into a meadow just outside of the castle. Balair fell facedown into a deep mud puddle, and he tried to struggle to his feet. Raakon then landed twenty-feet away from him, and then he felt around for any ki signatures within fifty miles of the castle. There were none, for all of the castle's occupants left were in the ballroom on the second floor. Raakon was one of the minority of Astorian fighters who had mastered this powerful attack well-enough to be able to contain it in a small area and not have it cause damage to a large area; not even Tayla herself had come that far with that part of mastering this attack, although she was learning.

Balair tried to get up, but he couldn't for his leg was now broken, and both of his arms were twisted. Raakon swiftly placed his hands, palms down, onto the ground, and he screamed out, as he began to gather together his ki:

"ELECTRIC QUAKE!"

Raakon sent forth almost all of his ki, as his ki turned into high-voltage electricity and rushed out of his hands and into the ground. He could see the green cracks and strings of electricity, as they scurried along the ground towards Balair and right into his body. Balair screamed out, his voice rising to a high C pitch and shattering many of the windows in the royal castle, as Raakon's Electric Quake attack shot throughout his body. It had twice the effect of Shock Cage, and it was twice as damaging.

Latticed, netted strings of voltage curled, stabbed, and zigzagged throughout the Sistrai warrior's body, as he stood there, trembling and shaking. Raakon used what ki he had left to send a strong blue ki ball towards Balair, this ball full of more electricity that shot right into the deadly reptilian fighter. This ki ball shoved itself into Balair and knocked him off of the ground and far, far away into one of Magan's famous chalky-white cliffs, causing the cliff itself to explode. Raakon could see the mushroom cloud that was left of the cliff and Balair-and he could no longer sense Balair's ki, not at all.

Balair had been finished, once and for all.

He was out of the war.

Raakon had won this round, and Natala was safe, along with many other women and girls, including Caline and Ebrona.

Balair had finally paid for his hideous crimes.

Raakon felt no pity or sorrow for him, and he sincerely hoped that Balair would have a nice time with Enma Daiou before being sent straight to hell.

He fell to his knees, trembling, and crying out and thanking whomever he had to, from the East Kai, to Kami Orchida, to the ancestors, to Nama and Dirkan for supporting him, and to Natala who had stood behind him and also supported him, even though he knew she had preferred that he not go back to fighting. He was thankful mostly to her for her unending support, no matter what.

He was a bit sad now, sad that he had to go back to fighting again, but this time he had no regrets, and the sick feeling that he felt every time he had ruthlessly defeated someone, that feeling that he had felt during the Battle of Chloe so many years ago, had not been present.

He didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

But what he did know was that Natala needed him now.

Everything else could wait.

He slowly lifted himself off of the ground, and then he flew back much faster to the castle.









Natala had managed to gather the bedspread and cover herself once more. She huddled under the cover, terrified and shaking, still in deep shock. She was afraid to move, afraid to speak, as she stared at the walls of the hallway outside of the cold cellar. She was curled into a ball, a tight ball that was trying not to let the pain and fear out and to keep her spirit in.

She was scared and ashamed, although she did not know why she was so ashamed, for she had done nothing wrong. She just felt so dirty, like a pair of used stockings that had been soiled and discarded into the nearest garbage bin. She buried her face into her knees, sobbing loudly, so scared and cold and alone. She was shaking violently, as if her slender feminine body was caught up in its own private earthquake. The tears cascaded down her lovely cheeks and dripped down onto the gray stone floor into a puddle.

She was so lost into her own dark, lonely world, that she did not sense his ki, or feel him stroking the soft, honey-brown tresses of hers.

"Natala?"

She did not respond.

"Natala, it's me, Raakon."

No verbal response, but this time, she did look up at him, as he slowly lay down on the floor beside her and cautiously pull her closer to him, as not to frighten her. She trembled.

"I'm not going to hurt you, love," he reminded her gently, as he tenderly gathered her into his arms and held her close. Natala slowly, very slowly, began to recover from her shock, as she began to respond to him, much to Raakon's relief. She curled into him, stretching out little by little, until her body was completely bonded to his. She felt Raakon began to stroke her bare back lightly (the back was not covered at all now by the bedspread). She felt his large fingers rub slow curves and circles along her spine, and she felt herself gradually relax and become herself again. She cried softly into her husband's chest, as Raakon held her closer. He tilted her chin up towards his face.

"Is it all right, if I kiss you, sweetheart?" he asked her softly.
Natala nodded very quickly; she wanted Raakon to help her forget those awful memories of Balair. She raised her head towards his, and Raakon softly kissed her lips.

"You're safe, now," he assured her. "Raakon's here."

"I-I know," she choked out in a whisper. She sobbed, "I-I missed you, Raakon! I thought that I would never see you again!"

Raakon kissed her again softly, sweetly, as he continued to stroke her back, rubbing her spine. He chuckled lightly, "You know better than that, my love! Since when is a Prince of Chloe ever truly defeated?"

A small laugh escaped Natala before she could prevent it. "You sound just like Bajal or Lektron!"

Raakon was relieved to see her slowly smiling. "They are among my closest friends, as well as my brother and cousin, sweetheart! I guess even I wind up picking up some things from them!"

Natala asked hesitantly, as she lay in her husband's strong, loving embrace, "B-Balair? Where is he now?" She wrapped her slim arms around his muscular, trim body and clung to him tightly.

"Gone," Raakon told her firmly. "And hopefully will soon be forgotten."

"He was so awful, Raakon!" Natala cried out. "He killed innocent people, and tried to rape me earlier, but Zarbon intervened. Raakon, I almost did something horrible, so horrible, I hope that you can forgive me, but I had to do it."

Raakon held her chin in his muscled hand. "What did you do, sweetheart?"

Natala briefly told him about the situation where she had offered herself in place of Caline as Balair's sex slave. Raakon held her tighter to him and kissed her forehead firmly.

"You did it to save an innocent little girl, Natala. Don't feel guilty anymore, for Caline will never have to endure Balair or another man forcing himself on her ever again. You saved her from more pain, my dear, and I am proud of you, as well as sorry that you were forced to make that choice."

"I couldn't let him hurt her, Raakon, I couldn't! Alberm hurt her so badly, why the poor little thing had the most horrible nightmares about him. I don't even want to describe some of the nasty things that Alberm made Caline do with him that Caline told me about. I know that I shouldn't say this, Raakon, but that is one man that I can honestly say received what he truly deserved. He and Balair are two peas in a pod, as Nama-lan would say, and I am not sorry that they are gone for good. I hope that Enma Daiou gives them both much grief before they are sent to hell. It is unusual for me to be glad of someone's death, I know, but I cannot feel for either Balair or Alberm."

"I can't feel anything for them either," Raakon told her honestly. "I feel sorry for you and Caline, and for all the other females monsters like Balair and Alberm had harmed."

"What will happen to Caline?" Natala asked him, now wanting to steer to a safer topic for now.

Raakon sighed, "Well the good news for now is that Ridikar has changed tremendously, and he and Caline have reconciled. If we can't take Caline with us, at least Ridikar will care for her, if Ridikar lives through this war. Ridikar seems to be truly sorry for the harm he has caused Tayla and Caline, as well as the trouble he and his father had created for us. He and Tayla seem to be making up."

"Is that a good idea? Tayla and Ridikar getting back together and becoming that close again? Raakon, he did try to rape her, and if I were that child, even I couldn't forgive a male that easily. When I first heard about what that boy tried to do to her, I wanted to slap him and give him the cuffing that his father should have given him years ago!" Natala declared indignantly.

Raakon permitted himself a small smile. His normally peaceful, amicable wife was not often prone to violent thoughts. Neither was he, for that matter. "So did I, my love, so did I. I wanted to strangle that young man for what he did to my sister, but now he seems to have changed for the better. Tayla seems to almost have forgiven him completely, and they had held hands a few times."

"How do Nama-lan and Dirkan feel about that?"

"They're not happy about it, but Nama insists that it's Tayla's choice now, for Tayla is becoming a young lady. Dirkan still wants to hang Ridikar out to dry, as Nama would say, but he's agreed not to touch the young prince, as long as Ridikar behaves himself with Tayla. I don't like the match myself too much yet, but since Ridikar is trying to make up for his previous ways, I believe that he deserves a fair chance. As long as he makes Tayla happy and doesn't hurt her, I'll leave him be."

"I still don't like it, Raakon. Tayla is only twelve, and I don't think that a woman should be that kind towards a male for attacking her the way that Ridikar did. Even I couldn't be that forgiving towards him, if I were Tayla. I just hope she knows what she's doing; I think that I should try to talk to her when all of this mess is over, if we're still alive."

"Don't say 'if', my love. We will live, just like before. We're strong, my love, all of us Clan of Chloe members are, whether we're warriors, healiors, healers, or whatever. We will win this war, and we will survive, no matter what. Nama said a long time ago, just before the Battle of Chloe that Astorians, especially those of Clan of Chloe, 'will not go quietly into the night, will not give up without a fight, for we will go on, we will survive'. She couldn't remember who said that phrase, but everyone remembers it to this day." Raakon pulled Natala closer to him and kissed her firmly.

"I love you, sweetheart, and we will survive this war, I swear that, Seven Moons Oath." He held up seven fingers as usual.

"I love you too, Raakon. You be careful, do you hear me? You come back to me alive, do you understand? Am I making myself clear?"

"As crystal," Raakon said with a smile. "And that was one of Steak's quotes."

"I hope that Steak is okay," Natala said worriedly. "He helped so many people escape, and Caline and Kekron and I could not have done without his help. I hope that he is alive."

"Steak is tough, no pun intended," Raakon told her seriously. "I have a feeling we'll have him around for a long time. And you won't be getting rid of me anytime soon either."

Natala permitted herself another smile. "Can I get that in writing and in Seven Moons Oath?"

Raakon laughed, and he cuddled Natala closer. They both kissed for a long time, and neither one of them spoke afterwards for what seemed to be hours.