Tobias was unnerved to see Slade's smirk, lit up freakishly by his glowing eyes, but he was outright frightened when the only answer he received from Slade was a vicious slash that nearly took off his right hand. Before Tobias could ask Slade what the hell he thought he was doing, or even to wonder about where he had gotten those weird sword things he was holding now, Slade was on him.
Hacking, thrusting, slashing and stabbing, Slade was altogether different from the nervous-seeming, almost shy boy that Tobias had met in Cassie's barn. Slade was now a deadly adversary. Jumping back from a sudden and particularly viscous double slash, Tobias realized that there would be no reasoning with Slade. He would have to fight for his life, against someone he knew almost nothing about.
"What's the matter, freak?" Slade sneered, swinging the blade in his right hand in a wide arc that would have split Tobias' stomach if he hadn't lurched backward at precisely the right moment. "Are you afraid of me?"
Tobias leaped backward just as Slade sprung forward, both blades hissing as they flew through the air in a downward vertical slash. Tobias was unpleasantly surprised to realize that Slade was actually laughing.
"You know, you're better at this than you look." Slade said conversationally, casually swinging his blades back and forth like a pair of pendulums. "But then, I suppose you'd have to be."
Crouching, his blades crossed over his chest, Slade sprung forward again, both swordpoints aimed for the base of Tobias' neck.
"Come on!" Forward thrust.
"What are you waiting for?" Downward spinning slice.
"You either fight me, or you die." Left slash, followed quickly by a right.
Tobias was hard-pressed to keep up with Slade's inhuman speed, but since he was a Hork-Bajir he held on. Seeing an opening, Tobias lunged forward, digging his right wrist-blade deep into the flesh just under Slade's right shoulder. The blade made a sucking-pop as Slade forcibly pulled it out of his shoulder.
"Well," Slade commented with a dangerous grin. "Looks like you managed to draw first blood." Drawing the fingers of his left hand across the deep gash that Tobias had made in his arm, Slade licked the blood he had collected off his fingers.
Grinning like a crazed thing, Slade leaped forward again. His swords were a blur of silver steel, and blood dripped in massive rivulets down his right arm. Tobias was instantly on the defensive again, but now he was also looking for another opening. Tobias knew, or at least hoped, that once Slade was too weak to fight, he would be able to reason with the other boy.Slade was fighting harder than he had been before, but somehow Tobias felt that Slade wasn't yet fighting at his full strength. Tobias had no way of knowing just how right he was. As a Teknoman, in addition to having his lancer stored in subspace, Slade was also capable of calling up a full suit of armor from that strange other dimension.
Tobias roared in agony as the swordpoint of the blade in Slade's right hand pierced Tobias' own right shoulder.
"Paid you back," Slade said grinning madly, blood dripping off his arm.
Leaping forward, Slade swung his blades in a quick upward thrust. The moonlight caught the edges of the swords in Slade's hands, showing off the large serration on both sides. Tobias wasn't stupid enough to waste time staring at the things, though, not since his last encounter with their tips.
"Here, catch!" Slade shouted, swinging the blade in his right hand rapidly left to right.
Two V-shaped blades detached from the main shaft with a sharp ptching sound. The only other warning Tobias had was a pair of bright flashes. Dodging out of the way, Tobias heard the sound of something fast slicing through the trees. Not wanting to find out the hard way what they were, Tobias quickly ran behind Slade.
Slade! What are you doing?! I'm your friend, remember?!
I'm not liiiiiistening to you, Slade singsonged, laughing.
Once his two errant blades had reattached themselves to the main shaft of his lancer, Slade turned to confront Tobias again. Blocking a sudden downward swing, Slade back-stepped and sprung forward again, both in quick succession. Tobias blocked another of Slade's swings, but when Hork-Bajir bone met Radam biometal, Hork-Bajir bone didn't do so well.
Slade's weapon proved to be the superior, cutting through Tobias' left wrist-blade like a stake knife through tissue paper. Ducking under a swing, Tobias stabbed Slade deep in the left flank. Hissing like an angry serpent, Slade snapped the handles of his blades together and twisted them until they locked into place; forming a single long double-ended staff/lance.
Tobias didn't have any more time to think, as Slade came at him with more ferocity than before. Obviously having taken a personal exception to Tobias' tactics. It was now nearly impossible for Tobias to score any hits past the rather lethal obstacle that Slade's lance presented.
Tobias was quickly reduced back to merely dodging Slade's swings, and trying to keep himself out of the way of the sharp ends of Slade's weapon. One of them took a chunk out of his beak, and Tobias jumped backward before Slade could do any more damage. Tobias was getting worried; Slade didn't even seem to notice the wounds that had been inflicted on him anymore.
Tobias ran behind a tree, trying to get some breathing room. It didn't go at all the way he would have wanted it to, though. Slade, with his inhumanly acute night-vision, was able to perfectly track Tobias' movements. Since he hadn't bothered to use any of his bio-energy to shield his feet, Slade left a trail of blood spatters to mark his passing.
A low chuckle was Tobias' only warning, before his impromptu shelter was abruptly felled by a quick slice from Slade's lance. The old tree nearly collapsed on top of Tobias, but his Hork-Bajir body was fast, and so Tobias managed to dodge the falling timber.
After that, there was again no more time for Tobias to pre-plan his moves or come up with anything that resembled a strategy. Slade was on the offensive again.
The first hints of pre-dawn were beginning to gather on the horizon, but under the shadows of the trees neither of the combatants noticed this. Tobias, however, did notice that Slade was starting to become a bit sluggish. Nothing too damaging as yet, but Slade's swings and thrusts didn't flow together as smoothly was they used to.
Tobias, with his rather dim night-vision, was thankful for this small reprieve. The night had taken its toll on him as well. Tobias could smell Slade's drying blood where it had dripped or splattered on the forest floor. Ducking out of range of a horizontal swing, Tobias carved a deep slice into Slade's left shoulder.
Slade didn't give any outward indication that he'd even felt Tobias' latest assault, but the blood that dripped down his left arm was a mute testament to Tobias' success. Slade seemed to be getting a bit dizzy, now that Tobias had cut him yet again. And with the way he kept moving around, the wounds Tobias had inflicted earlier weren't being given any chance to clot, let alone to start healing.
At last, Slade fell to his knees, his blood loss finally overcoming his boosted stamina. Even though Slade was pretty much incapacitated now, Tobias wasn't naïve enough to believe that the other boy wasn't still dangerous. The glow in Slade's eyes was starting to flicker, sputtering like a fire that was being doused with small cups of water.
Tobias came out from behind the small stand of trees that he'd been sheltering behind. Once Slade caught sight of Tobias he glared at him, as if daring Tobias to come within the range of his blade. Tobias stood, well out of Slade's reach, and waited. Slade was breathing heavily now, leaning against his lance just to keep himself upright.
Tobias started demorphing, not wanting to end up trapped in his Hork-Bajir body. Once he was back in his normal hawk body, Tobias watched as Slade lost his grip on his lance and fell to the forest floor seemingly in slow motion. Tobias came closer, but still stayed out of Slade's reach. The other boy's eyes were still open, glowing in that utterly creepy way that they had been since this whole mess began.
Finally Slade's eyes slipped closed entirely, the eerie light flickering one last time before at last dying out. Tobias quickly morphed into his human form, stepping out from behind the rudimentary shelter of the trees Tobias walked over to Slade's prone form. Slade didn't move, even when Tobias laid a hand on his arm. Slade's head was twisted forward, closed eyes still aimed at Tobias' hiding place.
