Interruption, Part Two
authors: Stana, Ian, Teri
Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 22:38:25 EDT
** *

"What are you doing?!" the Other demanded angrily. "This is
suicide!"
It's fury was mounting. It had been very entertained a
moment ago,
watching Shinji curse furiously when it didn't move to save
the girl.
Yet that had quickly faded once the Other felt the body it
was in moving on
it's own accord, stepping out of the bubble the Unicorn had
created and
directly into the range of the nightmare. The danger wasn't
what was so
annoying. The worst thing was that the boy had managed to
override it's
control, and
the Other sorely hated to lose control.

"I'm doing the only thing that I can think of," Shinji
snapped from
behind his prison, "creating a diversion for them to get
away."

"You sorry, mindless FOOL!" the Other spat, "and WHERE
would they
escape to?! That creature would only chase them down
again!"

"Well then," Shinji replied, "I suppose you'll have to do
something
about it." The Other felt the smug smile on Shinji's face
and snarled
angrily, but none the less conceeded. If only for the
moment.

* * *

"He'll be killed out there!" Teri said, rising to her feet.
"What the Hell is
he trying to do?!"

"Maybe give us a chance to get away?" Emily tried, watching
the scene play
out before them.

"Like fucking hell I'd leave him here," Teri replied,
pressing as close to
the barrier as she could safely go.

The creature snarled, then shifted. It reared up, and two
long arms erupted
from it's side. Snapping forward, it lashed out with it's
whip-like arms,
which in mid air grew countless barbs and hooks, and struck
an opponent no
longer there. Stana blinked. But..he had been there just a
second ago...

Suddenly there was movement to the side of the creature. It
turned, expecting
an attack, but then screamed in anger as something hot
sliced through it's
left shoulder, severing the tendril. Shinji flipped once
before landing some
feet behind the creature, his right arm engulfed in blue
black flames,
fingers straight. The creature spun again, snarling
menacingly.

"Hear me monster," Shinji snapped, "I give you a chance to
leave, now, before
I rip you to so much confetti."

The nightmare glared defiantly, sprouting two scythe-lanced
arms to replace
the lost one. The damn thing didn't even notice it was
gone, Shinji noted in
frustration. The creature roared, it's tooth filled maw
gaping, and charged.

Shinji dropped into a defensive stance.

It brought it's right blade down in a vertical arch.
Deadly, but predictable.
Shinji sidestepped quickly, only to leap up as the left
blade sliced at his
legs. He responded by kicking the creature in the teeth,
sending the
metal-like blades showering down onto the fog-covered
ground. The nigthmare
growled painfully, it's bloody jaw hanging impossibly low.
Shinji brought his
right arm back, then slammed it into the creature's
forehead.

The monster's eyes went wide as the fire charred it's black
skin, but then
howled in agony as the fire grew into a searing inferno.
Shinji smiled
darkly, then delivered the killing blow.

His arm flared once, then the creature's head was gone in
an explosion of
fire and smoke. He landed deftly on his feet as the
creature's corpse sank
to the ground.

He looked down at his glowing arm, which slowly began to
revert to
normal. The material of his suit was charred, but not
destroyed.

"Well Unicorn? What have you to say now?" he asked smuggly.
Clip
snorted, but made no reply. Stana frowned slightly at the
arrogance,
but said nothing. Emily broke the silence with a hoarse
warning shout.

"Shinji! Behind you!" The boy's smile faded as he spun
around. Behind
him, the creature had somehow pulled itself together, and
was even now
bearing down on him with murderous intent. Before he could
move out of the
way,
the tendril on the ground sprung to life, wrapping itself
around his leg
and pinning it to the ground.

****

Seeing Shinji down, bitterness colored Teri's face. A
combination of fear and
anger. She stared at the monster, imagining bolts of fear
striking against
the monster's chest.  Did she see its tentacle tremble? Her
brow furrowed in
concentration. This was too difficult... she was too far
away, and the
monster... the monster had barely any aura...

From behind her she heard a piercing whistle, and the
Monster's head lurched
back as it roared.

The distraction was all Shinji needed-- in a clean slice,
the tip of the
tentacle was lopped over, and he leapt free, now covered
with green ichor.

* * *
Teri had to close her eyes-- the fear was gone again, but
now something else
threatened. She had been fighting it, the old familiar
heat, the red film of
vision. All she could see was the blue-bright flames, all
she could feel was
the red heat within her. Something pulled her, slowly
through the barrier.
She wasn't aware of it, wasn't aware of the hands that
grabbed her arms, or
the gasps as they let go as if burned. She gasped for
breath, the heat
filling her lungs, her vision dimming.  Suddenly, eyes
closed, she was aware
of them all-- the imploding dark
of the nightmare creature, the rich scent of Stana and the
cool pulse of
estela dimmed by the blinding white of Clip and his
shield...  and the
frigid, struggling blue fire of Shinji.

"Teri!" Stana shouted. The Unicorn trumpeted an alarm and
leapt outside the
barrier, locking the three in. Stana felt the edges of the
bubble and they
were smooth and very hard.

"Interesting trick." the boy said cheerfully, watching the
four figures
circling one another.

"What'd he do?" Emily asked

"He trapped us in here!" Stana cried out angrily, torn
between the desire to
curse him roundly, and not to distract him. Discretion won
out as Clip
laumched an attack against the shadow.

"That's no Unicorn." the boy chuckled "he's a mule with a
horn."

Both girls were inclined to agree.

Teri felt the rage building inside her, the more Shinji
attacked, the
more his face fell into set, hardened lines.  The forms he
used, the
puntuality of his movements were foreign, cold, and deadly.
 Unlike
him. He 'felt' different, his aura licking the air around
him with contempt.

She felt sickened, clenched her arms around herself in
disgust as she
remained, eyes closed, outside the barrier.  She could feel
the death-feel of
the creature like oil as it rounded her, trying to decide
whether she, or
shinji, were the better prey.

"Come on, you fucking piece of shit," she said, letting it
build inside her.
"Try to attack me-- Shinji will kick the shit out of you."
Her lips curved
into a viscious smile.

****

Clip danced out of reach of the attack, tossing his head,
egging the creature
on. He reared, dodging, and leapt under the slash, scoring
a ragged slash
across the mid section. Red gases began to leak from the
many wounds.

Warily, he backed off, head tilted and defensive. He was
unable to see
Shinji, but felt the mottled prescence close by. Teri was-
was-

Distracted by the ambience growing around the girl, the
Unicorn was slammed
to the ground by a hammer strike from the Creature. Snared
in the multiple
arms, he kicked ineffectually, once, twice.

There was a painful feeling of penetration as the white
aura around him
incandensed, fighting the darkness.

Suddenly the white light becamed tinged with pink, waving
like heat on the
horizon. Teri's eyes were shut- the muscle of her cheek
twitching with anger.
*Too much..* she thought furiously. She'd drawn too much,
and now could only
hope to contain it for as long as possible...  Mentally she
cursed herself
for trying to overreach the boundaries of her lessons...

The fire at Shinji's fists flickered, and he shook his
head--  Even the
monster seemed to pause, swiping once at one of its heads,
dragging the other
along the soupy ground as if it itched. Only Clip struggled
to his hooves,
unaffected. Shinji cast a furious glance at Teri, and in
the moment's lack of
concentration, took a blow to the chest which sent him
flying feet backwards
into the fog.

* * *

"What's the matter? I thought you were all powerful and all
that," Shinji
asked casually. The Other frowned.

"Be silent boy, this is far beyond your tier," it warned.

"And honor is obviously beyond yours," Shinji retorted.

The Other smirked. "Concern for mortals can be a very
deadly thing, boy. They
slow me down,"

"I have a name," Shinji reminded it angrily.

"I will call you what I wish!" the Other snapped. "We may
be one, but so far
I am very dissappointed in you,"

"So sorry to have fallen from your graces, oh mighty and
loud one," he
mocked, bowing low. Suddenly the Other drew away, fending
off another
attack from whatever they were fighting. Shinji frowned. He
worried for Teri's
safety. In a moment the Other was back.

"It seems your friend has decided to join in the battle,"
it said.
Shinji's eyes went wide as the familiar pressence came to
him.

"Teri?" he asked in disbelief. "But...why would she...?"

The Other shrugged. "The workings of the mortal mind are
unfamiliar to
me. Perhaps that is why I find you such an enigma at
times."

"Protect her," Shinji ordered softly, "God damn you, if you
don't-"

"Beware whome you damn, boy," the Other answered, eyes
narrowing.
"Don't expect such an action from me. The only thing
mortals are good at is
dying anyway."

Shinji beat his fists into the walls of his prison
innefectually. He could
feel something hot and sticky running down his fingers from
where he
must have torn his knuckles. The pain that followed showed
the truth of his
realization. "...please..." he muttered, the blow to his
pride much
mroe painful than his bleeding fists.

The Other seemed to contemplate this, and something that
was happening
in the battle. "Very well," he said finally, "I will save
your little friend."

The smile that went with those words froze the hope that
had kindled in

Shinji. Slumping to the ground, he began to notice how cold
it was
here.

* * *

Stana and Emily looked on helplessly, unable to assist in
the fight. The
boy's face was a mixture of curiousity, as if this battle
were but a toy in
motion.

Stana divided her worry from Clip, who, standing, was still
struggling with
the
tendrils, to Shinji, who was in a similar situation, then
to Teri, who stood
defiantly before the creature.

Suddenly Clip was enveloped in bright luminescence. The
three heard the
nightmares pained hiss as it's appendeges were burned away,
leaving the
unicorn free to move out of the way before the two newly
grown
replacements could ensnare him again.

The monster's neck strained, the black material pulling
taught, when
suddenly two more heads shimmered into exsistence, each
taking a role
of watching the Unicorn and the boy. The first turned and
focused it's
attentions on the third target.

Teri took a step back as the monster reared up, four clawed
arms
materializing out of it's chest. She could hear the gashing
of it's
teeth as it slowly advanced, it's body rearranging itself
to focus on the
other
two targets.

"She'll be killed," Emily said, her fingers scraping
against the
impenetrable shield. Stana clenched her jaw. Suddenly the
boy spoke up.

"Look over there," he said, pointing. Stana looked to see
what he was
pointing at, then yelped as a dissmembered tendril slammed
into the
shield.

"My God," Emily muttered, as an agonized scream filled the
darkened
sky, followed by a ripping sound, like the tearing of a
sail cloth. A small
figure flipped over the creature, landing long enough for
Stana to get
a good look.

Shinji landed, his harlequin suit torn in several places,
and carrying
in each hand a seperate arm of the creature, seemingly
pulled right off.
Blood speckled his black and blue outfit. Then he was gone,
and Stana's
attention was brought back to Teri.

The four new arms of the creatue lashed out at the
defenseless girl,
and for a single horrid moment Stana thought her friend was
finished, when a
blur of motion showed up behind her. Teri's suprised gasp
was drowned out by
the sound of the claws smashing into the ground where she
had once stood.

When she dared to opend her eyes, she noticed that she was
quite a ways
from the creature, an behind her stood Shinji,
straightening after having
lowered her to the ground. Relief washed over her. "Maybe
he's okay after
all..." she wondered, but her relief was frozen just as
quickly as she noticed
the coldness in his eyes.

He managed a tight smile. "Teri."

Suddenly she felt his fingers dig into the back of her
neck, and her
first pained grimace was soon followed by excruciating
pain. She could feel
something being siphoned off her, drawn into the junction
between her
neck and his hand. Her scream choked in her throat as she
felt her legs
slowly giving way. The redness in her vision pulled back,
replaced by growing
darkness. She felt his fingers let go, and the pain was
gone. She
slumped to the ground, barely able to cath herself as the
sheer painlessness
overwhelmed her.