"Xan, no," Neron warned, placing his hand on Xan's shoulder.
Xan didn't calm. His eyes still raged with a fire that could have incinerated this being in his place.
The being tightened his grasp on me and I could feel my head growing fuzzy.
"No," I muttered, feeling myself slipping into another episode.
The being suddenly tensed, frozen as the hair on his arms stood on end.
"What is this energy?" He gasped when suddenly I thrusted my elbow into his stomach with all my might, surprising him enough to to break free.
I hurried to Xan who pulled me behind him protectively while Neron and Trish circled around me as well.
"Hey!" The boom of a voice seemed to shake the whole bar and I found its owner standing up next to the red liquid. He was a Torian with a shaved head, but he was about 3 times the size of an average man. He was built like a body builder and he grunted aggressively as he tore the mask off his face.
His muscles seemed to twitch with constructing veins, like the blood was pumping through them faster than normal. The whites of his eyes were tainted by aggressive purple blood vessels. He gave a hard slap to the shoulders of the men he was between; two more monstrous Torians with the same build and bloodshot eyes.
"Looks like the boss needs us," he growled as the other 2 stood to join him, cracking their necks and grunting.
"Boss?" Trish exclaimed, looking at the spliced Torian. He was burly and strong as well, but not like the other 3. It did seem like a strange division of power.
"Look at the splice he chose," Neron informed. "This guy's a hunter. He's able to track down anything in this galaxy. They need him more than he needs them."
"You're damn right I can," he snorted as the large Torians hurried over to join him. They seemed jumpy and hyped, most likely the effects of the intensifier they had been inhaling. Little streaks of electricity radiated across their skin, like lightning bolts in a storm cloud. The intensifier seemed to enhance their aggressive traits which did not bode well for us.
The bartender, a lanky Belan man, sighed and leaned on the bar dully.
"Grear," he scolded monotonously to the spliced Torian. "What did I tell you about starting trouble in my bar?"
Grear grabbed the glass on the bar full of a ruby liquid and downed it quickly before throwing the empty vessel on the ground. The shatter drew an evil smile on his face as he looked at the bartender. "It's not trouble, Parker. I'm simply welcoming our new guests."
He crossed his arms and looked at his comrades. "Boys," he murmured as they growled and fidgeted excitedly. "Get 'em!"
In a flash, they descended, the first one grabbing Xan by the neck and slamming him against the bar, his arms crackling with bolts of electrical current.
Xan's face seemed pained as he struggled to break from the being's grasp, but to no avail.
Neron was facing off against the other Torian while the last one dove for me!
Before he could reach me, he seemed to be frozen. His face twisted in confused rage as he tried to move, but not a single appendage would budge.
I turned to find Trish, straining to hold him with her hand out stretched. This was her Ceres power.
"Calm down," she struggled to mouth to me and I knew she could sense my weakness. My head felt dizzy in the panic and my temperature was rising again. I had to stay in control to keep it from getting worse.
She groaned, reaching both hands forward and pummeling the being into the wall with force.
He was stunned, struggling to pull himself off the ground while she panted, having used a great deal of her energy just to control him.
The monstrous being pushed himself off the ground and shook his head. "You're in trouble now, girly," he sneered, diving at her and tackling her to the ground.
"Trish!" Neron shouted in panic, unable to go to her aid as he was punched with an electric fist by the being he faced off with.
These beings were too fast, the intensifier had made them agile and nearly invincible.
The other beings in the bar were all watching. Some laughed as they watched the events unfold, some sat back and took it all in while others jumped and chanted like at a sporting event. We were putting on a show, but the ending wasn't looking good for us.
I grabbed onto the bar, feeling the heat rise inside of me while I desperately looked for Xan. He had managed to throw the being off himself and he stood there, his gaze focused on the immense monster before him with eyes that seethed with rage.
Without warning, I felt myself being harshly grabbed and thrown over some being's shoulder.
"I can sense your energy, but you have no control," Grear snarled and I realized he was my captor.
I flailed and hit his back with my fists, but it was meaningless.
"Bet I could make use of you or at the very least make some money off you," he snickered and anger washed over me.
I continued to hit him as he ran out the door with me and I felt the cold strike me once more. My vision was starting to blur and there was no way I was going to be able to calm myself now. I couldn't let myself slip, I had to stay present.
There was no time to waste. If I couldn't hurt him, maybe I could at least slow him down.
I reached down and grabbed the belt of his pants and pulled with all my might, throwing my feet upwards as I did it.
"What are you doing?" He grumbled, not being prepared for that while losing his grip. I used the opportunity to tumble out of his grasp and put some space between us.
"Don't play games," he growled and I searched for anything around me to fight with. My hands raked savagely through the sand and I found only stones and ice. I threw every one at his as I scooted backwards.
The projectiles bounced off him effortlessly, doing nothing to stop him. His eyes were maniacal as he approached me and again his image blurred, which only furthered my panic. I couldn't black out, not now; I had to fight!
"Now be a good girl and comply," he hissed approaching me, his eyes turning a shade of purple, just like when Deek had knocked me out.
"You don't look like you're in any condition to fight me," he grabbed my arm and pulled me close, aglow with a purple glimmer. His eyes fixed on mine as he urged me to sleep, but I didn't feel pulled into unconsciousness like when Deek had done it to me.
My mind quickly flashed back to when Xan couldn't connect with me when I was having an episode. Was it the same now for Grear?
I pretended to to get sleepy and he smirked.
"Good girl," he said, buying the act.
His grip loosened, believing I was under his control; I took it to my advantage. I quickly kicked his knee and tore from his hold to run back to the bar.
His irritated scream called out behind me and I knew it wouldn't provide much space between us. I just needed to keep going.
My feet staggered as I ran and my mind felt torn. The images were becoming fuzzy and I saw clips of that familiar face.
"Protocol C," the voice rang in my ears but I focused hard on the bar ahead, internally pleading with myself not to slip into this vision.
Again his unclear face flashed in my mind.
"It will fix everything," his voice continued.
"You're not going to get away," Grear screamed, though his voice was distant to me even though I knew he was right behind me.
"How does it fix anything?" The words escaped from my mouth. I was slipping away!
My feet stumbled and I fell to the ground in a cloud of azure sand. I was weak, skin burning as I tried to resist the memories coming forward.
I could hear the muffled footsteps of Grear approaching but all I could really see was that unclear face as his words rang in my ears.
"Do you know why it's called Protocol C, Aeris?" He said with a chuckle.
I strained to free myself. I was in danger and this wasn't the time to relive the past.
"Why?" The words again fell from my lips with no effort of my own.
This mystery man in my visions, all I saw now was this wicked smile of his as he cupped my face to draw me close and whisper, "Protocol Cleanse."
Terror shot through me that matched with the terror of Grear grabbing my arm violently and yanking me up. His muffled voice became clearer as he growled "Play time's over, doll."
Suddenly the doors of the bar shot open and one of the burly Torians came flying out in a streak of lighting, landing on the ground not too far from us.
From the doorway stood a furious Xan, eyes red with rage and electrical currents sparking from his body.
His glare fell on an uneasy Grear.
"I think he wants to play with you now," I informed between labored breaths.
The fear in his eyes grew as he looked back at me and swiftly threw me to the ground. He whistled and his other two brutes came running out of the bar, but not before Xan charged Grear.
He shot Grear with his laser gun twice, before striking him with a blazing electric fist. The strike erupted on Grear like an electrical storm and he shot backwards like a rag doll.
Neron and Trish exited the bar, looking battle-worn. Though tattered and beat, I saw a mischievous grin draw across Neron's face.
"Party's moved outside. Looks like we can really have some fun now," he chuckled, pulling out his laser gun.
Trish smirked. "I don't know I just checked the forecast. Looks like a blizzard is coming in with a 100 percent chance of me kicking your ass," she laughed, raising her hands to the sky.
The wind suddenly began to kick up violently and the sand whipped up like a dust storm.
Grear's thugs looked confused, but stood their ground as they became engulfed in a sandy tornado.
"Give us some lightning, love," Neron cooed to Trish as he shot his laser at the beings inside the swirling mass of blue.
"Of course," Trish replied, stepping forward and bending her knees to brace herself. Her hands trembled as bolts of lightning streamed down the cyclone.
Neron joined her, focusing hard to make the lightning strike the beings with every swirl.
An exhausted Trish, barely able to keep it going, threw her arms up in one final effort , lifting the beings up within the cyclone, using its power to toss them out of sight.
With their departure, the cyclone dissipated and she fell to the ground, trembling from the exertion. Neron quickly came to her side and knelt beside her, cupping her face in his hands as she smiled weakly.
Nearby, Xan grabbed a beaten and haggard Grear by his collar. His eyes were still aglow with a fiery rage as he pulled him up off his feet and held him in the air.
"You better leave this place now before I decide to hunt you across this galaxy," he seethed, swiftly punching Grear with one more electric fist.
Grear tumbled to the ground, but scurried off like a fearful puppy.
The red melted from Xan's eyes and he closed them tightly, holding his head.
With all my might, I pushed myself off the ground and stammered over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder. He looked back at me with dull silver eyes from overexertion, but he smiled, placing his hand on mine. His smile became replaced by a concerned frown.
"You're hot," he said, feeling my forehead. For him to feel it through the gloves, it must have been bad.
"It's coming down," I lied. "I'm fine."
From outside the doors of the bar, we heard clapping. The four of us turned to find Parker, the Belan bartender leaning against the doorframe of the bar with an amused grin painting his face while he clapped.
"Very impressive," he praised. "You've done me a big favor. Grear and his boys have been bad for business."
Neron wrapped his arm around Trish to help her stand as Xan and I drew closer to them.
"Come on in," Parker continued. "You've earned yourselves whatever you want. It's on the house."
"We need information," Neron informed.
Parker turned his back and began heading back inside. He paused and only half turned.
"I'm sure I can help you with that as well," he answered, heading back inside the bar.
Neron looked at Xan questioningly.
Xan just shrugged. "We just need to keep our guard up," he answered tiredly.
That fight had taken a lot out of all us. In this dangerous place, we all needed to keep our guard up.
Author's Note:
Hey everyone! This chapter took me a little longer to write. I hope you enjoyed it. What do you think of the battle? And Trish? We are just starting to see why she was of so much interest to the Torian empire because of what she can do. Thank you all so much for reading! 😊