Windfall

Chapter 10 "Discovery"

On the rocky flat outside the gate into Nerdlu Aram, Thalnok lay still. His breathing was slow, barely noticeable to the naked (Human) eye, supplemented by green filaments fluttering above his mouth. His center eye glows a dim green before his lower eyes open slowly, and he begins to sit up. He held his breath and looked around slowly, grabbing the sword at his side. He looks to the gates of Nerdlu Aram, and smiled to see his handiwork; the gate was still busted down, leaving the village wide open.

He used his sword to push himself to his feet, and limped, then began to walk steadily into the village, past the gate, and into the lobby of the Monolith. The door slid open with mechanical whirring, and he slipped past the front desk and the receptionist, whom was asleep at the desk with a book over her face. He snuck onto the elevator, hit the button to take him to the med bay and rested the sword on his shoulder as he went up. He brought up his communicator on his off hand as the elevator ascended.

Thalnok; "Thalnok to Zyroc... I've made it inside. I'm going to look in the med bay, maybe take a hostage or two to draw out Asuka, wherever she may be."

The door opened and he kept his sword on his shoulder as he crept down the hall, making sure he only heard his footsteps and no one elses'. He reached one of the med bays and saw both Quincy and Asuka within. Quincys' suit stood off to his left, the front hatch open while he lay on the cot with bandages around his right side.

Asuka, meanwhile, had her left leg in a cast and elevated with some cables attached to the ceiling. As Thalnok fully entered the med bay, he saw Anchor sleeping at Asukas' bedside on the floor, sprawled out as a lizard on a rock. He smirked and began to approach Asuka, but stopped when he heard Anchor begin to snore, which caused Asuka to turn her head and mumble incoherently. He turned his eyes to Quincy, who was sleeping soundly and, importantly for him, deeply. He flipped his sword to a reverse grip as he approached Quincy, getting ready to plunge the blade through his center mass. The sheer size of the sword threatened to cleave Quincy in twain as he thrust it down-

He met resistance by way of a blue cloud mere inches above Quincy that halted the melee weapon in its' tracks. He growled quietly and turned towards the door to see Pearl lazily holding out her right hand, glowing a gentle blue. Her relaxed posture betrayed the look of abject fear and anxiety in her eyes and on her face.

Pearl; "... Y'know, if I had a Denarius for every time I saved someone from being killed in a hospital bed, I'd have two Denarii... It's not a lot, but it's weird it happened twice."

Thalnok; "You don't want any part of this, Nirnite. I'll gladly cut you to pieces."

Pearl; "D-do you not remember what happened last time? You really wanna try again?"

Thalnok; "You had help last time, this'll be a fair fight."

Pearl chuckled and gestured her hand upwards, flipping his sword back to a normal grip as she slipped out of the room with an almost seductive sway in her step. Thalnok let out a growling laugh as he went out the door and closed it behind him, but was confused when he looked down either end of the hallway and didn't see Pearl. He looked up towards the ceiling before looking back down to see a flash of blue enter his periphery. He saw Pearl had teleported in front of him with a smile before delivering a left hook, knocking him to the floor. She leapt to his right down the hall shortly after, assisted by a puff of sapphire gas.

Thalnok used his sword to help himself to his feet, emerald filaments stitching together his caved in skull from the punch. Pearl drew her blaster from her back as she watched Thalnok heal himself.

Pearl; "... I haven't seen that kind of magic since..."

Thalnok cracked a kink in his neck with a chortle.

Thalnok; "Hah! Impressed yet?"

Pearl; "Who taught you this? Ei'ernsha?"

Thalnok; "It was a gift from the Slayer of the Scores, and I've been making good use of it."

Thalnok rushed at Pearl with an overhead swing, which she dodged with trivial ease, until he thrust his elbow to the side and bashed her in the nose with it, making her recoil and drop her weapon. The opening gave Thalnok a chance to swing his sword at her again, this time landing a successful laceration against her collarbone, painting the wall to her right with her blood... which was ever so slightly crystalline. The sight made Thalnok cringe slightly, looking back to Pearl with concern.

Pearl; "Yeah... Sorry you had to see that."

She then lunged forward and headbutt the Aludian, aided by a bulwark of blue plasma on her forehead. The force of the attack nearly knocked Thalnok off his feet again, to which Pearl grabbed the end of his sword to pull him back over, kicking him in the chest and pulling the sword from his hands. She then broke the sword into fragments in her one hand, swirling with indigo energy as Thalnok sat up, shamrock cables stitching his rib cage back together.

Thalnok; "You can break my weapons... You can break my body... But you cannot break me!"

He stood and lunged at Pearl, and she ducked under Thalnok before thrusting a fist upwards, throwing him further into the air, simultaneously grabbing the now broken sword. When he landed flat on his stomach, she ran over and planted a foot on his back, holding the broken blade above his head.

Pearl; "You know what this means, don't you?"

Thalnok; *grunt before speaking* "How do you know how to counter the spell?!"

Pearl; "I've been around. Now, where is Gale working out of?"

Thalnok chuckled a little, attempting to look back at Pearl.

Thalnok; "... Did the Draconian not already tell you?"

Pearl; "You saw Asukas' leg. Where's she really working from?"

She pushed her leg down with enough force to make him slam his face into the ground again with a metallic thud.

Thalnok; "Gah! ... Ganymede. Ei'ernsha... and Gale are on Ganymede..."

Pearl; "Ah... Still in the Jovians, not too far off."

Thalnok; "I told you... Now, off to prison with me, huh?"

Pearl; "As long as you don't try anything stupid."

Pearl removed her foot from Thalnoks' back, allowing him to stand on his own. He smirked before whipping around, attempting to bash Pearl in the head with a fist, but she quickly brought up the sword, cutting off his arm at the elbow before thrusting the broken edge forward into his neck, her grunting was interrupted by his own gurgling and gasping. Green threads attempted to patch the wound, but dissipated when they reached the blade. Thalnok fell to the ground once more, unable to get a word out as he looked up at Pearl one last time, his center eye going dark shortly after. Pearl stared at the body with the sword in its' neck a moment before Anchor came out of the med bay, eyes wide.

Anchor; "... Pearl? A-are you ok? What happened?"

Pearl; "A thorn in the side... He knows where Gale is."

Anchor; "Was I close?"

Pearl; "Ganymede."

Anchor; "A-hah! It was in the Jovians!"