Can't Live Without You

Loss and Victory

Leaving Kyota's stone corpse behind was hard, but there was no way to take her away, and really no point. The only positive to the situation, if it could be called that, was that Dictatious could no longer use her against Blinky. Why had he beaten her so badly in the first place? Perhaps since he was blind, Dictatious had not realised how bad the damage was becoming.

Jim and Claire felt shaky and sick when they had to tell their friends what happened. Aargh gave them a quick hug, but sadness would have to wait. The plan had originally been to wait until Jim and Claire returned with Kyota, so that she could help them spread out and unlock the cells, after which Claire could open some portals. Now they would have to improvise; they may not have much time if Kyota's corpse was discovered, so Claire would have to create one large portal for everyone, just as she had during the evacuation of trollmarket. Thankfully it didn't need to be quite that large, but she would be completely exhausted afterward.

As guards, nobody questioned them when they sealed off the cell blocks; there was almost nobody around anyway with the fight going on. All the cells were opened, the prisoners ushered through to the entrance of the free caves. "Tell them you were sent by the trollhunter, and ask for Draal if you can. Hurry!" Jim shooed the last of the trolls and changelings through, and Claire's portal collapsed immediately.

She was sweating and drained, but seemed okay, although Jim noticed that her eyes had turned completely black until she stopped, just as they had the last time she created a large portal; it scared some part of Jim, but he couldn't do anything about it. He would just have to put off the issue for later, but he was deeply unsettled by this change, worried that maybe the staff did corrupt her in some way.

The prisoners taken care of, the trollhunters set off to retrieve Blinky and get away before their grand ruse was discovered.

*Blinky pov. Kinda gross injury warning.*

"And now to fight our two-time champion, Blinkous Galadrigal, we have none other than the great General Lodogor!!!" Blinky was advancing towards the center of the ring, and he tried not to stumble in shock. This was a big hit on his frazzled nerves; he wasn't sure, but didn't he know this guy? The other troll exited the staging fog in a charge, and Blinky sprung into action.

He did know this troll; Dictatious had him over many times when he was young, this was Vaashijun! Blinky brought his sword up, trying to forget all of the cruel pranks he had played on this troll. Vaashijun somehow got through Blinky's defenses and tapped him on the nose; Blinky startled and looked into his eyes. "So we meet again, little blueberry." His sword flashed, a fresh cut opening across Blinky's chest; not deep, but bloody.

Vaashijun had been an impressive troll when Blinky was little; now he was hulkingly terrifying. Black and green skin wrapped over bulging muscles, supported by thick bones. This form was completed by sharpened horns sprouting from an ugly, contorted face. Vaashijun had four arms just like Blinky and Dictatious, but he seemed of another breed entirely; Blinky guessed this to be the result of some sort of drugs. He also saw the truth; this was not a fight he could possibly hope to win.

Spinning out of the block, Blinky kicked Vaashijun's leg, hoping to make him trip. He didn't even move, instead grabbing Blinky by a horn and lifting him off his feet. "What are you playing at, little blueberry? We used to play together, don't you remember?" The murderous general pressed his thumb into two of Blinky's eyes, his claws puncturing them. Blinky screamed, blood spraying across his face and Vaashijun's hand.

Blinky wasn't able to feel the pain from his injuries; the combo of stimulant, adrenaline, and shock was too strong for the signal to go through. So when he saw the blood, he thought that Vaashijun had simply cut his face. Angry, he twisted out of the general's grip and struck him in the back. This time, the hit had a little more impact, but not much.

The arena was shifting wildly; Blinky couldn't see very well for some reason and found himself swaying. Vaashijun narrowed his eyes, then spat, "They gave you stimulant! I told them I wanted an execution, not a game. Ah well, you'll still be fun to kill, little blueberry." He reached to grab Blinky once more, but the smaller troll ducked under his massive arm. Gripped in his right hand was one of the general's knives that we wore under his armor- how had the little brat gotten it?

"Weak runt! Drop the knife and get this over with! Surrender now, and I can promise you a swift end!" Blinky stumbled a little, but kept himself mostly focused on the the general. His brain was foggy from the blood loss and shock, but he could still rationalize that he could use his smaller size to get through Vaashijun's defenses; the bigger troll was more powerful, but slower. Dropping his sword, Blinky ran towards the general. Burying it to the hilt in a slit of Vaashijun's armor, Blinky yelled, "I am Blinkous Galadrigal. I not weak, nor a runt-" He paused to twist the knife deeper in, and whispered, "And I have not been 'little blueberry' for a very, very long time."