Chapter Nine

Lisa fell to her knees, a spur of blood exploding from her chest. Brendon looked on in shock as Dain closed distance. Without a second thought, the bodyguard swung towards Jacron again, who was barely able to keep himself upright. Masa lunged forward and gouged the guard's eyes out, causing him to stop and scream.

He began to fall back and to his knees. Masa stood above him as he slowly removed his hands. Without hesitation, Masa tore his throat out, causing massive amounts of blood to slowly pour out onto the floor. The guard hit the floor with a thud and no longer drew breath. Cyprus laughed with utter glee. "How touching! You two barely met and she just GIVES up her life to you! Such a waste, really. Could've used some more test subjects." He mocked.

"You... You..." Brendon began, "Lisa... No... Grrk! CYPRUS!!" He yelled aloud, extending his arms far out. He leaped off the ground toward Cyprus who easily blocked with his cane. Dain quickly made it over to Lisa, who was barely breathing. "Here." He said, offering a pill. "It'll knock you out but accelerate your body's natural healing process for a short time." Lisa nodded and slowly swallowed it before immediately passing out. He then looked to Masa, "I'll keep tabs on these two, you go help Brendon with Cyprus." She nodded and ran towards the fight with newfound focus.

Masa let out a fury of swipes and slashes from the front as Brendon tried from the back. Brendon's slashes were very reckless and fueled by rage. "Pah! What a worthless lot! What good is fighting the head of a company? Especially one such as mine! I keep all my subordinates in line and not one has stepped out, because I kill the ones who do! It's given me some strength and experience, I say!" Cyprus bellowed as he matched both blow for blow.

He let out a chuckle as he sent a firm smack into Brendon's face and fired a shot from the opposite end, shattering Masa's left hand. "At least make it a challenge!" He mocked once more. "Brendon," Masa panted, "You need to calm down. You can't fight like this!" Brendon's eyes suddenly shot red, filling his pupils and the whites of his eyes with blood.

It began to drip from his tear ducts and down his face. He only glared at Cyprus and yelled, "LISA!" as he raced forward once more. Masa ran after him, shouting, but nothing could get through to him.

Cyprus dodged about with ease, throwing in a swing here and there, showing clear dominance over Brendon and Masa. He finished with a back handspring and a flip before landing. He took a bow and looked back at them.

"We can't win..." Masa said, losing confidence. "He's too fast." Brendon ran forth once more, still fueled with rage and yelling. Cyprus turned to him and raised his cane. He threw it, very hard and the hook caught Brendon's neck and he went hurling towards the opposite wall. He sat there, pinned as the cane was stuck into the wall and had imbedded itself on the other side. He was struggling and gasping for air, losing lots of gusto, but still willing to fight. He couldn't make noise, only breathe.

"That’s enough out of that loud mouth of yours." Cyprus smugly noted. Now Masa was at the disadvantage. Dain looked on for a moment before hitting his hand to the ground. Jacron tugged on his side. "Hey, go on, help her. We'll be fine, besides, if she loses, you don't stand a chance alone. I got it over here." After a second of hesitation, Dain stood. He began walking slow towards Cyprus, who joyously mocked the new competitor with a bow and open arms. "No chance alone, eh? Try me."

He ran to Cyprus, who was shocked by Dain's speed. Dain landed a punch square in his face and sent him reeling into the back wall. "No chance?" He said smugly back to Jacron. He stopped when he saw that Jacron was nowhere to be seen. Before he could say anything, Cyprus flew towards Dain, landing a solid punch of his own.

Masa tried to intervene but was quickly knocked out from a clean blow to the chest. Cyprus stood over her, "Time to end this." He said, lowering his stance. Dain switched his augment to hypercharge and several syringes readied themselves on the base. Dain grinned and Cyprus matched it. They both ran towards each other and Dain swung first.

Cyprus ducked and sent an elbow into Dain's chin. Dain was stunned for a second before sending a knee into Cyprus's gut. Cyprus followed with a spinning jump kick into Dain's head, sending him to the floor instantly. Dain quickly got up, grabbing Cyprus's leg and spinning him up, into the air and landed face first. Dain fired a syringe and it punctured Cyprus’s shoulder. Cyprus fell back, pulling the syringe out of his arm while standing back up, "What... What is this?" He said, examining the syringe. "It's a special concoction I made. You're going to be losing this fight now. It drains your stamina, so you won't be able to fight much longer, let alone stand." Dain said, triumphantly.

Cyprus gritted his teeth and shattered the syringe in his hand before tossing the broken glass towards Dain. Some shards cut him, leaking the remains into his bloodstream. This made Dain mad as much as it did Cyprus. Dain swung again at Cyprus, who dodged it at first, but only with luck. He swung a kick, which limply connected with Dain's neck. It let out a pop and sent him to the floor. "You... P-paralyzed me!?" Dain said in astonishment. Cyprus nodded and stood over Dain with a smug look and raised his leg up. Suddenly, a familiar yell roared out and Cyprus's leg was now severed.

He fell to his stub and let out a yell. Holding his bloody leg, he looked to where the slash came from and there was Jacron, panting nearby. "Forget about me, Cy-co?" Jacron laughed weakly. Just then, Brendon broke the cane off the wall, freeing him. As soon as he hit the ground, Cyprus looked Jacron in the eye. "You... You look like the ki-” He didn't get to finish his words before Brendon sliced him in half, sending one half upwards into the air. He looked up and grinned. "You're finished." Brendon said before jumping into the air after Cyprus's top half. In a matter of seconds, Cyprus's yells were cut about as fast as he was, sending little chunks in every direction. Brendon landed on the ground and happily laughed. It was a maniacal laugh. After a few seconds, Brendon’s expression changed. He began waving his hand in front of his face.

"I can't... I can't see!" He said, almost not believing himself. "Of course, you can't see, you're blind," Dain started, "You popped like seven blood vessels in your eyes and probably severed your optic nerves."

"In English, please."

"You got too mad, your eyes blew up from the immense pressure. Just get one of my pills from my satchel. It's under my left side."

"Why can't you get it?"

"Well, if you didn't know, I'm paralyzed."

"But you were moving around a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, BEFORE Cyprus paralyzed me."

"Which side was it again?"

"Left, but I'm on my stomach, so you'll have to reach around me."

"Is this it?"

"No, that's my wallet."

"Hmm, seems like it's the right thing."

"No, I assure you, that is my wallet."

"I don't know, it feels like it's the medicine thing."

"Put my wallet back, Brendon."

"I've got this feeling that it's right."

"Put it back Brendon!"

"Ugh, fine. You ruin all the fun... How about this thingy?" "Hold it up really quick... That's a letter to my wife." "Aww, big man misses his honey-boo?"

"Yeah, but you can't read, so put it back."

"Okay... How about this one?"

"Yes, THAT'S the right one. Now, open it and put it on your tongue."

"Like thith?"

"Ew, and yes. Now chew."

"Oh, hey! I can see again!"

"Yeah, that's the cure for blindness. It's instant action, but now I need to make another one. Look in there again for one labeled 'Paralyzed'"

"Here it is. Kinda pointless if you can't get it. You know, since you're-"

"It's not supposed to be for me, you dolt. Just put it in my mouth."

"Heh, that's what she said."

"There. That's better. Don't worry about Lisa, she's okay." "I know, I heard you guys over there talking."

"How? I thought you were focused on the literal chopped liver over there."

"Well, when you're pinned against a wall without the ability to make sounds, you listen around you."

"Can I get some of that stuff?" Jacron interjected, limping over. They all chuckled and celebrated for a few moments.

Outside, Brendon tossed a flare grenade into the building. It set ablaze fast, spreading throughout the building with intense speed. "I don't think fire is supposed to spread that fast." Dain said. "It does when you use a combination of flare fluid and bug repellant." Jacron said. Brendon slowly looked towards Jacron with mild concern.