tcepsa | Round Robin Story--Part 5! (Reply)

Author's note: This is part 5 of a round robin story in which I am participating. For parts 1-4, see dreamhawk's journal ^_^

"Actually," boomed a strong voice, "I believe that's my line!"

"What?!" Began the Mintouri General, turning just in time to take two full hooves to the face. He flew through the air back into the trees, smashing clean through three or four before his progress was abrputly halted by a particularly stubborn oak. He crashed to the ground and lay motionless.

"Kal'drin!" Exclaimed Michelle, "What are you doing here?!"

"Ty'an sent us." The Centari explained, half-turning so he could face them while still keeping a wary eye on the gleaming General, "When they learned that something had crashed into the place where the Queen was staying, they decided that we could not afford to wait any longer. They wanted to give her more time to remember, but feared that it would be too risky." He nodded towards the metallic pile at the base of the tree, "Looks like they were right."

"Don't be silly!" Michelle fumed, "I had the situation completely under control!"

"Didn't look that way to me..." muttered Daniel, nursing his arm where Kira had grazed him with her bat-in-the-stone, "what with you letting your Princess be shot and getting yourself crushed under a Minotaur simultaneously!"

*He's got a point there,* Simum squeeked.

"Well maybe if you hadn't been so obsessed with being the one on top of me, maybe you would have noticed him and been able to give me some warning!" Michelle glared at him. *And you! Aren't you supposed to be the eyes in the back of my head? Let me know when there's impending danger? How did you miss a nine-foot-tall metal statue coming at me?*

"I hate to break this up," interjected Kal'drin, "but we need to move out; it is not safe to remain here."

"Why not?" Daniel asked, "It's not like he's going to be giving us any more trouble." He jerked his head towards the General.

"His repair circuitry is the best that the Mintouri have. It will not be long before his systems are fully back online."

"Maybe so, but still, you totally kicked his ass last time!"

"Yeah, but he 'totally did it with a sneak attack' last time, too," Michelle interrupted with sarcastic mimickry--another skill that she had cultivated during her time on this planet.

"She is right," said Kal'drin, "under normal circumstances, the General would be more than a match for me. We must go before he completes his recovery."

"I guess that makes sense," said Daniel, mollified, "but where should we go? We're on an island in the middle of nowhere that, with the exception of the resort, is basically deserted!"

"I shall open a portal back to the planet where Ty'an are," replied the Centari, "It should give us enough of a haven to determine a course of action with a longer timeframe. Please step back and I will begin the process."

Kira had been stunned by the suddenness with which her target had disarmed her and disabled her; he hadn't seemed like he would be such an adept at hand-to-hand combat. She mentally kicked herself for not suspecting it, considering that he had a contract on his head, then relented; many of her marks had been disposed of for reasons completely unrelated to their physical combat abilities.

Focusing on the three standing nearby and talking, she did her best to pretend that she was a subdued, helpless prisoner while slowly testing her bonds. She had resisted as much as possible while her target was tying her hands to her feet, giving the impression that she was much less flexible than she truly was. Her ploy had worked, and as she slowly bent her knees until her feet touched her backside, the rope connecting her arms to her ankles went slack. The ties were still tight, but she had gained a little mobility. Enough to slowly slide her dress up her thigh and ease the knife out of its sheath.

The tough plastic cord chafed her wrists as she carefully twisted them to get the knife at a suitable angle. It chafed even more as she began to saw through the rope, almost like it was attempting to cut her back; were the situation less dire, she would have been amused at the instant karma.

Suddenly she felt the tension on her wrists disappear. She began working on the rope around her ankles. As she did, she carefully curled into a position from which she could pounce--no more delays! As soon as the rope was severed, her target would die.

Hazel crept carefully through the woods. She could have sworn that she saw the target go this way, and with Kira nowhere to be found it was up to her to finish the job. She thought she heard voices, and headed in that direction. Peeking around a large oak tree with a pile of scrap metal at its base, she saw the strangest thing that she had ever been faced with.

Some kind of bizarre creature, with the body and legs of a horse but the torso of a man, was talking with one of the women that Hazel had seen at the resort and... the target! Taking a deep breath and doing her best to push the surreality of the situation to the back of her mind, she raised her gun.

"Preparations are complete," said Kal'drin, "get the Princess and let us go!"

"Right!" said Daniel, "I'll just--"

"DIE!!!" Screamed Kira as she leapt at Daniel, slashing and stabbing with the knife. He did his best to fend her off, but to no avail; this time, he was the one caught by surprise, coming face to face with her as she sank the knife into him up to the hilt.

"YOU?!" Her eyes widened in recognition, then shock, and she felt her knees give way as he collapsed to the sand, "Oh--oh my god..."

There was a fierce clattering and clanking from the trees as the Mintouri General reared to his feet and saw Hazel pointing her gun at them. "You will not hurt the Queen!" he bellowed, grabbing her and flinging her across the entire length of the beach to crash into the surf. Turning, his ironclad hooves launched him towards the Centari.

"Take her!" yelled Michelle, hauling Kira to her feet and shoving her towards Kal'drin, "Take her and get out of here!"

There was a brilliant flash of light, and when it faded only Michelle, her would-be lover, and a very angry Mintouri General remained on the beach.

"Well," she said, looking at Daniel bleeding onto the sand, "this is a pretty pickle."

"Yes," rumbled the General, "your meddling has lost me the Queen. Now, you two will help me get her back." His eyes gleamed.

"Oh you think so, do you?" spat Michelle, "Go to hell, you metallic monster. In case you hadn't noticed, he's not in much shape to do anything. And besides, I can't open a portal--only a bonded pair can do that and you know it."

"True," replied the General, "The knife has punctured some of his major organs. He will not survive long--but there is a way. And unless I miss my guess, you were planning on doing it anyway." He smiled as unpleasantly as a metal Minotaur can.

"Ungh?" Asked Daniel, trying to follow what was going on in the hopes that it would help him stay conscious and therefore alive.

"I am not about to go chasing halfway across the galaxy in my ship again. I need that portal. Your body has sustained significant internal injuries and will soon fail entirely. You must become a bonded pair with her," the General growled menacingly, "or you will die."