As the reflexive current raged through her in a cascade, her vision still reeling from the force of his blow, Lyntael was dimly aware that Vigilance had backed away again. She tried to push herself upright, but mostly succeeded in half rolling, half falling off the bench. Her muscles cried out in protest as she fought to her feet, the resurgent electricity already burning through them. She couldn't take much more, but her scattered thoughts wavered. A flicker of memory reminded the girl how helpless she'd been the last time it got worse than this: if Martia hadn't helped her come down again, she wouldn't have been able to do anything at all; it had more or less paralysed her. One hand gripped the edge of the counter as she steadied herself and made her eyes focus on Vigilance. He was taunting her again, from a few steps away, but she still felt dazed, dizzy and her vision swam; the words washed past without her hearing them properly.
She was sure now that if she burned up that far, electricity or not, the sick creature would probably have his way without hesitation. She had to slow down, at least a little. Even if he beat her down faster because of it. She couldn't let him do what he threatened, but failing Rogan wasn't acceptable either. At least if she tried to ease back the current, it was a few more seconds she could buy, more moments when Rogan might call on her, and be ready. The sense that she was standing there, naked from the waist up in front of this lech of a navi while he looked on, skittered across her mind but was crushed out again by the awareness of her charge beginning to short out any sort of gathered thought.
“You even hearing me, darling? You've got more sting than I thought, but it'd be aright shame if your tiny little mind has shut itself away already.” She blinked a few times, focusing on Vigilance more clearly and felt her teeth grinding. If he noticed the shift if only made him smirk. “Still there? Good. Guess that's a no on bending over for me, huh? How about I help you again. Don't worry, you'll get it right soon.” There was a flash of his smile and Lyntael realised that he was coming towards her again. The thing she was most aware of was the electric fire in all her limbs, the feeling of it scorching her eyes and whiting out the thoughts in her brain, but she tried to throw herself out of the way anyway.
It wasn't so much a dodge, as a vaguely sideways stumble around the corner of the bench and a little way along it, that resulted in her stumbling to her knees again. Her legs didn't feel like they were even responding properly, now, and every action she took seemed to be ponderous and heavy. It wasn't just the pain, or the ache, it felt like something more than that.
“Oh no you don't. Get here.” A hand grabbed her by the hair and she heard him hiss under his breath. Hurt? Good. The fragment of thought had a bitter, angry twist to it and Lyntael felt that she was snarling as he pulled her up to her feet again. “You feeling it kicking in, sweetie? I told you before, there's nothing you can do to stop me. Nothing at all. Your mine, to do with as I please, and that ain't going to change. You understand that yet?” He sounded angry too. Fractions of thoughts crashed against each other amongst the electrical storm in her head. Angry was something. It was better than before, surely. It meant she was getting somewhere. Angry meant he'd hurt her more. Maybe. Would it make him try to... to... force her, sooner? Or later? Her breath came in long, heavy panting and the snarl had become a growl in her throat. Why was this even happening? Why did she deserve this? As she looked into his eyes, watching back at her, she tried again to punch the vile grin from his face. Why was he even smirking like that, if he sounded angry?
Her arm came up achingly slowly, but try as she might, she couldn't seem to strike at him any faster. The torrent of current coursing under her skin circled and pulsed, but it stayed where it was, even as she willed it to pour out all over the bastard. It burned enough to make her arm tremble, but... nothing. Vigilance batted her sluggish attempt aside with his free hand without even looking at it.
“You about done, girlie? Like I said; you can't fight me, and I've got hours still to play. Just give up.” He chuckled again, the reached for her with his free hand. “Or don't. Doesn't matter. I think you're about spent anyway, by the look of it.” Her head turned aside, eyes squeezed shut in a last attempt at denial as his fingers pressed into her chest. She felt the hand flinch as he touched her, then relax and begin gripping and groping, caressing roughly in places she still felt shy about touching herself, let alone anyone else. A weak, desperate sound escaped her lips and she tried to struggle against him again, to no effect. It was like her arms and legs didn't want to respond to her at all now.
“Not so bad, once you get used to it. Still, not much fun up here. Let's look lower, shall we, dear?” The hand dragged rough fingertips down from her chest over her middle, where one finger paused to flick mockingly at her delicate sunburst piercing. When the hand reached the hem of her skirt his fingertips curled around, beginning to slip under the hem. After a moment, however, they paused. Lyntael became aware of the way her own body was shaking, heavy breaths turned part way to ragged gasps, and cut with tiny hiccoughs that made her shoulders shake. There were tears on her cheeks.
“Ohh...” Vigilance's voice was an almost breathless sigh suddenly. “That's what I wanted to see... Hahh... beautiful. You're mine, Lyntael. I own you to the last breath.” Her shattered thoughts managed to put together what he was saying and the sick, horrific feeling in her gut welled up again. How could anyone this cruel, this twisted, exist, human or navi, it was just... too foul to be true.
“Stop it.” It was a broken, shaking plea. “Please stop...” It wasn't even really a conscious thought; she knew he wouldn't listen. The hand in her hair gripped tighter and he pulled her closer to his face. By extension, the hand in the hem of her skirt pulled down further until she felt the tips of his fingers brushing at the one garment that remained underneath.
“Make me.” The words came low, with a satisfied tone and his fingers curled more beginning to pull away and threatening to tear the catch of her skirt. As the fabric started to tear, some deeper instinct inside the girl manage to fight to the front and she pushed away from the creep again. This time all the air in the room swirled into a spiral that gathered behind her then thrust forward, around Lyntael to assault Vigilance in a concentrated burst. The hand holding her up let go and she stumbled backwards, managing a few half-steps back before her legs buckled completely, landing her on the ground again. A stray snatch of thought flitted through her mind, surfacing amidst the scattered white-out of electrical burn; for a fight, she had spent more time down than on her feet so far.
Opposite her, Vigilance grunted and snarled, holding his footing as the short gust of wind forced him back barely a step. If she had thought he sounded angry before, his face made it clear that this last defiant interruption was beginning to push the navi too far. His hand was still holding the pale yellow fabric of her skirt, she realised, but he threw it aside in a vicious motion even as it began to break up and disintegrate into data. Given the situation, her next action was less than helpful. Instinct made her try to draw her legs up closer, seeking to cover what the skirt no longer could, but Vigilance wasn't interested. When he moved, it seemed almost like a blur to her, a single running stride towards her was all she had time to see.
“Give it up!!” No hiss or angry snarl this time; Vigilance roared at her as he came, bellowing the words loud enough to set her ears ringing again. For an instant he was standing above her, then all of his momentum turned downwards. She saw the dagger in his hand, but it was turned backhand and it was his knuckles instead that drove down hard at her prostrate form. The force of the blow slammed her back to the panels and she felt her barrier react, collapsing and sending a recoil shock back through her body. It was far less painful that the blow itself might have been for the girl, but under the strain of a current she couldn't deal with most of her body was in pain, and it still made her cry out. Standing above her, Vigilance had his teeth bared, and there was no way it could be described as a smirk or a smile now.
“Normally, the more they fight, the better the victory... But you need to stay down.” He shook his head. “You know it's inevitable, I've seen the cracks already. Stay down, Lyntael, accept it.”
Somewhere amongst the pain and the fear, and the sick horror of the whole situation, anger was gradually beginning to fill up more and more of the space between her fragmented thoughts. Something spiteful began to needle at her. After all his taunting, now he wanted to ask her to play nice? She bean to gather herself, pulling herself to a crouch and getting her feet under her. Her fingers managed to make a proper fist this time as she pressed it against the bench-top nearest, forcing herself up. She tried again to force the flood of electricity from her body, to expend it in a wave and fry the creep, but again, there was something in the way, blocking her off. When she reached, all she got was a queasy feeling and the memory of that horrid smirk. What had he done to her, the bastard? She wasn't exactly sure why the need to taunt him back seemed right, but the whole mess just wasn't fair, and wasn't right. As she stood all the way up, listing slightly and not quite steady on her feet, she met his eye and put everything she had into a proper snarl.
“Make me.” There was no plan beyond the words, but by now Lyntael felt as though her main reason for fighting on was because he told her to give up. Goading the sinister navi was probably a mistake, though, and her challenge seemed to enrage Vigilance again beyond all reason.
“You stupid—” The rest of his shout was drowned out by a small shock-wave of impact that threw her bodily against the wall. Her back crashed against the large monitor screen and forced the air from her lungs. He'd thrown out one hand towards her just before the force had pushed her back. As she staggered forward, Lyntael looked about to see that Vigilance had moved, jumping up on the tabletop nearest her, and as she focused on him again, his other hand whipped towards her. A scattering of tiny energy knives flashed out, several of the tendrils looping about her limbs for just long enough to deliver a rough yank forwards again and making her head snap back at the sudden change of direction. The force pulled her towards Vigilance but he had already ducked out of the way and she tumbled, rolling over and sliding under the other bench with enough speed to fetch her up against the drawers and cupboards on the other side of the room. Vigilance was still shouting at her.
“—brainless do you have to be to mouth off at me like some—” she caught sight of him again as he dropped down to the ground a short distance from her. His left hand came up again and his words were cut off in another wave of force. It sent her crashing into the screen again, and this time it shut off as a rippling crack formed where her back struck it.
“You're a doll to me, Lyntael! A rag-doll in my hands! You belong to me, every part. Your lips, your tits, your—” Silver light flashed again, though it was from the side of her vision this time. Vigilance had moved again while he ranted, standing with her in the open space at this end of the room. She had enough time to begin turning to face the light before the tiny blades of energy with their wires were cutting at her skin again. The rough tug dragged her back towards the other navi and he stepped smoothly around the girl as she staggered past. A moment later, just as she was trying to right her balance, Lyntael felt the palm of his hand press against her back.
“Just a bloody stupid doll.” She barely had time to register the snarl before she was flung away again, this time much harder than before. For an instant she was aware of her feet leaving the floor as her body tumbled wildly, then sharp, stabbing pain stopped her. A gushing sound filled her ears as her senses caught up with the sudden impact, and more digging pains joined the first immediate one in the small of her back. Freezing cold was the next sensation, and wet.
She blinked trying to see something other than the ceiling of the lab, but her body had barely come to rest before another force exerted itself upon her. There was more blunt pains and the sound of breaking fixtures as she was dragged with brutal force partway along the length of what proved to be the wet-works bench on one wall of the lab and off, back towards Vigilance. For an instant, as her small frame hurtled towards him, she had sight of him turning, one foot coming around in a wide-arcing back-heel, and then she had stopped again. So many different points of pain assaulted her body it was too hard to tell what had come from Vigilance, and what was from the lab fixtures.
Her eyes were open, staring up at the lab ceiling again, though they wouldn't come into focus. Vaguely, Lyntael was away of the icy chill of digital water under her back, flowing out from the damaged sinks and rapidly spreading across the floor of the lab, where she now lay. Every tiny cut on her body stung as the water touched it, and around her it began to acquire a faint pinkish tint from the ones that still bled. There was so much electricity racing through her body, desperate to get out, but held back... and there was so much water around her now, spreading across the lab floor at pace to make janitors weep. There was something... bad... about that. Wasn't there? Her underwear was soaking wet. That would get uncomfortable if she couldn't change soon.
Other dazed and fragmented thoughts floated to the top of her awareness, then drifted away again just as quickly, until a dull thump and heavy pressure on her hips brought her back to the present. Vigilance was kneeling astride her, leaning forward so his face was above hers. He was holding her wrists as well, she realised, pinned down over her head, one in each hand. He was panting heavily as well. The mask was gone now, his angry features looking much more the loathsome beast he was.
“Don't you die on me just yet. We've got hours of fun to have still.” Her cheeks felt hot, tracked by fresh tears now, and she didn't bother fighting them back. She could feel his eyes drinking up her torment, but it hardly seemed to matter now.
“You're a monster... jus... just a monster.” She barely heard herself, the words choked around uneven breaths. She heard herself mumble it again, then coughed. The sharp iron tang of blood touched her tongue. Not good. She said it again, unable to pull her thoughts back from that despairing loop. For a few moments more, Lyntael fought to draw a proper breath, just to spit the accusation back at her attacker over and over, until her murmurs petered into silence. Vigilance just watched, catching his breath. It was another few seconds after she fell silent before he spoke, and now the mask was back, cool, self-assured and domineering again.
“Oh, Lyntael... You poor, pathetic creature. I'm not the real monster in all this. Not by half.” He shook his head, and smiled softly at her, though his grip on her wrists remained as tight as ever. “Do you know who the real monster is? He's far worse than me, whoever he is. I'm just the tool of his monstrosity, really. Do you want to know who the real monster is, in this picture, Little Lyntael?” He paused, shaking his head, but didn't wait long for her to answer. She was still trying to focus her thoughts and fight off the pain, but his voice had taken on the cloying, thought-piercing tone again, and she couldn't shut it out. He leaned in closer, inhaling as though he was smelling her hair.
“No, I'm not the real monster... I look at you, beautiful, intricate, detailed... I look at you, girl, and even I can see that whoever made you poured their whole heart and soul into it. Whoever made you really loves you. Or they did, once. Not any more it would seem. So if you want to see the real monster in this picture, then you ought to look at whatever son of a dog had you, and then let you wind up all alone, orphaned and masterless.” He brought his face close enough that his lips almost touched hers. Lyntael turned her head aside, and then he was whispering right into he offered ear.
“All alone, here... with me.” There was a pause where she felt him breath in and out again with deliberate weight, but she noticed it was just a movement of air; no scent, or warmth, or moisture, nothing to make it feel like breath at all. A detail his design was missing perhaps. “Because I'll tell you this, Lyntael. Whoever let you end up like this... they're the bigger monster, since even I, in the short time we have, will appreciate you more than they did.”
Summary
Lyntael:
L*) Manifest Spirit Locked Off (Freeze)
L1) *stunned*
L2) A Very Sluggish Dodge
L3)
L*) Subtype; Gust, as a Free Action: Point-blank trying to push Vigilance away
L4)
L*) Situational: Electrical lockdown strain (Overcharge +1)
Vigilance:
V*) After-Burner Activated
V1) Contextual: Grapple Lyntael (again...)
V2) Aim
V3) Full-charge Buster Strike (40, Pull, A)
V4) Buster Charge
V5) Aim
V6) Soft Touch (Multi-Stage: First (Knock-Back), Then (Buster Shot (10, Pull, A)), Then (Knock-Back), Then (Buster Shot (10, Pull, A)), Then (Microburst), Then (Gravity), Then (20Null, Melee, A)(Charge-Burner 1, Recovery Time 1, 15Hp Sacrifice)
V7) (Recovery Time)
Cooldowns and Overcharge:
Lyntael:
My Pain is Real: Ready!
My Heart Falters: Cooling Down
Overcharge: Begin 3/5, Freeze prevents other modifiers, Electrical lock-up adds +1, End 4/5
Vigilance
Whisper: Cooling Down
Personal Matters: Ready!
Hands Off: Cooling Down
Now You See Me: Cooling Down
All the Angles: 2 Turns
Soft Touch: 3 Turns
Curiosity: It would be nice if there was a way to be flexible with terrain/environment modifiers that didn't change the actual terrain tiles themselves, such as water on the floor, or rain etc. Even though there's no hard mechanic for that that I'm aware of, save the hard terrain-change and effect rules, is that the sort of thing conscientious RP mods have the freedom to account for in some way? Just wondering.