Family Matter [AT SPLIT - Blight be Purged]

Dion was no easy target, but something about the ferocity with which the devourer had attacked made it easy for Kabe to lay several hits on his foe. Nothing that would cause serious damage, but enough that the sickening hunger was abated once more by the savory taste of battle-worn, ki-laden saiyan flesh.

But it was not enough. Kabe needed more, for justice to be served, and for this battle to prove his allegience to his family was enough that he would go all out when called upon. The Devourer needed more to prove itself the victor. In his head, Kabe felt the pain that Bee was experiencing as he attempted to recover from his injuries, alone in the trans-temporarly stomach they shared.

That feeling fueled him. Empowered him. Gave him the fury, the strength he needed for he and the devourer to become one, and the golden primal light he'd spoken of earlier to truly emerge. As Kabe stepped forward, his body was engulfed in an erratic, thrashing wind of golden hue, and his eyes turned pale and rolled over, leaving only the devourer in full control.

Charging it's energy into it's jaw, the beast enwreathed in holy fire lunged forward, maw beared, and crashed it's teeth down onto Dion's flesh aiming to tear something — anything — off of his body to make even the pain it's child was suffering.

---

WC: 230
TWC: 4965

The vicious brutality of Kabe's attack was made clear as it landed, flesh rended and blood spraying before Dion desperately shoved himself back with a kiai, barely escaping before the beast was able to tear off the bloodied meat from Dion's still living body completely. In a last effort to put down his foe, the devourer had willed the welling energy in his jaw outward in a blast, which lit up the room and shattered several screens behind them, ruining the illusion of their jungle surroundings.

With his scouter off, Kabe couldn't tell if Dion had been consumed by the light, rendered incapacitated. The humane part of him that clawed to regain control hoped he had been. The devourer, however, was glad to hear the rasping voice of his foe, who had endured yet another attack and still stood against him.

The most dangerous prey always provided the most exhilirating hunt.

There was something different now. Something.... wrong. The animal in him, driven by instinct, begged to take off and flee. The monster in him fought harder for control, egged on by the sudden chilling feeling that the terrible corruption wracking Dion eminated outward. The man in him worried for his friend, beneath the heated emotions he wore at the forefront.

Parts of him were starting to calm, but they weren't yet strong enough to wrestle control from the beast, and so Kabe pressed forward blocking the blow to his abdomen and grinning ear to ear as he pressed closer to dion. "Fight harder..." He growled, itching for the feeling of being battered about by a predator, the game in the chase, before it would be ripped to shreds in gratifying primal victory.

From within his stomach, Kabe withdrew a rusted spike and aimed to drive it into Dion's shoulder like a spearman sticking a lion in a frenzied bid to survive.

---

WC: 312
TWC: 5277

A loosened grip, a moment of surprise, and a deep pain followed each other in sequence as the rusted spike drove itself into the side of Kabe's right leg. "ARGH-" He yelped, spluttering up some bangles and jewels from his gut before a solid uppercut with the force of a battleship behind it rocked his shit into next thursday, sending him hurdling back into the glitching scenery once more.

Again, he struck against the dome surrounding them, more screens shattering and a few falling to the ground beside him as he regained his position, yanking the spike from his leg and throwing it aside before clutching at the gush of blood that followed. If he were himself, he would be very mournful of his pocket, and how much money and theft it would take to fix this room back up.

But instead, he was solely focused on Dion. In just as much time as it had taken him to gather a small breath of air for himself, Dion had already raced to close the gap and slid around behind him and was bearing down for a heavy slug mailed directly for his frontal lobe, via the skull. Kabe wasn't quick enough to react, but the Devourer was.

His head whipped around, and a blast of energy rocketed from within his maw, jaw extended wide and garbage spluttering up through the radiant light as the force of it stopped Dion's blow from hitting his cranium. Both the beast and the man hoped the blow would land.

---

WC: 255
TWC: 5532

Kabe didn't have much time, if any, to gloat about the damage his reactionary blast had caused. One of two arms singed by the torrent of energy moments prior was already whipping back, readying to lay the smack down with a mean left hook. Kabe braced himself for the blow, but was instead blinded by a sudden burst of energy exploding against his face.

"ARGH!" He spluttered, his head rocking to the right and shaking from the fizzle of energy that was evaporating across his features, a small puff of smoke revealing a wild expression as Kabe was once again taken by surprise, whipped through the air and smacked savagely into the ground below like that Osgardian prince in that one Revenger movie he liked.

As he was driven along the ground into half-simulated, half-real debris he was able to brace himself, gripping onto the fourth cluster and freeing himself from Dion's grasp before he could take another face full of metal and grit. Though it had stung, getting thrown around like that had given him time to recover some energy, and he felt the drain of gullet space on Dion end, his reservoir filling faster than it usually could.

Throwing himself back a couple dozen feet, he dusted himself off, wiped blood from the side of his face, and plucked his sword from the debris beside him as he gestured to Dion.

---

WC: 233
TWC: 5765

Kabe was astounded by the power that Dion still had in his body. Whatever this power was that seemed to overtake him, the power that drove him to push this fight to the extreme it at reached and to the climax they were on the precipice of... it was something to rival the beast Kabe had learned to keep at bay. He watched as Dion began to unsheathe his blade, and readied himself.

This battle between monsters was drawing to a close.

All Kabe had to do was endure this attack, whatever it was, and he knew he could lay down the beating his muscles yearned for, knocking Dion around until some sensibility came through his skull and into the floating meat hunk within.

The attack was faster than he could predict. He barely saw the motion of the strikes, his blade vibrating with a repeating thrum as the tip or side of the katana glancing against wildefang, each cut spreading fire as it stung across his body. The flurry passed over, and for a moment Kabe wasn't sure if he'd been cut at all. He reeled his head around, looking toward Dion — he knew what was coming.

"You bastard."

He coughed, blood spluttering out as the attack finally enacted it's toll on his body. Cuts appeared all across his form, crimson spraying across debris as the remaining facets of the simulation finally began to fade. Kabe dropped to his knees, clutching at the spurting wounds across his stomach and chest as he curled onto his side, his vision blurring.

Here he was again. Where he and the Devourer first became acquainted. Bleeding out, alone, his face pressed against red-stained Durian soil and a monster bearing down on him.

"Fuck."

As Kabe's consciousness slipped, the ship began to rumble, jostling his limp body around. The crew had been watching, and they knew their captain was in bad shape. They were readying to jump the ship into deep space. His right hand man Nyaku, usually reserved and smug, hurriedly ran toward the simulation chamber hoping to drag Kabe to their medical bay.

He'd need a distraction.

He'd get one.

In the depths of gullet space, Bee could feel his father lose consciousness, and after a few seconds of lying limp Dion would see Kabe's body turn onto it's back, a cluster of random knickknacks and objects sputtering out alongside a furious insectoid child. "Hurt daddy! Make pay!" Bee screamed, fangs bared, driving his teeth toward Dion.

---

WC: 415
TWC: 6180