Melee

Maya bolted out of the house running for cover. But Anya fired multiple force field blasts, forcing Maya to deflect with her striker sword. As Maya ran Anya pursued her and jeered.

“You can run all you want My-My! I’ll still catch you because I-”

The ground exploded under Anya’s foot. “Oh what the fuck!” she yelled as a force field bomb surrounded her. A trap laid by Maya.

“You little witch!” cried Anya as she fell inside the force field prison. “You know this cage won’t hold me!”

Anya raised her left arm and created her own force field from the inside, causing the outer field wall to shatter. As Anya retracted her field, Maya’s striker blade cut the air in a downward slice, aimed at Anya’s head.

Anya blocked the strike, slashing at Maya’s blade. From that point the women engaged in a ruthless sword fight.

The violent clash of their striker blades echoed in the yard as each combatant jockeyed for the killer blow. But after a minute of parrying both winded fighters backed off to take a breath.

“Give up Maya, you’re no sword fighter. If you want to take me you’d better get serious!” growled Anya.

“Aww, you tired already old lady? Well guess what? It’s about to get real bad for you!” snarled Maya.

Above Maya, a tiny marble sized object zipped through the air. When Anya caught sight of the tiny flying object it exploded to the size of a large trash can and dove straight for her.

“A sentinel? Maya you bitch!” screamed Anya as the flying machine swooped down and opened up twin blasters at her.

Anya fired her force field at the sentinel, hoping to block the shots and knock the flying machine off course. But as soon as Anya raised her shield Maya charged at her with an overhead slice.

“Here Mother!” howled Maya, slashing down at Anya.

“No!” shouted Anya.

Anya blocked Maya’s slice with her own sword, while still firing her force field at the overhead sentinel. But the sword block pulled Anya off balance.

“Dammit!” she cried, dropping backward from Maya’s blow.

The sentinel advanced on Anya, pressing her to keep her force field up. With Anya’s attention focused above, Maya shot her own force field blast at Anya’s gut. A direct hit.

“Aaaah!” yelled Anya as she tumbled back from Maya’s shot, landing on her stomach and losing her striker in the melee.

The sentinel hovering above her, dove for the kill.

“Die you flying trash can!” she growled and managed one force field blast at the sentinel from the ground. Her shot struck the underbelly of the flying machine and it crashed in the yard, bursting into flames.

From the ground Anya shot a glare at Maya.

“You tricky little witch... with your cheap sentinel,” she mouthed off before she blacked out.

Three minutes Later

Anya opened her groggy eyes to a new commotion in the yard. Rylan, freed from his force field prison, stood near Anya's SUV. In his hand he held Anya’s wrist device.

“You took my gear Rylan? How troublesome,” muttered Anya as she attempted to stand up, and only reached one knee.

Maya, behind the SUV, opened the back hatch door. She pulled out the table laser gun machine Anya used to torture, and later kill, Jed Litey with.

Maya held the machine up in triumph, glaring at Anya.

“I found it Mother,” she said examining the laser machine, “The item you killed to create. Filled with ampsediun diamonds...diamonds that don’t exist on our world.”

Anya stood up and cleared her throat.

“Yes sweet Maya. Go ahead and gloat. For now you’ve proven to Rylan that you’ve been lying to him the whole time, hm hm hm hm,” she laughed.

Rylan, quiet and still shaken from Anya’s force field prison, turned to Maya and stared at the laser gun thingy in her hand.

“Maya?...What’s Anya talking about? Were you just waiting around to take the diamonds and that machine from her? Did you know she was stealing those diamonds the whole time?” Rylan asked Maya.

Maya cradled the laser machine and faced Rylan.

“Rylan….This machine Anya created for these rare diamonds... it’s too dangerous...I need to stop her-”

“Stop her? Then why didn’t you stop her before she dragged me into stealing the diamonds? Before she killed all of those people?” he asked Maya.

Anya Laughed.

“Hahaha! Of course she didn’t stop me Rylan! Can’t you see? Maya wants that machine and the diamonds for herself! Don’t you Maya you lying bitch! ” shouted Anya as she walked toward the teenagers.

Maya extended her striker blade and pointed at Anya.

“Don’t you come any closer you demon!” she growled.

Anya stopped walking.

“Eh? But Maya, who are you to take a righteous stance? Instead why don’t you tell Rylan the truth? That you really work for the Kellan government back on Eres-”

“Your government and mine, Mother! Or are you not a Kellan?” shouted Maya.

Anya smirked.

“Yes Maya. I’m a proud citizen of the mighty Kellan nation, and I raised you and your brother to be the same. But I do not recognize that commoner government led by peasants created after the war-”

“A war that the Cesars and the Alexanders started!” screamed Maya.

Rylan stood back as the ladies argued over ties to a world, a nation, and two families he didn’t know. And the squabbling between them had nothing to do with him.

“Maya, Anya...I really don’t give a damn about your problems back on your messed up homeworld. What I want is for you two complete, lying, whack jobs..to leave my yard, and never come back.”

Both women evaded Rylan’s eye contact and stood silent.

“Rylan, I’m afraid it’s not that simple and it’s you who will need to make a choice,” said Anya. “You see, my brat kids are new government lap dogs and want to please their new masters by taking the diamonds from your world, and my invention, back to their incompetent leaders.”

Maya scowled.

“I have to, Mother. If I don’t you’ll use it for-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Maya, are you that stupid child?” howled Anya. “If your precious government truly wanted to keep the diamonds out of my hands then why didn’t they order you to kill me before I got them?”

Maya said nothing. Anya continued.

“Yes Rylan, wake up to Maya’s lies, since you seem to be the smart one here,” she said staring at him, “Now what do you think her government would do with such a device? Hmm?”

Rylan, staring at the ground turned to Maya, who didn’t look at him.

“I don't even know what that machine does, but Maya. Is what Anya said true?” he asked.

Maya cautiously faced Rylan.

“...Rylan, our government is peaceful...I would never let-”

“Liar!” yelled Anya. “Rylan, don’t be a fool! Once Maya hands that thing over to the Kellan government it won’t be two months before more visitors start arriving on the planet earth-”

“What? Why?” asked Rylan, his eyes on the laser machine. “What the hell does that thing do, Anya?”

Evil flooded Anya’s face as she stared at Rylan.

“Rylan baby...I hoped you’d asked me that.”

Anya’s eyes moved to her wrist gear in Rylan’s hand. And from where she stood, she barked an order to the device, “System, show Rylan what you can do!”

Anya’s wrist gear in Rylan’s hand crackled to life, it said aloud.

The laser machine in Maya’s arms turned on and burst into a bright yellow light. Startled, Maya dropped the machine as the light around it grew hot and blinding. In less than a second the machine pulsed a force in the air that knocked Rylan and Maya six feet back.

“Aaah!” the teens shouted, and as Rylan hit the ground he dropped Anya’s wrist gear.

“Hahahaha!” laughed Anya, as she ran to recover her wrist device, and watched as the ampsediun energy from the pulse coursed through Rylan’s body.

“What is this?...It..Aaaaaaah!” Rylan screamed and writhed on the ground.

“Rylan!” yelled Maya.

She charged Anya with her striker in hand, but it was too late. The air between Anya and the teens crackled like thunder as a large yellow orb formed in the yard. Maya stopped and backed up staring at the orb.

“A rift gate?” shouted Maya in disbelief. “Even with that device there shouldn’t be enough ampsediun in the atmosphere to-”

“Hahahaha!” laughed Anya, with villainous eyes on Maya and Rylan, “You’re right dear daughter, with any ordinary grounder this would have been impossible...but my sweet Rylan is special! Hahaha!”

Rylan, unable to escape the ampsediun energy surrounding him, lay in pain on the ground. Maya ran to help him.

“Rylan!” she turned to the laser machine in the yard, “Dammit, I gotta stop that machine!”

Maya fired a force field blast at the laser machine hoping to knock it over and turn it off, but the ampsediun energy around it deflected her blast. Then things turned for the worse.

As Maya stood defending Rylan, a big man suddenly stepped out of the transdimensional gate wielding a striker weapon. After him, six more striker wielders exited the gate. Five men, two women.

“Oh no! This is bad!” muttered Maya.

Anya smiled and faced the seven figures as they stood shoulder to shoulder in the yard.

“You’re out of your league now, Maya! I’ve called on the Seven Barons!” she taunted.

Each baron a striker blade master who wielded either a sword, lance, or battle ax.

The leader of the barons, the six foot eight, Hannibal Ox, stepped forward.

“Duchess, what will you have us do with the grounder and... "His dark brown eyes stared menacingly at Maya, “Your daughter?” he asked.

Anya barked a command to her wrist gear and the laser machine sputtered and shut off abruptly on the ground. The transdimensional rift gate in the yard collapsed and vanished, releasing Rylan from the effects.

“Hannibal?” Anya called out.

“Yes m’lady?”

“My daughter is still a Marchioness and a Cesar, and you will respect her as such,” said Anya.

“Yes m’lady.” Hannibal bowed in deference.

“Good. Now, although the Lady Maya has no ammunition and a force field at less than twenty percent, I assure you she’s a dangerous striker fighter,” said Anya, glaring at Maya.

Maya ignored Anya and helped Rylan lift himself off his rear. As Rylan regained his composure he took full stock of the situation.

“Um..are those tough looking people friends of yours?” he asked.

Maya stared at the barons, who all grinned at her. She raised her striker.

“They’re loyal knights to my family,” she extended her blade, “And no. They’re no friends of mine.”

“Ha!” Anya laughed at Maya’s display of courage, “Barons! I want you to take my daugher and the grounder alive. You are not to harm them. But my ladies and lords, do not be fooled!”

Anya glared at Maya.

“For the Lady Maya is no swordsman!” she yelled.

Rylan took offense to Anya's statement.

"If she isn't a swordsman than what the hell is she?" he asked.

In answer to both Anya and Rylan, Maya's striker shifted and extended into a long, double bladed spear. Rylan gaped in awe at her frightening new weapon.

“Holy Darth Maul!” he blurted, as she twirled the long deadly staff over her head, behind her back, and snapped into a lancer’s stance.

“That’s right Mother! I don't rely on the Cesar's Whirling Blade style...your style.. When I fight I use daddy’s style, Dragon Tailed Lance!” yelled Maya.

The seven barons hailed Maya.

“The Lady Maya is Erik Alexander's daughter, The Alexandrian spear technique! This will be fun,” roared all seven.

"Hmph!" pouted Anya.

But one baron stepped forward. Slim, with long dark hair, he slid beside Anya and bowed.

“My Duchess, I, Zane, Baron of Atrein, and master of the Iron Lance style, will not harm the Lady Maya,” he glanced at Maya from his bow, “I will merely...teach her a lesson.”

Anya smirked.

“Of course Baron Zane,” she said glancing at Maya, “But I assure you, the Lady Maya is still a Cesar, so she won’t be easy to tame.”

The barons laughed at Anya’s statement, while Zane and Maya locked eyes. Rylan, in better shape now, stood next to Maya.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? That Zane guy looks pretty tough,” he asked her.

“He’s more than tough, and It’s the only idea we have at the moment,” she answered.

Rylan squinted and shook his head in disapproval.

“These odds ain't so good. But I take it you're pretty good with this scary looking spear you’re holding?” he asked, plucking her weapon with his finger.

Maya grinned.

“Meh! I’m ok with it,” she said, making a fifty-fifty hand motion.

“Are you shitting me dude? You’d better be more than ok-”

Before Rylan could say another word Maya dashed toward baron Zane. And baron Zane charged at Maya with his lance ready to strike with..

...an intent to kill.

Proofed and Edited by Chiisutofupuru, writer of Sasha

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