Who: The Master and Byron Balaz.
What: Sniffing each other out outside the Halloween party.
When: Backdated to 31/10/2010 22:55:23:098 EST.
Where: Outside Ara.
Rating: M for
moving it out of the party thread in case things get dicey and off topic.
Status: Complete.
(
No... )
Exactly.
This meant, however, that he had essentially been starving himself, and if he had been always hungry before, his hunger was now the overriding imperative of his existence. He obsessed about food, couldn't stop thinking about it, at every moment. The need to eat had become a matter of control, but the allure of food was both locus and fault in the structure of his being. He thought about it all the time, and denied it to himself all the time, and in a way, he didn't even know why he did it anymore. It was an end in itself, without reason or external referent.
But put the food in front of him, practically force energy on him... He loathed the loss of control, but oh the feeling of energy pouring into him, of absorbing it, of feeding himself, for the first time in so long even tasting the most remote glimmer of something that could fill him, could take away his perpetual hunger! It was painfully delicious. It threatened to strip away any last vestiges of restraint he had in him; it could make him raw, a beast, pure appetite eating and eating and eating...!
Enraptured, he threw his head back and spread his arms out and took it in, energised anew, alive.
Reply
'Impossible! It's just not possible!' But a thought had come to his mind: one that merged what The Baron knew of Timelords, of Nobility, and genetic experiments.
And his already chilly blood froze in his veins.
Willing the flow of energy from him to diminish wasn't easy, but if he didn't it would start to really slow him down, drain him of strength he would need to either put up either a terrifying fight or simply retreat.
'I can't leave Alba, what if this monster was drawn here by the volume of people at the party?!' Suddenly, the idea that Alba might be in danger blinded Byron to any other outcome but battle. Glancing down the street to where the carriage waited, Byron smiled tightly and left out a high, impossibly high whistle that at once set the steeds galloping in his direction.
In a blur of movement, the carriage whisked by and Byron reached in an open window to grab the sword he'd taken with him more for decoration than anything.
He never once thought he'd have to use it.
Crouching, The Baron launched himself at the mad Timelord, blade glinting in the soft pools of streetlights. A head-on attack was insane if what he surmised about his opponent was true, if he was some sort of Timelord-Nobility hybrid, blessed, like D was, with the ability to absorb the energy of any attack directed at him.
"I don't know what you are, but I cannot let you past this spot." Byron said, voice cold with determination.
Reply
But the power had filled him, however temporarily. It made him stronger than he had been in a long time.
And the little vampire was running at him with a sword.
Growling, the Master dropped his arms to his sides and let the energy spark between the fingers of his hand. It would be a waste, but this, too, would feel good.
Time subdivided itself. Subdivided itself again. The Master stepped out of the way of the sword, dancing around his attacker.
"You're nothing," he said as he did so, goading him. "You're insignificant. The diluted vestige of a mighty species long since brought to its knees and snuffed out. You think you could stop me. You think you could stand in the way of anything I wanted to do. You're wrong."
Reply
'Timelord, right, even without a ship they can manipulate time in small areas.' But if he could get him to use up the energy he had absorbed in bursts as large as that one, he still had a chance. Whatever the monster's bizarre biology, he'd reveal his weaknesses the longer they fought, much like Alice had.
Byron twirled on his heel, sword following gracefully to just clip the hood of the thick fabric as the Timelord spun to face him. The words stung, but Byron wouldn't be alive if he'd risen to the bait of everyone who taunted him --the only person privileged to do that was his father, and only because the grudge was so personal.
"We'll see who's wrong about what." He said simply, aura seeping out and away from him as Byron himself melded into an air now teeming with a sick miasma, typical of a Noble. It was nothing more than a parlor trick, in terms of abilities, but it allowed The Baron to sink into the shadows that clung to the sides of the buildings around them--not really invisible, but blending in.
Energy absorbers were desperately tricky foes-- close contact was impossible, which meant he had to get creative. He could sense that the carriage was just making a circuit around the block and would pass them again soon, he wanted to end this by the time that happened. As risky as it was, Byron held his sword out and allowed the thin tendril of energy to wrap around the hand until it hovered in the air.
"We shouldn't lose our heads over this, after all." He deadpanned as the blade boomeranged out of the shadows level with the Timelord's neck.
Reply
He laughed, his voice seeming to echo around the alley. It felt so good; he'd missed the power, missed being more than a shadow hanging about back streets and dumpsters. The drums liked it too. They liked it more than they would have liked the dancing. Oh, yes.
He jumped again, this time up to the roof of the karaoke bar, looking down at the creature that was trying, oh so very hard, to hurt him.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked in a wheedle. "You attacked me! I wasn't doing anything. Do you remember? Can you wrap your small mind around that? You're the aggressor. You're doing this. I'm just defending myself."
Reply
Suddenly Byron's eyes narrowed-- his prey, the carriage, the tether of energy, it all fit together. If the monster wanted energy, let him have it, why not? Following him in his leap to the rooftop The Baron let the tendril of energy coil around him, wrapping him a sharp, almost neon blue tint.
And when Byron jumped again, the mad Timelord moved right through the air with him where they both landed in the driver's seat of the carriage as it careened past the karaoke bar. One pale, powerful hand grabbed the collar of the monster's shirt and The Baron smirked.
"I'm doing this because you exist, Timelord. You never had to do anything but breathe." And, with that pointy toothed smirk as the last thing he would see, Byron allowed the tether of energy to flicker and fade, and he shoved him in front of the pounding hooves of the horses.
Reply
He didn't like to be gotten the better of, however temporarily.
The energy crackled in his open hand...and then it faded. He was fed. Who knew when that would be again? There were better things to do with this energy than to squander it all on one offensive creature on a planet full of offensive creatures. Better people than it had tried to extinguish him throughout his lives.
He slipped away, down another alley, back into the interstices of the town.
Someone else could pay for this insult. The Master would feast, or play. It didn't matter, not to him or to the drums, just who it was he played with.
Reply
His mind swam with memories of the encounter--just what was the mad Timelord, exactly? The only being with that level of energy control he'd met was D, and that was due to his nature as a half-vampire. Pulling the carriage back to it's previous spot, The Baron dismounted and tapped the steely hide of the steeds in appreciation before heading back into the bar.
Reply
Leave a comment