[Meme] Alphabet Drabble - K
Eight response to the Alphabet Drabble Meme
Title: Uncharted Territory
Prompt: K is for Kilimanjaro for Kapaychan
Fandom/RP-verse: Ben 10: Alien Force/Already Over-verse
Character/Pairing: Six-Six and Myaxx
A/N: Yes, it's fanfic of a fanfic. I am shameless. Why does this surprise you? Set in Kapaychan's Already Over universe, post-Incarcecon breakout but pre-reunion with the others.
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Myaxx wakes to poorly lit surroundings, a splitting headache, the smell of rotting wood in her nose, her legs tucked beneath her, and her arms tied behind her back. She tests the fortitude of her bonds, snarls when they prove tight and unyielding to her struggles.
"Save strength."
She whips her head towards the thick-accented voice, breathes an expletive when her head throbs and her vision swims from the sharp movement. A faint click, and she screws her eyes shut from the light flooding the small room. The wave of dizziness passes and the pressure in her head subsides. She peers between her lashes, her lids flying open at the sight of the figure standing in the doorway.
"Six-Six," she states evenly despite the jack-hammering of her heart.
The aforementioned mercenary cracks a smug, somewhat lopsided smirk and pushes a nearby crate towards her. Myaxx doesn't miss the slight limp in his gait. She is extra fearful of her life because of it. Her guard stays up, even when it turns out the crate was simply going to be a make-shift chair.
Unconsciously, Myaxx straightens herself as they stare at each other. Seconds tick by and Six-Six continues to wordlessly sit in front of her, studying her, possibly even sizing her up. At least she thinks that's what he's doing because she most certainly is. She notes his shoulders are not as broad as Tetrax's, but his lean, muscled frame still makes for a menacing figure. Especially with the numerous scars marring his face.
"You shot me," he states, matter-of-factly, a hand patting his right thigh gingerly.
"You were chasing us," she answers just as casually, though she's bracing herself for a blow.
"Just Tetrax," he corrects her, a wry, toothy grin now on his lips, "You? Wrong place, wrong time."
"Story of my life," she mutters with a frown. That was how she ended up in Incarcecon after all. Someone from somewhere just happened to recognize her and decided to rat her out. "So why go after me?"
"Tetrax hard to follow. I thinking make him come look for Science-girl be easier. You his lady-friend, no?"
She snorts, pretending her heart doesn't flutter at the very thought, "Hardly."
The mercenary laughs, low and throaty and devoid of humor. It isn't a terrible sound but it grates on her nerves all the same. "You usually better liar than this," he chides.
Myaxx flinches when the back of his hand brushes against her cheek, suspicious eyes watching him twine his fingers around strands of her hair.
"You aim good," he tells her.
And she blinks in confusion.
He motions to his body, "Chest and stomach bigger target. But you hit leg."
"It stood to reason you'd be wearing Kevlar," she shrugs, trying to sound flippant as she juts her chin defiantly at him.
"Still hurt if hit."
"It wouldn't have slowed you down enough for us to get away."
He gets up from his perch on the crate, brings himself to the floor to sit on his heels, his hands now resting on his thighs. "Why only slow down? Why not kill?" He leers at her, "Like before in Incarcecon?"
Myaxx's eyes narrow at him in a defensive glare, "Those where different circumstances. I had no choice."
He laughs again. At her this time. Still low and throaty and devoid of good humor. It still isn't a terrible sound but it makes her blood boil. "Science-girl no want to shoot man dead but strangle fellow prisoner just fine?"
She goes rigid, "How did you-"
He's suddenly in her face, leaning so near she can tell he smells of wet leaves and pine needles. His scars are uglier up close, she decides, and instinctively she shrinks back, trying to seek shelter in the wooden wall behind her, hearing the structure creak as she presses her back flush against the rotting surface.
"Was in Incercecon too," he explains, rising to his knees, looming over her, "Not in in. Was hiding around perimeter. Waiting. Watching."
She is certain she does not like the predatory twist of his lips when his eyes rove over her bound form.
Her rage shoves her fear away when his hands, rough and calloused, slide over her thighs. She jerks forward sharply, smashing her forehead against his nose, feels cartilage give way against bone, and he howls in surprise. When he falters back, Myaxx takes her chance and kicks against the floor, plowing her shoulder into his chest, sending his off-balanced body into the wall.
The weakened wood splinters under him, revealing the woodland on the other side. Her long strides turn into a mad dash, and Myaxx bounds over the fallen mercenary. He's snarling something she doesn't understand, but she doesn't particularly care until her escape gets cut short when an iron grip clamps around her ankle and the damp ground rushes up to greet her. She grunts when her face impacts against the soil, angry expletives are quick to follow as stars wink before her eyes.
She doesn't have the chance to gather her bearings before she's roughly dragged back inside. Blindly, she kicks at him, succeeding only in making him curse louder, angrier. Frustrated with her limited mobility she continues to ignore the menacing growl of his foreign words. Her struggles increase in fervor when she feels him straddle her prone form, snarling obscenities at him when his weight, bearing down the small of her back, robs her of whatever leverage she might have had. Even as he tightly fists his hand in her hair and yanks her head up painfully, she continues to writhe beneath him.
A knife is suddenly pressed against her throat. And Myaxx goes stock still.
He's crooning softly to her now, in his native tongue, which means she doesn't understand a lick of it but she doubts it's anything good. Besides, she's a little too focused on the way the hand holding the weapon to her neck is trembling from barely restrained fury. She doesn't dare swallow, doesn't cry out when the blade draws a thin trickle of blood, doesn't even breathe. Instead she screws her eyes shut and braces herself for the worst.
"Give up?" he rasps in English.
He takes her silence as an answer of the affirmative kind.
Even though he pulls the knife away from her throat, Myaxx knows better than to make a sigh of relief.
Six-Six flips her onto her back and she wishes he hadn't. Now she can see his eyes are bloodshot, the corners of his mouth are upturned in a deranged grin, and the expression on his disfigured face can only be described as feral. She wholly wishes the wooden floor beneath her would swallow her. Or him. Preferably him because fuck it all, she still very much wants to live!
Absently he trails the knife along the curve of her collarbone, the wicked glee of his eyes betraying the casual tone of his voice when he tells her, "You broke nose."
"It's an improvement," the snide remark slips past her lips before she's even aware of it. She silently yells at herself to shut up and hisses when the knife digs lightly into her, steel just barely breaking skin.
"Science-girl have pretty mouth," he remarks, leans down so close she can feel his breath against her face. "Betting you're a biter," he chuckles, grinning widely. And for an instant, he looks like he intends to find out.
She glares up at him, her lips pinching into a grim line, the blade's edge on her body threading fear into her veins. He sits back up, bringing the knife eye-level to admire the freshly drawn crimson liquid, "Tetrax know you think only of self?" he asks, angling the knife so the light glints off its surface.
Myaxx chooses to hold her tongue. She has an idea of where this particular conversation might lead but she would rather not preempt anything.
"No shame in that, no?" He continues amicably, "Self very important. I think of what good for self all times."
Silence.
"Science-girl wrong place, wrong time, is all," gingerly he taps the knife against his cheek, "Can go if tell where Tetrax be."
Her eyes narrow at him, "You expecting me to sell him out?"
"Yes," he nods simply.
She snaps with more anger than should be necessary. And she is angry. At Tetrax for somehow making it look like there was something going on between them. At Six-Six for making this offer. And mostly at herself because she's actually considering it. But why shouldn't she? It isn't as if she was one of the freedom fighters. Certainly they had broken her out of Incarcecon because she claimed she was Azmuth, but she couldn't be blamed for taking the opportunity when it presented itself to her, could she? And that was what was happening right now, wasn't it? Just another opportunity knocking at the door.
"What then?" His voice cuts into her thoughts.
She levels a steely gaze at him, her heart hammering in her chest as she weighs her options. "If I tell you where we're supposed to meet up," she begins softly, "Then you'll let me go? You won't try to ship me back to Incarcecon?"
The twisted smirk on his face is patronizing in its triumph. Frankly, it pisses her off, makes her want to tell him to go fuck himself because she's not telling him shit. And she would have, if it weren't for the fact he could easily kill her. "I'll tell you the location but you have to cut me free first."
"Why I want do that?"
"Are you saying you have no intention of honoring the deal?" she glowers. "The deal that you offered, in case you forgot."
He studies her suspiciously, "Or could keep you until Tetrax come."
"If he's even looking," she counters, the bitter undertone in her voice does not go unnoticed.
An endless cycle of heartbeats pass while Six-Six mulls his decision over. When Myaxx thinks he's going to reject her, she feels his weight lift from her stomach.
"Okay, will cut you free. Show of good faith, no?"
She carefully sits up, turns to expose her back, watches him from the corner of her eye as he slices her bonds. As she slowly gets to her feet, she rubs the sore muscles in her arms and where the ropes chaffed her skin. She faces him, the movement small and deliberate, and she straightens to her full height. Myaxx can't help but notice Six-Six is taller if not leaner than Tetrax.
He seems surprised to learn just how tall she really is, the smirk curling into a leer when he was briefly eye-level to her chest. Her face flushes when his gaze lingers unnecessarily long at her breasts before he raises his eyes to stare at her face.
"Big girl," he says. She doesn't like the suggestive gleam in his eyes.
"I know," she huffs. However, she does like the way the knife drops from his hand, how he can't seem to breathe, and how he practically folds in half when she drives her knee straight into his solar plexus. Again she lifts her knee and hears the satisfying crack of bone hitting bone when it connects with his jaw. By the time he falls to the floor, she's sprinting out into the woods.
Somehow she manages to make her way to the meeting spot and finds Tetrax waiting for her. He sounds calm when he demands to know why she was injured and whether or not she was alright. Myaxx gives him a flippant remark, tries to sound offended when she asks if he's suggesting she can't take care of herself. It isn't very convincing because the exhaustion finally catches up to her and she all but collapses into his arms.
Title: Uncharted Territory
Prompt: K is for Kilimanjaro for Kapaychan
Fandom/RP-verse: Ben 10: Alien Force/Already Over-verse
Character/Pairing: Six-Six and Myaxx
A/N: Yes, it's fanfic of a fanfic. I am shameless. Why does this surprise you? Set in Kapaychan's Already Over universe, post-Incarcecon breakout but pre-reunion with the others.
-----------------
Myaxx wakes to poorly lit surroundings, a splitting headache, the smell of rotting wood in her nose, her legs tucked beneath her, and her arms tied behind her back. She tests the fortitude of her bonds, snarls when they prove tight and unyielding to her struggles.
"Save strength."
She whips her head towards the thick-accented voice, breathes an expletive when her head throbs and her vision swims from the sharp movement. A faint click, and she screws her eyes shut from the light flooding the small room. The wave of dizziness passes and the pressure in her head subsides. She peers between her lashes, her lids flying open at the sight of the figure standing in the doorway.
"Six-Six," she states evenly despite the jack-hammering of her heart.
The aforementioned mercenary cracks a smug, somewhat lopsided smirk and pushes a nearby crate towards her. Myaxx doesn't miss the slight limp in his gait. She is extra fearful of her life because of it. Her guard stays up, even when it turns out the crate was simply going to be a make-shift chair.
Unconsciously, Myaxx straightens herself as they stare at each other. Seconds tick by and Six-Six continues to wordlessly sit in front of her, studying her, possibly even sizing her up. At least she thinks that's what he's doing because she most certainly is. She notes his shoulders are not as broad as Tetrax's, but his lean, muscled frame still makes for a menacing figure. Especially with the numerous scars marring his face.
"You shot me," he states, matter-of-factly, a hand patting his right thigh gingerly.
"You were chasing us," she answers just as casually, though she's bracing herself for a blow.
"Just Tetrax," he corrects her, a wry, toothy grin now on his lips, "You? Wrong place, wrong time."
"Story of my life," she mutters with a frown. That was how she ended up in Incarcecon after all. Someone from somewhere just happened to recognize her and decided to rat her out. "So why go after me?"
"Tetrax hard to follow. I thinking make him come look for Science-girl be easier. You his lady-friend, no?"
She snorts, pretending her heart doesn't flutter at the very thought, "Hardly."
The mercenary laughs, low and throaty and devoid of humor. It isn't a terrible sound but it grates on her nerves all the same. "You usually better liar than this," he chides.
Myaxx flinches when the back of his hand brushes against her cheek, suspicious eyes watching him twine his fingers around strands of her hair.
"You aim good," he tells her.
And she blinks in confusion.
He motions to his body, "Chest and stomach bigger target. But you hit leg."
"It stood to reason you'd be wearing Kevlar," she shrugs, trying to sound flippant as she juts her chin defiantly at him.
"Still hurt if hit."
"It wouldn't have slowed you down enough for us to get away."
He gets up from his perch on the crate, brings himself to the floor to sit on his heels, his hands now resting on his thighs. "Why only slow down? Why not kill?" He leers at her, "Like before in Incarcecon?"
Myaxx's eyes narrow at him in a defensive glare, "Those where different circumstances. I had no choice."
He laughs again. At her this time. Still low and throaty and devoid of good humor. It still isn't a terrible sound but it makes her blood boil. "Science-girl no want to shoot man dead but strangle fellow prisoner just fine?"
She goes rigid, "How did you-"
He's suddenly in her face, leaning so near she can tell he smells of wet leaves and pine needles. His scars are uglier up close, she decides, and instinctively she shrinks back, trying to seek shelter in the wooden wall behind her, hearing the structure creak as she presses her back flush against the rotting surface.
"Was in Incercecon too," he explains, rising to his knees, looming over her, "Not in in. Was hiding around perimeter. Waiting. Watching."
She is certain she does not like the predatory twist of his lips when his eyes rove over her bound form.
Her rage shoves her fear away when his hands, rough and calloused, slide over her thighs. She jerks forward sharply, smashing her forehead against his nose, feels cartilage give way against bone, and he howls in surprise. When he falters back, Myaxx takes her chance and kicks against the floor, plowing her shoulder into his chest, sending his off-balanced body into the wall.
The weakened wood splinters under him, revealing the woodland on the other side. Her long strides turn into a mad dash, and Myaxx bounds over the fallen mercenary. He's snarling something she doesn't understand, but she doesn't particularly care until her escape gets cut short when an iron grip clamps around her ankle and the damp ground rushes up to greet her. She grunts when her face impacts against the soil, angry expletives are quick to follow as stars wink before her eyes.
She doesn't have the chance to gather her bearings before she's roughly dragged back inside. Blindly, she kicks at him, succeeding only in making him curse louder, angrier. Frustrated with her limited mobility she continues to ignore the menacing growl of his foreign words. Her struggles increase in fervor when she feels him straddle her prone form, snarling obscenities at him when his weight, bearing down the small of her back, robs her of whatever leverage she might have had. Even as he tightly fists his hand in her hair and yanks her head up painfully, she continues to writhe beneath him.
A knife is suddenly pressed against her throat. And Myaxx goes stock still.
He's crooning softly to her now, in his native tongue, which means she doesn't understand a lick of it but she doubts it's anything good. Besides, she's a little too focused on the way the hand holding the weapon to her neck is trembling from barely restrained fury. She doesn't dare swallow, doesn't cry out when the blade draws a thin trickle of blood, doesn't even breathe. Instead she screws her eyes shut and braces herself for the worst.
"Give up?" he rasps in English.
He takes her silence as an answer of the affirmative kind.
Even though he pulls the knife away from her throat, Myaxx knows better than to make a sigh of relief.
Six-Six flips her onto her back and she wishes he hadn't. Now she can see his eyes are bloodshot, the corners of his mouth are upturned in a deranged grin, and the expression on his disfigured face can only be described as feral. She wholly wishes the wooden floor beneath her would swallow her. Or him. Preferably him because fuck it all, she still very much wants to live!
Absently he trails the knife along the curve of her collarbone, the wicked glee of his eyes betraying the casual tone of his voice when he tells her, "You broke nose."
"It's an improvement," the snide remark slips past her lips before she's even aware of it. She silently yells at herself to shut up and hisses when the knife digs lightly into her, steel just barely breaking skin.
"Science-girl have pretty mouth," he remarks, leans down so close she can feel his breath against her face. "Betting you're a biter," he chuckles, grinning widely. And for an instant, he looks like he intends to find out.
She glares up at him, her lips pinching into a grim line, the blade's edge on her body threading fear into her veins. He sits back up, bringing the knife eye-level to admire the freshly drawn crimson liquid, "Tetrax know you think only of self?" he asks, angling the knife so the light glints off its surface.
Myaxx chooses to hold her tongue. She has an idea of where this particular conversation might lead but she would rather not preempt anything.
"No shame in that, no?" He continues amicably, "Self very important. I think of what good for self all times."
Silence.
"Science-girl wrong place, wrong time, is all," gingerly he taps the knife against his cheek, "Can go if tell where Tetrax be."
Her eyes narrow at him, "You expecting me to sell him out?"
"Yes," he nods simply.
She snaps with more anger than should be necessary. And she is angry. At Tetrax for somehow making it look like there was something going on between them. At Six-Six for making this offer. And mostly at herself because she's actually considering it. But why shouldn't she? It isn't as if she was one of the freedom fighters. Certainly they had broken her out of Incarcecon because she claimed she was Azmuth, but she couldn't be blamed for taking the opportunity when it presented itself to her, could she? And that was what was happening right now, wasn't it? Just another opportunity knocking at the door.
"What then?" His voice cuts into her thoughts.
She levels a steely gaze at him, her heart hammering in her chest as she weighs her options. "If I tell you where we're supposed to meet up," she begins softly, "Then you'll let me go? You won't try to ship me back to Incarcecon?"
The twisted smirk on his face is patronizing in its triumph. Frankly, it pisses her off, makes her want to tell him to go fuck himself because she's not telling him shit. And she would have, if it weren't for the fact he could easily kill her. "I'll tell you the location but you have to cut me free first."
"Why I want do that?"
"Are you saying you have no intention of honoring the deal?" she glowers. "The deal that you offered, in case you forgot."
He studies her suspiciously, "Or could keep you until Tetrax come."
"If he's even looking," she counters, the bitter undertone in her voice does not go unnoticed.
An endless cycle of heartbeats pass while Six-Six mulls his decision over. When Myaxx thinks he's going to reject her, she feels his weight lift from her stomach.
"Okay, will cut you free. Show of good faith, no?"
She carefully sits up, turns to expose her back, watches him from the corner of her eye as he slices her bonds. As she slowly gets to her feet, she rubs the sore muscles in her arms and where the ropes chaffed her skin. She faces him, the movement small and deliberate, and she straightens to her full height. Myaxx can't help but notice Six-Six is taller if not leaner than Tetrax.
He seems surprised to learn just how tall she really is, the smirk curling into a leer when he was briefly eye-level to her chest. Her face flushes when his gaze lingers unnecessarily long at her breasts before he raises his eyes to stare at her face.
"Big girl," he says. She doesn't like the suggestive gleam in his eyes.
"I know," she huffs. However, she does like the way the knife drops from his hand, how he can't seem to breathe, and how he practically folds in half when she drives her knee straight into his solar plexus. Again she lifts her knee and hears the satisfying crack of bone hitting bone when it connects with his jaw. By the time he falls to the floor, she's sprinting out into the woods.
Somehow she manages to make her way to the meeting spot and finds Tetrax waiting for her. He sounds calm when he demands to know why she was injured and whether or not she was alright. Myaxx gives him a flippant remark, tries to sound offended when she asks if he's suggesting she can't take care of herself. It isn't very convincing because the exhaustion finally catches up to her and she all but collapses into his arms.