An invisible force grabbed Dan and the chair. Which is what Dan wanted. Magic, even Rice's tech-magic, was like an extension of the user's own senses, control and perception. Like an actual hand, it obeyed the mind of who it was attached to, and exerted the pressure and acted with precision the same way. So there was a brief moment as the magic extended outward, with this particular spell at least, before that precision really took hold. Like the split-second where your sense of touch helps you determine how to grip something, the proper way and amount of pressure to use. Dan probably understood that better than anyone in Equestria.
Dan pulled the chair down as he was being lifted. He put his feet on the seat and jumped off it, escaping Rice's tech spell as it was still being cast. He jumped at Rice, lunging at him in a dive.
Rice raised his other hand, but Dan anticipated this as well. He threw the plate in one direction and it was caught by the the still-forming tech spell. This one, even less-formed than the first one, was pulled by the plate itself and missed Dan entirely. This left Rice open to be hit by Dan's frontal attack with the glass.
"GAAA!" The Red Gatorade hit him right in the eyes followed by the ice cubes pelting him. He instinctively raised his gloved hooves to cover his eyes, even though it had already hit him.
All of these attacks, everything Dan used played into his strategy. Dan was a master tactician, strategist and masterfully resourceful. Every move he made was calculated, carefully-timed and executed flawlessly. This was just how Dan fought, how he had always fought; absolutely nothing held back. His training came from a lifetime of avoiding muggers, fighting on the mean streets of L.A. and several martial arts classes, several montages and a couple ninja training manuals he ordered from the back of a comic. Technically, Chris's comic.
The opening lasted only a split-second, but it was enough. Dan collided with Rice, hitting in the torso with his entire body. They fell to the ground, and Dan followed up the lunge by delivering another attack, a devastating blow, with both of his arms, he took Rice and... and... and he...
He hugged him.
"AAAhh... ahh... ah?"
"You know what this is. Just... just..." Just what? What the hell was Dan saying? What did he mean? He had no idea. He wasn't thinking. Not with his head, anyway, but his heart. And, at some level, he knew that. He also hated that fact, but many people fail to realize that hate and love, while polar opposites come from the same place. Neither really make sense a lot of times, which is why they don't require much thought and yet take up almost all of it. They don't come from the head, but from the heart. Love and hate both come from the heart.
"What the- what the hell are you doing?! Get off!!" Rice tried to push him off. He tried to grab Dan, but he couldn't get a good grip. Dan's grip around his midsection was tight, however, and unyielding. Like a vice.
"Release me! Let... LET GO!"
"No. No, not until this is over. You have to get through this, you understand? We have to get through this. Together."
"Damn you! Damn you..." Rice grabbed his shoulder and squeezed as tightly as he could. He clamped down and tried to tear him off, to no avail. He grabbed Dan's head, tried to grab his neck but Dan wrestled away from him... while still holding onto him.
"GET OFF OF ME!!!!!" Rice slammed his metal fists into Dan's back, but Dan only hugged him tighter. Rice lifted off with his jet boots, but Dan held on.
And this is where it gets rough.
Rice slammed him into the walls of the arena. He grabbed Dan by the sides and bashed the man like a ragdoll into the walls, the ceiling, the floor. He tore off pieces of the paneling and tried to gouge Dan with it, and he knew he must've been doing damage.
Dan clung to him, squeezing tightly. He felt his legs and body rip into the machinery of the cage they were in, destroying the devices behind them. Lights faded from the panels and sparks exploded. Rice grabbed him by the sides and slammed him against the wall at full speed, exploding through it. They tumbled to the floor... but Dan was still holding on.
"You son of a b... bitch! LET. ME. GO!!!"
He grabbed Dan and pulled upward. He flew back into the cage, back into the hallway before, up the tunnel and out, dragging Dan against and partially through the walls. Dan's own body bounced him backward, forcing Rice into the wall a few times.
They exploded out of the tunnel Dan had used to enter the mountain. Rice's boots rocketed them upwards into the dark sky. The flares from the jets burned Dan's own shoes and his lower pantlegs, blackening them, but failing to ignite them. Teeth gritted, Rice turned up the jets higher, attempting to burn Dan off, but he wasn't able to get a good grip. And then, Rice's jets began to fail.
"Wha-what? Oh... ohhhh shhhIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT!!"
"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!" Dan's own scream was muffled by Rice's torso and labcoat. The two fell, back down to the mountain.
They fell into the same tunnel, slid down it, slid across the same hallway and back into the now-destroyed arena.
The dust settled. Rice stood, and somehow, Dan was still clinging to him. Eyes closed, the human was panting. Their breathing was in unison. Rice raised his fist and pounded Dan yet again.
"Stop it... stop it! STOP IT!!"
"N... no..."
"Stop it! Stop, you son of a... you... you son of a..." Rice pounded again. But he was too weak, too exhausted. He could barely breath. Dan could barely breath. Their chests were on fire, hearts pounding.
"Th... th-th-th... throughhhhhh..."
"Son of... son... my son..." Tears streamed down Rice's face. "My boy... my baby boy... he used to hug me... I, I..."
The scientist... the father's knees buckled. His gauntlets fell off his hooves. He fell to the ground, collapsed in a blithering, sobbing pile. Dan was still holding on.
"I'm nothing... I'm nothing, Dan. Nothing without him. Worse than nothing. Look at... look at all of this," Rice said, quivering. His voice was barely above a whisper. "You came here to kill me, Dan- do it. End me. Please... please, I can't take it. I can't take it any more."
"No," Dan said. "No." Finally, Dan released him. He couldn't stand, though. He rolled onto his back, coughed. His tongue tasted like blood and ash. "You can get through... through this, Rice. You can't get back what you lost. Nobody can." He looked over at him. "But you can get new stuff. You can make a... a friend."
Rice looked over at him. "Are you... are you fucking kidding me... right now? I mean, really... oh fuck..., I'm sorry..."
"I didn't... hooo, I didn't mean me. But if it helps, sure. For the record, I... thought some of your inventions, even your... your plans were... kinda neat," Dan said. Their breath was still labored.
Rice nodded. "I did... I do respect your tenacity. If only it went further..."
Dan shrugged. "Hey, day ain't over yet. Oh gawd," he got up, braced his hands on both his legs and said, "the red Gatorade's coming back up."
Watching him puke, Rice got up as well. He did not move to take up his gauntlets or boots again.
"You were able to get a fresh start. Coming here. Maybe that's the reason why you were able to let go of revenge. Get through hatred to something else. Through the pain... perhaps... perhaps, if I went to Earth..."
Dan nodded. "I know some people who might need help. Help from someone like you. You could do some good."
Rice looked away. His stare became long, that of a pony considering a future, a place somewhere far, far away. The end of a long journey. "I guess so." He looked back up at Dan. "She's waiting for you. The Director... and Chrys. They're waiting for you down the opposite way. I deactivated the traps so... it's just a straight shot, now."
"I've got to finish this." Dan got up. And he was holding Rice's gauntlets. He quickly took the scientist by the neck and thrust him to the ground. "And I still have a job to do. You ARE going to face justice. For everything that you did to me... and all of us."
Rice looked away. Dan slammed the gauntlet down.
It caught his mane and stuck to the floor. The fingers jabbed through one of the panels, pinning him.
"What?"
Dan took the other gauntlet and pinned his tail.
"You're under arrest, Rice. By order of the throne of the Kingdom of Equestria, I hereby place you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right-"
"You're Mirandizing me? Really?"
"You have the right to have an attorney present. If you are unable to afford one, well, I know a guy, and-"
"Will you just shut the hell up and go save the girl?"
Dan thought, then nodded again. "Yeah, you make a good point. Don't try to go anywhere."
Dan ran off down the corridor. To Chrys.