Chapter 85
Shayla’s POV
Late morning
A grunt escaped my lips as I landed on all fours next to Domitor, trying to move as unpredictable as possible, going for a leg sweep.
But he just jumped over my leg and landed on top of me, getting me into a headlock.
“Yield?” He laughed as we wrestled around on the ground, with me trying to break his grip and him doing his best to stay behind me.
“Eat shit!” I growled as I rolled hard to the left, attempting to throw him, but he just held on tightly. He suddenly applied a lot more pressure, dropping me to a knee.
“Come on, babe, yield!” He yelled as I just kept fighting.
“VofKai!” I roared as I exploded up, grabbing him and slinging him away from me. He skidded across the ground a few times before landing on his feet.
“Hey! Power ups are cheating!” He yelled as he stomped back towards me.
“Being in that Halwen body is cheating, dickwad!” I threw back as we got face to face, growling at each other.
We held our intense glares as our auras swirled around each other. Then I suddenly licked his face, causing him to recoil back.
“Blehg!” He yelped, wiping his face furiously as I began to roar with laughter. He wasn’t far behind as we both just stood there laughing like idiots.
“Damn it, Shay,” he said as we both slowly calmed down. “First you cheat, then you lick my face.”
“All out of love,” I said with a wink, or at least the best I could manage with a blindfold on.
He rolled his eyes, “sure, love. Definitely not because you hate losing.”
“I never lose,” I said confidently. He started to say something, raising a finger, “don’t even say it.”
He smirked at me, but remained silent.
With that said, we began to head back to the house, where my parents, Floria, and Vanilla sat around a bonfire. Talio was propped up against a nearby rock, sticking to himself as usual.
“You’ve improved a lot over the last few days,” my mother commented as we stepped up to them.
“Thanks, mama,” I said with a cocky smile.
“I was talking to Domitor,” she replied with a shit eating grin.
I grunted as I plopped down, causing the others to chuckle at my expense.
“Thank you, Mrs. Beltosh,” Domitor said politely as he sat down next to me.
“When’s Raffy and Spark supposed to get back?” I asked as I leaned into Domitor’s side.
My mom gave a shrug as she tapped away at her little video game, “they left an hour ago, so it’ll be a long while more than likely. I’m not sure how long he takes at the market, so who knows.”
Nodding I turned my Virtue Sight off, planning to take a little nap while everyone else just enjoyed the warmth of the fire.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Scamp’s ears perked up as she looked up from her book, scanning the forest's edge on the other side of the property. Her eye focused on every little detail and movement as her ears twitched.
“What is it?” Mallogory asked, taking notice of her wife’s actions.
She didn’t get an answer as Scamp dropped her book and stood up, still scanning the forest. She kicked her daughters foot, causing her to jerk awake, which also woke up Domitor, who she’d been practically laying on.
“Mama?” Shayla asked as she turned her vision on, looking mighty confused.
“Scamp, what is it?” Mallogory asked again as she stood up, also staring at the forest beyond the property.
“You two need to go indoors, right now,” Scamp suddenly said in a rough voice, nodding to Floria and Vanilla.
“What? Why?” Floria asked with a frown.
“Do it,” Scamp said back sternly.
Floria started to argue, but Vanilla just placed a hand over her mouth and pulled her up. Reluctantly the two quickly made their way into the house.
“Scamp?” Her wife asked, voice a bit strained.
“Lorenzo,” Scamp said flatly, causing everyone to jump up and spin to face the direction she was looking. There was nothing there, just the tall grass and flowers that made up the forest.
Just as everyone was about to question her again, they saw him.
In the most casual fashion possible, like he was out for a stroll, Lorenzo stepped out of the forest, whistling to himself.
He continued forward, alone. Even from where they stood they could feel his menacing presence.
The masked man came to a stop not that far from them, his whistling slowly dying down as they all stared him down.
“I have a simple question,” he said suddenly, his voice casual and calm. “Who,” he began, his voice lowering as a sinister aura over took the entire area, “killed Leem?”
The pressure coming off of him seemed to increase, causing everyone, even Scamp, to break out in a cold sweat.
His eyes snapped to Shayla, causing her to stiffen a bit, “you?”
“Yeah,” she deadpanned, a wavering smirk on her face. “I killed that overgrown lizard.”
“Well then,” he said as he raised his hands and began to clap, his intense aura never fading, “congratulations.”
Then his eyes rolled back to Scamp, a scowl easily visible on his face despite the mask, “I’m so happy you decided to come here yourself. Now the whole family is together. Not many get to pass away with their loved ones by their side. So very lucky for you three then.”
Scamp stepped forward, eye locked with his, “I should have killed you when you were parading around as Vicar.”
“You should’ve, you could’ve, but you didn’t,” he mocked playfully, “and that was your mistake. And it’s going to cost you.”
“Big talk for the man who runs when things don’t go his way,” Scamp retorted, but he’d already turned his eyes to Domitor, ignoring her now.
“I knew you’d betray me eventually, Domitor. I’m just disappointed it took you this long, you spineless child,” Lorenzo said as he tilted his head back slightly.
Domitor didn’t respond as he just clenched his fist, shaking in anger.
“I have a plan for each of you,” the man continued, looking each of them in the eyes, “especially you, Scamp.”
“Starting to sound a bit whinny, Lorenzo,” Scamp said with a smirk, causing him to chuckle.
“Ah,” he let out a content sigh as he threw his hands out wide, “I’m going to enjoy this.”
Before anyone could react, the entire area around them suddenly changed from the back of Raffy’s house to what appeared to be a stage. Curtains hung down just behind Lorenzo’s back as he stood there, arms still outstretched.
The area around them was blank with impossibly tall walls on all sides.
“Welcome,” he said grandly as the massive curtains pulled aside to reveal a completely packed opera house, with rows and rows of dark figures all staring up at them as spotlights flashed on, lighting up the stage they found themselves on, “to my domain!”
Scamp ran her eyes over everything around them, her mouth falling into a straight line.
“The perfect Thorn for a showman,” Lorenzo said proudly as he lowered his arms. “Theater.”
“Theater or whatever, we’re still kicking your ass,” Shayla growled as she cracked her knuckles. “I still owe you for shooting me,” she said as she held out her hand, a smug look on her face. However it quickly turned to confusion as she brought her hand back and stared at it.
“Ah I was waiting for this reveal,” he chuckled, “I control everything within this space, and I’ve turned off all pesky Thorns and Ego’s for all but myself. We’re dueling by my rules today.”
Both Scamp and Mallogory took a step towards him but he just spun around to face the crowd, throwing his hands up again. “Welcome to tonight’s showing of,” he spun around dramatically to face the two approaching women, “‘Scamp’s Devastating Choice’! Guest starring the Beltosh family!”
Scamp was the first to reach him as he stared wide eyed at her, arms still out. In one quick motion she sprang forward, watching his every movement as she sliced her claws towards him.
But a wall suddenly appeared right in front of him, blocking her attack. She jumped back as she heard him laughing somewhere in the area.
“Let me set the scene,” he announced as Scamp backed up to her wife. “Scamp and her family had finally arrived at the lair of the evil and dastardly Lorenzo! All their hard work and suffering was about to pay off! All they had to do was…” the lights dimmed as a few spot lights suddenly lit up the other side of the stage where Lorenzo stood, a sword in his hand, “survive.”
“Careful,” Scamp muttered to her wife as she looked over to Shayla and Domitor as they prepared themselves, “you two, stay together. Do not let him separate you.”
Shayla gave a thumbs up as tried to pull a weapon out, only to realize she could do that either.
“No powers. No weapons. Just good ol fashion fist and hooves, against my blade. I’m sure you’ll pull a victory out of thin air, just like you always do, Scamp,” Lorenzo yelled sarcastically.
The spotlights snapped off, causing everyone to go on alert as the area dimmed considerably.
No one could sense him, not even Shayla as she scanned the area with her Virtue Sight.
A few spotlights shone down around Shayla and Domitor as Lorenzo suddenly appeared before them, his sword already swinging for Domitor.
Shayla was the first to act as she dashed between the two and blocked the blade with her claws. There was so much power behind the attack that she was forced to her knees, all the while the man laughed happily.
“I love that I knew you’d do that!” He exclaimed as he flicked his sword around, watching as she skillfully blocked each attack with her claws.
Domitor came in from Lorenzo’s blind spot, attempting to get a solid hit in. But in one motion the man’s hand shot out and shoved Domitor away like he was nothing.
“Not now, son, I’m busy,” Lorenzo said in such a stern voice that Domitor was taken back to his bedroom for a moment. He shook his head, trying to get past those thoughts as he rushed back at his father.
“I said!” Lorenzo roared as he suddenly kicked Shayla, sending her flying into her approaching parents, “not now!”
He did not have time to react as his father turned on him, a sinister red glow trailing from his eye as he squared up with his son.
Domitor froze under the intense glare of his father, making him unable to react as Lorenzo slammed his fist into his son’s chest. Everything seemed to slow down as Domitor felt the punch make contact, followed by a massive pressure crashing into him.
He let out a pained yell as he was sent flying backwards, his shirt and jacket torn to shreds from the insane amount of excess power that exploded out of his body.
“Now then,” Lorenzo said as the lights flashed off, only to come back in right behind the other three as they quickly recovered from being knocked down. “On with the show,” he said as he snapped his fingers.
Chains flew in from all directions, latching onto both Mallogory and Shayla. They fought to break them, but it happened so fast, and with so many coming at once, that they couldn’t do much as they were pulled away into the darkness.
Scamp did not dwell on this as she forced herself to lunge for Lorenzo. He deflected her attacks as he used the tip of his sword to poke at her, keeping her at bay.
“Tsk tsk,” he clicked his tongue as he shook his head at her, his sword flashing as he continued to block her attacks, “you’re not much without your Ego or weapons, Scamp.”
As if to answer him she sprang forward and twisted her body at a weird angle, using her wings to hold herself up as she came in from below, barely slipping by his counter jab.
With a roar she slammed her mechanical fist into his groin, causing him to grunt in pain. Then in one quick motion she extended her claws and ripped a gash through his right thigh.
He flicked his sword at her as he sprang back, disappearing as the lights snapped off.
“Everytime I underestimate you, you pull a trick out of your hat,” he snarled from the shadows as she stood up tall, ready for him. “I think we should skip the filler arc and jump straight into the climax.”
A spotlight came on across the room, with Lorenzo standing there smugly , his leg already bandaged. She started to move towards him, but he held up a hand.
“Not so fast, Scamp. If you move too close, you’ll make the wrong choice,” he warned as two more spot lights came on on either side of the room, revealing both Mallogory and Shayla dangling above a pit of some kind of black liquid.
Scamp halted in her tracks, eye darting between the two as she took everything in. They were both hanging high above the vats of liquid, fighting to break free of the chains that were wrapped around them tightly.
“This is a classic!” Lorenzo clapped as he beamed at her across the room. “You get to make a choice: save your faithful and loving wife, or your brash yet endearing daughter. If you don’t choose, I’ll drop both. Clocks ticking, little pony.”
A growl escaped her lips as she looked to her wife, both of them making eye contact. Mallogory gave her a solemn nod, causing Scamp to clench her teeth as she turned to their daughter and launched herself straight at her.
“So predictable,” Lorenzo mocked as the chains snapped, dropping both of them.
With a grunt Scamp crashed into her daughter, catching her in midair.
“Mom!” Shayla screamed as she watched her mom drop on the other side of the room.
She yelped as her mother began spinning them around, roaring with rage as she sent Shayla’s bound body flying through the air.
Moments before Mallogory landed in the liquid, her daughter's body crashed into her and sent both flying away from the dark liquid. They skidded across the ground roughly, unable to stop themselves due to being tied up.
“Well done, Scamp! You saved both! I honestly did not think you’d be willing to risk your daughter like that, so I guess being a ruthless parent like me pays off,” he mocked as she flew over to her family and cut the chains with her claws.
“Shut the fuck up, Lorenzo,” she growled in annoyance as she pulled her wife and daughter up.
A light flashed on behind her as Shayla’s ears perked up, her own claws reaching out and yanking Scamp towards her as Lorenzo laughed like a mad man.
“So easily startled!” He exclaimed as he suddenly exploded into action, two swords in his hands as he took on all three of them at once.
Even with the three of them they were mostly on the defensive, as he was going for killing blows now.
It appeared the games were finally over, and the real fight was beginning.
Scamp used her mechanical claws to deflect his relentless attacks as she looked for an opening, but she was having no luck. Mallogory wasn’t having any luck either as she weaved around each of his strikes with ease, making herself a near impossible target to hit.
Shayla wasn’t having much trouble avoiding him either, but like the other two she wasn’t able to get an attack through. The threat of his swords was enough to deter any kind of risky attacks.
Behind him Domitor walked back into view, looking pretty bad from the single hit he’d received.
Lorenzo must’ve sensed him as he sighed, shaking his head, “kids am I right? They never listen.”
Shayla smirked as she saw the opening, her tail snapped out and caught his ankle. Before he could react she pulled her tail back, causing him to start to fall to the ground.
But as he fell his body twisted unnaturally and one of his blades rocketed towards her. She reached up and caught it with both hands, but not before it plunged into her neck.
“Got ya,” he whispered as he flicked his blade to the side, cutting through her neck.
“Shayla!” Scamp yelped as hot blood splashed onto her face as it spurted from the wound in daughters neck.
Mallogory growled as she dashed into Lorenzo, engaging him on her own as Scamp sprang on their daughter.
“Damn it, Shayla!” She yelled as she fell to the floor with her daughter as she struggled to hold the wound closed. “Listen to me! Calm you breathing!”
Shayla did as she was told, still twitching hard as she held the wound closed, using her Vacuole to try and stem the bleeding. She’d practiced this, but she was nowhere good enough to actually stop the bleeding completely. But with the help of her mother holding pressure to the wound, she was able to slow it down immensely.
Domitor was rushing towards them, eyes wide in panic. But as he neared them, Lorenzo suddenly broke from fighting Mallogory and dashed into Domitor, kicking him hard in the side.
With an explosion of energy he sent his son flying again, this time making sure to hit him hard enough to keep him down.
Mallogory moved to re-engage him, but he just threw his sword into the air and began to walk towards Scamp and her daughter.
Without warning the sword righted itself in midair and flew into Mallogory, catching her in the chest as it sent her to the ground. It buried itself deep into the floor, impaling her and trapping her there.
She hissed in pain as she grabbed the blade with both hands, but found she wasn’t able to move it, as it felt like it was actively fighting against her.
“This is the end, Scamp,” Lorenzo said solemnly as he approached them.
Scamp threw a hate filled glare at him as he came to a stop right above them, staring wide eyed down at her.
She started to lunge for him, but the moment she pulled her hooves from her daughters neck she started coughing, blood spurting up through her claws.
“Damn it!” Scamp yelled as she grabbed the wound again, unable to let go. Like Mallogory, she was trapped.
Lorenzo flipped his blade around a bit before thrusting it towards Shayla’s chest.
But Scamp’s hoof shot out and intercepted it, causing it to impale her hoof and come out the other side, only stopping as it got caught on a bone.
The man just laughed at this as he began to push against the blade, slowly inching it and her hoof closer and closer to Shayla’s chest.
Scamp fought as hard as she could to keep the blade stuck in her foreleg from reaching her daughter, but it was a losing battle as he had more leverage on her. She yelled in agony as she pushed every muscle in her body to keep her leg up and away from Shayla.
But the blade tip reached her chest and began to make shallow cuts as it jerked around violently due to the strain of Scamp’s leg wobbling around.
“Father!” Domitor roared as he ran towards them.
“I’m going to kill that kid,” Lorenzo said with a sigh, “they never listen, do they, Scamp?”
Scamp could only stare wide eyed at the blade as it slowly carved its way down. Her daughter was in no shape to do anything other than focus on not bleeding out.
Domitor neared them, aiming to tackle his father.
“Oh no,” Lorenzo said calmly as he suddenly pushed hard, sending the blade straight into Shayla's chest, causing her to jerk so hard they lost their hold on her neck, allowing blood to gush out freely.
The blade hit the floor below her, pushing deeper as Lorenzo pushed the blade through Scamp’s foreleg and her daughters chest, going till the hilt hit her leg.
He let go of the sword and spun around just in time to catch Domitor in the face with a punch as he attempted to tackle him. This sent him straight into the ground right next to Shayla and Scamp.
Lorenzo let out a sharp whistle as he looked at everyone. Mallogory was struggling to get free of the sword in her chest, grunting and snarling like a ravage animal as she stared at him with absolute hatred in her eyes. While Scamp just focused on keeping Shayla alive, both breathing violently and loudly.
“Well, time for the curtains to fall on this little play,” Lorenzo announced as the lights came back on. He stepped over the mother and daughter and grabbed his son by the leg, dragging him as he walked towards the front of the stage.
He tossed his son to the side and gave a bow to a roaring crowd, clearly enjoying himself.
The massive curtains slammed shut in front of himself as he stood up straight, his demeanor changing drastically.
“Alright, Domitor,” he said in a low voice as he turned on his son, who was just getting to his feet, “let’s get this over with.”
Domitor grunted as he stood up fully, facing down his father. His eyes snapped over to the others, his breathing picking up as he laid his eyes on Shayla and her mother. Scamp was currently trying to pull her leg free of the blade, working it up and down as she attempted to saw through her leg.
“The fact you’ve betrayed me due to that mare is the biggest slap to my face you could’ve done,” Lorenzo said with narrowed eyes.
“I didn’t betray you because of her,” Domitor said in a dangerously calm voice as he spat onto the ground next to him. “I did it because you’re an abusive monster.”
“I don’t know how you came from my seed,” he said with a massive sigh, “I gave you the perfect foundation, and you still turned out like… this.”
Domitor’s eye twitched, “I don’t think I could’ve ever reached your impossibly high expectations.”
“I picked the perfect vessel with the perfect genes,” Lorenzo continued, ignoring his son’s words, “I gave you only the best in enhancements and enchants. I spent month’s making sure you were born as the perfect specimen. And even after all that, all you’ve accomplished is proving that you were a mistake.”
This caused Domitor to close his eyes and clench his fist, “I don’t care anymore. I don’t need your approval, or your love, or your anything. I’m done with you, Lorenzo.”
“Oh? Using my first name now?” Lorenzo laughed, looking over to the mother and daughter. “I wonder how long she has before all that lost blood catches up with her.”
Domitor’s body jerked as rage pulsed through his body.
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Lorenzo asked with a sinister smirk as he cast his hand over to them, causing a light to shine down on them.
“Hmm,” he muttered as he made a show of reading the words that appeared before him. “Tsk tsk, she’s not got long, she’s-“ he stopped as he leaned forward, then devolved into a laughing fit. “Oh! That is priceless!”
Domitor’s only reaction was to start walking towards his father, not caring for his theatrics.
“Domitor, you don’t know?” Lorenzo asked, a sinister look in his eyes.
This did not slow him down as he continued his advance on his father, eyes locked with his.
“Well this just makes this all so much more satisfying,” Lorenzo said as two knives appeared in his hands. “You’ve done it, son.”
The mood shift of Lorenzo was worrying Domitor, causing him to slow slightly.
“Shayla,” Lorenzo began with a bit of a dramatic tone to his voice, “is pregnant.”
Those words caused Domitor to come to a stop, eyes going wide as his father howled with laughter.
“You didn’t know!” He exclaimed as he threw a dagger right into Shayla’s hip, causing her to suddenly let out a scream of pain.
This snapped Domitor out of his daze as he began sprinting towards his father, but he could only watch as his father sent two more knives flying at them. One embedded itself in Scamp’s right shoulder while the other impaled Shayla in the upper stomach.
“I’m going to take her womb, Domitor,” Lorenzo declared as the lights dimmed, followed by a spotlight coming on near them.
Domitor panicked as he looked over to see Lorenzo standing near them again.
“I’m going to raise your kid,” he taunted as his hand started to glow. “Maybe this one won’t be such a disappointment.”
“Get the fuck away from them,” he growled as his heart rate increased dramatically.
“Finally some life in those eyes,” Lorenzo laughed as he placed a boot on Scamp’s back and shoved her down onto her daughter roughly, causing Shayla to scream again.
His body began to tense up as he began to shake, “if you touch them-“
“You’ll what?” Lorenzo taunted as he threw a dagger straight down into Shayla’s leg.
“I said GET AWAY FROM THEM!” He roared so violently that Lorenzo actually stopped what he was doing to stare at the seething Domitor.
Domitor started to shake as the ground began to tremble under them. His breathing picked up as he felt something swelling up inside of him.
His father went silent as he watched on, a shocked look over taking his face.
Debris and pieces of the floor began to raise up all around him as he grunted and snarled. He tensed up as he felt something wash over him again, filling him with an intense pressure.
He threw his head back a bit as the feeling swelled, growling as the hatred he felt for his father continued to build up inside of him.
The ground beneath his feet began to crack as the pressure reached new heights, shattering the wood.
The pressure began to pulsate violently within him, threatening to crush him. Then he felt it. A massive surge of power rushed into his body as he began to roar with such ferocity that the ground below him was completely blown away, leaving only the foundations.
Energy swirled around him as he roared, building to a climax. Then with a massive gush of wind it came to an end, with a yellow glowing aura around him as he stood there. His hair a solid yellow color now. He turned his head to his father, an intensely focused look on his face.
Lorenzo could only stare in shock at his son as yellow energy flew up all around him.
The two stared at each other, neither saying a word.
“I was sure you hadn’t inherited that from Belle,” Lorenzo finally said, his shock slowly melting away, “but here we are.”
“Step away from them, right now,” he said firmly, eyes locked on his fathers.
Lorenzo narrowed his eyes as he raised his hand, attempting to use his Thorn to negate his son’s new form. But as Domitor suddenly appeared before him, he realized that was not a possibility.
The sound of an explosion filled the room as Domitor’s fist slammed into his father’s arm as he attempted to block. He was sent skidding back a bit, his eyes wide in shock and pain as he found himself missing an arm
Domitor didn’t relent as he appeared behind Lorenzo, a blank look on his face as he roundhoused his father, sending him flying away.
The area around them began to flicker as he zipped through the area and crashed into his father in midair, sending him straight into the ground.
With that the illusion completely faded away, leaving them in the yard before Raffy’s house.
Lorenzo coughed violently as he pulled himself out of the crater his body had created. His body was broken and one of his arms was missing. This was not good for him.
He shakily reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out his Dimensional Dagger and began stabbing at the air. But nothing happened.
The ground shook as Domitor landed right next to him, glaring down at him.
Letting out a pained sigh he rolled over and stared up at his son.
His left hand stares to raise, but Domitor just gives it a solid kick, ripping it from his body and sending it flying away.
Hissing in pain, Lorenzo’s insane eyes locked with Domitor’s, “if you want to-“
He was cut off as Domitor brought his foot down on his face, causing his head to explode.
Ego poured out of him and into Domitor, confusing him but he didn’t dwell on it too long. He zoomed across the ground till he came up beside Scamp and Shayla, who were both still conscious but clearly not doing very well.
He knelt down and placed his hands on them.
“Raffy,” Scamp gasped out, her coat a bit faded.
He gave her a solid nod as he looked up and saw Floria and Vanilla sprinting towards them.
“I’ll go get him,” Domitor said as he stood up and switched into his pony form, still flowing with yellow energy. He took off into the air, intending to follow the road till he found Raffy’s truck. They needed his healing abilities and fast.