I Blame You

by Whitestrake

Elvis Presley Only Failed One Class in School: Music

A loud bang filled the air. I felt the hard hit of a concussive blast and the heat of the incendiary chemicals long before I noticed anything else. Even as the shock was setting in, I drove an elbow into the dryad's ribs and followed by spinning myself onto my back. The plant-person had a new stump, courtesy of the shaped explosive Jay and I had rigged earlier. The adhesive clung to every surface it came into contact with, set ablaze by the small bits of phosphorous packed in the standard compound. Just think gasoline mixed with rubber cement, and you'll be near Jay's little concoction.

I threw the nymph off me and scrambled for my dropped powersabre. A swift foot to my unarmored stomach sprawled me. A strong hand on my greaves pulled me up, only for Arachni's little pet to get in a fairly nice kick to my jaw. This hermaphrodite was tough; I certainly couldn't lose my arm and have the stump set ablaze without fleeing combat, but she remained. The woodland acrobat continued her rampage against me, stomping my prostrate form. I curled into a ball to cover my more vital areas, my hands at the tops of my boots. My fingers brushed against the still-cold metal of an old friend.

My knife stabbed the nymph's calf, taking out the only leg she had on the ground. I pulled out just as quickly, the survival blade's jagged back causing leagues more damage than the smooth blade. I could see why Germans back in the Great War were killed if they were caught with saw-backed bayonets: they were far too cruel to be used on a living creature. That being said, I enjoyed the ripping I heard from the screaming hermaphrodite's leg as I drew the all-purpose weapon from its temporary meat-sheath. I crawled on top of the downed redhead, intent on finishing this before she had a chance to end me. Rearing my arm back, I put all of my strength behind the downward arc.

I should have known the acrobat would knock my hand off-course, but it wasn't until I felt the knife glance off the stone floor that I could react. By then, it was far too late. The dryad drove her good hand into my abdomen, her nails penetrating my skin with ease, but her actual fingers were unable to gain entrance, preventing truly serious injury. The sharp talons felt more like pinpricks than a stab wound, but a burning heat spread from the injured areas. The plant-person withdrew her hand and held it close to my face. It was at that moment I realized things were very serious.

Her needle-like nails had no blood on them, which made no sense at all. Clear droplets of fluid appeared out of small pores in the thorn-like protrusions. In a panic, I moved a hand to my stomach, directly where I'd been stabbed. There wasn't even the slightest hint of blood as I drew back, but I could hardly say I didn't deserve this for not anticipating my enemy to employ some form of venom. The particular poison she'd injected into my bloodstream and abdominal muscles was incredibly painful. It felt like someone had threaded thousands of white-hot needles through my gut, but no blood spilled from the wounds. My first guess was that this was a neurotoxin mixed with a powerful coagulant; my blood would turn to sludge as the poison crept to my brain or heart.

Any swift or strong motion I made quicken my painful demise, and she would easily deflect my physical attacks, leaving me to get creative. Thankfully my good friend the Pyromaniac had given me few party favors. The little goodies came in the form of a fine powder, packed into three plastic baggies. I slit the little containers, spilling their contents over the hermaphrodite's chest. The dusty compound spread wonderfully, filling the dryad's intermammary cleft with plenty of excess the inflict the most pain before she died.

I pulled out a small, plastic stick that had been specially treated for this. I shifted my weight to pinned the plant-person's only arm, before placing the chemical match. For the finale to my grand performance, I pricked the tip of my forefinger. A single drop of still-liquid blood fell onto the starter.

“Come on, light my fire.”

$%$%$%$%$%$%

“What did he put on Catach's chest ?” Arachni's voice held a slight tone of fear, betraying the worry she felt for the dryad mercenary. The queen looked at Taylor's compatriot for an answer. Jay only laughed at the grave situation like it was the funniest thing he'd seen in weeks.

“Just a few household chemicals in the proper proportions.” The flautist wasn't about to tell anyone his secret recipe, not before he got something very nice in return. The teen was enjoying the bloodshed immensely, even if it was coming to a quick end. The Pyromaniac saw his friend activate the blood-fuse, which would ignite the plastic bit, then set off the grandest display of fireworks this side of Draconia. There was an intense light, with sparks shooting from the slowly erupting mass. “I'd cover the Crusaders' ears if I were you.”

For once, Jay seemed to be a prophet. At the moment he stopped speaking, the dryad screamed, impossibly long and piercingly loud. Everyone flinched at the sound, and even Cadence's concentration nearly broke under the penetrating wail. It took the Princess of Love everything she had to keep the CMC deafened against the shrill throes of Catach's death by miniature supernova. The compound burned hotter than the fiercest dragon's flames, but spread slowly. If there was ever a material made specifically for torture and corpse disposal, Princess Luna was sure she'd found it.

The dryad thrashed against the human holding her in place, her legs kicked out as her assailant remained motionless. Her shrill cries had stopped completely, her body too shocked to do anything else but lay there and suffer, if any of her nerves were still alive enough to feel. The edges of the small inferno darkened as the burning mass sank into the plant-person's chest. In the span of roughly thirty seconds, Catach's suffering came and went; she would feel no more pain. Arachni kept her muted eyes on the two combatants, and she couldn't help but notice the mercenary's pink eyes give her one last look before the light within them fled.

Taylor rolled off the now-dead acrobat, his own chest painfully cooked by the small inferno. It was easy to see how much pain he felt by his body's shuddering. It was easy to see how unfocused he was, even at this distance.

“We should probably hurry.” Karapass was already out of her seat by the time she'd finished giving the command. Dryad venoms were easy to counter, but they had a certain window of opportunity, and it was closing fast.

$%$%$%$%$%$%

Ancient hands grasped at a thick cord. With a simple pull, the high-capacity line snapped; the Deceiver was removing himself from his throne. Hivemind synapse and life support would remain active until it came time to step down, lest things collapse at an inconvenient time. Eons of planning, webs upon webs of plots and gambits, all to make today possible. The powerful psychic felt the very air tremble as he moved, something he hadn't felt since the last time that avatar of chaos was released. With wires still connected to his helmet, the artificial immortal began manipulating his throne's power supply, the only method to conserve energy.

The ancient human lift his hands to his mask, instantly finding the release button. With a hiss as his suit's pressure equalized with his his chapel's, the Deceiver removed the bone-white, full-face visor. His lungs took their first breath of unfiltered air in millennia.

Comments

[Misplaced Modifier]

Wait, was that thermite? I have a feeling it was Thermite.

-Minty

[Moak]

1929336
Sounded like it. As for the backwards exploding pistol. I thought something like that would happen, wasn't 100% sure though
Was there ever any doubt that Taylor would live?
... Yes.. just a little bit...

[Captain_Savage]

This was a short one, but a good conclusion for the fight.

[Eternal Slendermane]

damn

[lolz anonymous]

fucking awesome... can't wait to see what happens with the deceiver.

[Invictus227]

1929336

Either that or Chlorine trifluoride, which is fun stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine_trifluoride

[Sine Wave]

Oh how I love a good Tremors quote.

[Rough Boulder]

Will anyone give this story a fair shot?

dude, you got it at the bottom of the popular stories, so far.

[Alondro]

This... this was once a comedy, wasn't it?

[CloudTwister]

1930009
Still is in my book. Aint nothing funnier than cooking your enemies in unholy thermite fire.

[Rhulain]

1929800

I love me some Burt

[Aslfrasle]

I like to cook my enemies in contained miniature supernovas, using thermite to start the reaction... It's a good thing.

[flipey21]

Good birthday present. I've enjoyed this story a lot.

[Msvman]

Damn...... That was AWESOME!!!!!! Though a bit quick but a good fight

[Sine Wave]

1930803 Amen Brotha.

[Rhodesm96]

That chapter... I came. I came everywhere.

[Rhulain]

1931375

remember this gem?

[Chuck Baleigh]

Tell me, good sir, where do you get these facts for your chapter titles?
I find them fascinating.

[Alondro]

1930216 *hmms... throws thermite on you and lights it up* Meh, I admit it's mildly entertaining. But not what I'd call comedy.

[Sine Wave]

1933992 oh wow. I the tv show was classic. Why would you cancel it Syfy?

[Proto]

1934411

He gets them off Reddit.

[werebrony]

Clasisic bugs bunny and thermite death

Yes you sick and cruel dick!

[Rhulain]

1938302

guess not enough people liked it. I liked it, but it just was straying from the movies. it was less and less about giant, underground, maneating, Precambrian lifeforms

[Razzy]

I guess she suffered from some... Heartburn.