Aevant of Lightning

Lulu's body shook with a surge of visible Flauna. Lightning struck down from the sky in a flash of brilliant blue light. The electricity shot out like spears, piercing through the beast-like man.

The sight of the dancing electricity had Ergo cursing. In the next moment, all the machines on his body were fried, even the eyes on his head.

"Grab the gun!"

Following his father's words, he pulled a small pistol off the pierced body of his friend, swallowing his grief, hoping he would still be living by the time they wrapped things up.

He was aiming at the now-standing girl stumbling on her feet, her being wholly unaffected by the electricity surrounding her.

Snapping her head in his direction, her eyes flared with the same electricity. He pulled the trigger.

The bullet left the gun like a ghost in a shell. There was no gunshot, just the silent scream of it cutting through the air, aimed at the girl's forehead.

The electricity in front of her stuttered at the impact. Then there was a crack ringing in the air, and the electricity cracked before her very eyes, causing her eyes to widen in shock.

Using all the will she could muster, she tossed her body to the side, dodging the bullet by a hair's width.

With a heavy breath, she stumbled back onto her feet. The electricity barely affected her, but her body was having a struggle. The electricity surrounding her was a byproduct of Flauna, not Reverse Flauna - it didn't take too kindly to that.

Muttering curses under her breath, Lulu clenched her teeth as she caught a boot in the face. "Fu-" She let out a groan of pain, a hand flying to her nose only to be covered by a handful of blood.

"What? Not so fast now, huh?" Stomping his boot back down, Tarkis glared at Lulu, who was backing away in pain. Looking over to his father, Ergo nodded at him.

Throwing a punch, he heard the humming of machines as a quick arm shot out and pushed his arm to the side, the other, the metal one, smashing straight into his respirator mask. In that split moment of attack, Lulu flipped away from the man.

Clutching at his mask, Tarkis was finding it harder to breathe. It was cracked open. His labored breaths and his pounding heart were pounding in his ears.

Keeping his sights on the girl, Ergo moved to his son's side. Putting a hand on his shoulder, he told him to fall back to the ship.

A deep glare was now the only thing in the man's eyes. He assumed as long as the General was preoccupied. They would have the girl handled.

For her to make this more problematic was irksome.

Putting her metal hand over her arm, she stopped its shaking, looking at the remaining mercenaries with a cautious gaze, the woman with the sniper remaining vivid in her mind.

Popping her shoulders, Lulu pulled the hair out of her face, wiping the remaining blood off her face. "How's about we call it a truce, hm?"

"No."

...

Humming in acknowledgment, her eyes scanned her surroundings. Two of the mercenaries were out on the ground. One was just put out of commission due to a broken mask, leaving the sniper, the leader in front of her, and the beast fighting her grandmother.

At that thought, Lulu heard a loud explosion and felt a wave of heat wash over her, but she maintained focus on her front.

There was a glint from the scope of the sniper rifle. She slid to the side in the snow, dodging the shot.

"Right. Sniper and old mercenary." She mumbled.

***

Swerving under a swing, Nizael one of her sticks across Kharns large bicep and the other across the side of his torso, leaving quick yet shallow cuts, twisting around him to dodge the swing of another fist.

While she swiftly maneuvered around the large man, his mad laughter continued, annoying her greatly, but she stayed focused.

Attempting to slam her sticks against the back of his leg, she was caught off guard by a sudden increase in speed. Kharn spun, smashing his leg into her head, launching her into a tumble through the snow.

Before her tumble stopped, Nizael was covered in her white light and heat. Recovering, she launched herself forward, melting all the snow under her, her feet not once touching the ground. The General had turned herself into a burning missile.

Once reaching him and at contact, a large explosion engulfed the both of them. White light, steam, and water covered the area around them and where they stood.

Quickly fading away, the steam revealed Kharn having caught Nizael. With a vicious grin, he slammed her body into the ground, slamming a fist into her right after, only to pull away from his fist being burned off.

He cackled, "You've grown rusty, General, old even. What happened to the General from those days back on N-11? What happened to the woman from the Battle of Yavin? Don't tell me I came here for nothing." Kharn spoke mockingly.

Now back onto her feet, she had the metal of her sticks shift to covering her fist. Spitting out a bit of blood, she took note of her grandaughter getting back up from getting electricity flooded into her. It seemed she was holding her own.

Nizael growled at the man before her. "Fine, Kharn. You want to experience what happened at N-11. I'll gladly tear your wings off."

The white light that covered her fists became white flames that flickered and licked at her skin, melting the bare grown under her, the snow that was once there long gone.

Dashing forward, she ducked under another punch, throwing a fist out only for it to be knocked over to the side. In response, she drops low and kicks his legs out from under him.

After he fell over, she hopped up and used her entire body weight to slam her knee into his face, effectively pushing him away from her and covering her knee in a small amount of blue blood.

Unclenching her fists, she stepped forward, paused, then pushed a palm out, sending out a wreath of fire that engulfed the man.

For a moment, the man's constant laughter went silent, the only noise being the wind whistling by as both sides were at a standstill.

Keeping up a continuous stream of fire, Nizael scrunched up her eyes as she remained focused, not letting up for a second. Clenching her teeth, she ignored the pain in her fingertips.

Boom! - A singular moment, a singular spark, and an explosion erupted from her flames.

In a quick bid of reflexes, she raised her arms to protect herself. Being launched into the air, he slammed against the ground hard, all the snow that would've cushioned her gone.

Spinning onto her feet, she shook her arms to her side, raising them back into a fighting stance. They were in a horrible state. The skin was blown off her arms, revealing the muscles underneath, and blood spilled out in an attempt to make a pool.

Though they quickly began to heal, the muscles started to repair themselves and wrap around each other while skin built back up over them, her blood quickly drying into a white fire.

Pointing a fierce glare at her adversary, she watched the miniature explosions that sounded off and popped in a spectacle all around his arms. Kharn's flesh was burnt, melting from her flames. Likewise quickly repaired itself. Her attacks left behind only slight burns to show her effect on him.

Motionless and without words, the General watched the jovial man laughing as he mocked her, goading her to continue attacking him.

The two were strong beyond compare.

With them both having extremely explosive abilities and exceptionally rapid regenerative abilities. A fight like theirs wouldn't be over quickly. He wanted their battle to last.

Dropping her arms, Nizael let out a deep breath. Standing up straight, she spoke to the man who slowly approached her.

"This is a pointless battle. Why are you here, Kharn?"

"Pointless? Are you sure? I still remember our last meeting like it was yesterday. The burns you left on me, littering my body, still pain me to this day, General. What about you, huh!?" He laughed, "I bet that scar I gave you made me hard to forget!"

Nizael's face contorted. She couldn't help but scoff at him. "You are still as forgettable as you were that day." She stated.

Watching the anger that took hold of his figure, his pace speeding up before he became a blur, she clenched her fist.

Bursting forward, her entire form was covered in a bubble of white light that Kharn's exploding fist made contact with. The two were put at a pause, Nizael's bubble was burning and pushing Kharn's fist away from it, yet the man continued to resist, increasing the explosions bubbling around him and driving forward with a violent fury.

While Nizael had a focused gaze, Kharn was the exact opposite. His lips were curved into a vicious grin while his eyes blazed with fire and explosions, finding thrill in their battle.

Then... an expanse of white light, fire, and explosions covered the bother of their forms. The entire scene was blinding, to the extent that Ergo and his remaining people were forced to look away, a chance that Lulu took.

The pipes on her leg pumping back to life, she launched herself forward. Not noticing the sky being covered by dark storm clouds, Lulu stretched out her metal arm, clotheslining Ergo before rushing up to the sniper. Her focus returned to the girl after hearing her boss's grunt.

Attempting to move out of the way, she was too late. Lulu made it to her side, kicking her body like a soccer ball and sending her crashing into the snow, her sniper sent flying out of her hands.

Coming to a stop, she cracked her neck. She could feel the adrenalin building in her blood. Or maybe it was something else. She couldn't tell.

Looking over to where the sniper lay sprawled out, she watched the woman spasm in pain, trying to get up only to fall back down.

Nodding, she walked over to Ergo, who was getting back on his feet. Checking his mask for damage, he picked his pistol back up, squinting at the girl approaching.

"You're surprisingly strong, child. I was told you were as fragile as a wine glass," he chuckled. "Seems we were given inaccurate information."

Sighing, the man pointed his gun at her, steel and resolution in his eyes that she yearned for. Gazing at him with curious eyes, she waited for what he planned to do, only for him to lower his arm.

Her ears twitched, hearing his grumbles through his mask. "Every damned thing on this planet are monsters." Glancing at the fading light where Nizael and Kharn battled, Ergo returned to looking at her. "Will you let me leave with my injured children, or will I have to battle you to the death?" He asked, his voice calm.

Tilting her head, Lulu thought, tilting it to the other side, she sighed. "You're a professional, right?" She questioned cautiously.

The man blew air through his mask, "Course, the only reason the galactic empire trusts us with tasks."

"Hm, very well then. You mercenaries have a rule book, yes? Let's follow the Gambit Oath, hm?"

"Surprised a child that's never left the planet knows of that oath. Alright then, lay it out."

"You will promise. To never antagonize or hunt me, my family, and my friends. And you will leave this planet and never return. Simple, right?!" She exclaimed.

Putting a hand over his heart and the other over his reactivated eye prosthetic eye, he clicked a button on his chest. "We, the E.D.C. Mercenary Group, make a Gambit Oath. We vow that we will never return to the Detrid home world. To never harm the Bavel family and its young heiress's companions."

After he finished, a voice slipped from the device on his chest, "Oath recorded. The Table shall remember and hold you to it." with a beep, it cut as quickly as it came.

Holstering his gun with a grumble, Ergo pulled up a panel on his risk. After he clicked at it, the ship they had broke into two vessels, the smaller one starting its thrusters. Checking on those on the ground, he sighed in relief at the man she impaled being alive.

Taking a tool from his side, he stabbed it into him, injecting him with some form of liquid, stopping his bleeding.

Watching as he loaded his people on the ship, Lulu pointed her head at the fading light some distance away from them, "What of him?"

"That man is not with us. Our contractors sent him."

"Your contractors, which are?"

"The Kritol Empire, of course." He answered, before stepping on the ship once it began to lift off, the back still open, looking down at her before disappearing in the distance.

Turning to where her grandmother was, Lulu's eyes widened. There she was, skin blown off to reveal what was under it, showing even her bones.

Still, her figure was unwavering while it mended itself. She remained glaring at the man before her - him being in a similar state, but instead, his flesh and muscles were melted off, only to start stringing back together.

In a state of confusion, ringing began to fill her ears. An overwhelming taste of metal rolled across her tongue, her hair defying gravity to float in the air. She felt butterflies fluttering around her stomach and a serpent wrapping around her throat.

The sound of a ship breaking through the clouds was deafened by the rolling thunder that began to fill the sky. Lightning began to paint the sky in its branches, striking her, covering her in a brilliant blue.

While her eyes flashed with the volatile and active red energy that filled the world, only to be replaced with lightning.

...

...

Then she took a step-launched forward. She had become a bolt of lightning out to strike Kharn. Putting her metal arm forward, she slammed straight into the man. His look of shock and bewilderment went unnoticed, his blasting off into the distance, lightning following after him.

Standing in his previous spot, she raised a hand to the sky, bringing it down with two fingers pointed at the ground.

Following her motions was the continuous strike of blinding lightning, striking like heavenly smite.

It soon came to a calm. Turning to her grandmother with an apathetic look, she stared the surprised woman in the eyes. The sound of ship thrusters finally entered their ears.