Chapter Three
Brutalius is sitting in Oriah's study at the conquered Acropolis when the report of Paulus' injury reaches him. Only one thought rushes into his mind as he turns his head to the side, towards a Corsair guard posted at the door, "Find the whereabouts of Antonia Blasio. Her orders are to report here immediately." The guard crosses his right arm against his chest in obedience and swiftly steps down the hallway as a crooked grin breaks through Brutalius' ink-blacked face, it's all mine now.
Nearly a half hour passes before the soldier returns, "We have searched everywhere, Sire, she's nowhere to be found." Brutalius quickly rises from his chair and walks over, "What do you mean she's nowhere to be found? What kind of imbecile are you?" Brutalius shoves the guard as he pulls the man's communicator out, attempting to contact Antonia himself. After several tries with no results, Brutalius hurls the device, "If she's not found, I'm holding you personally responsible!" He then gives the man another violent shove as he heads down the hallway to the grounds below.
~
A wake of dust churns from his rear tire as Brutalius heads towards Corsair Territory to personally search for the one person in the world that means anything to him. It doesn't take long for him to find her, walking somberly across the dry terrain. He parks his bike and walks to her as Antonia greets him with a warm smile, "Everything is in place, Sire."
They embrace and Brutalius begins kissing her neck, cherishing the inevitable victory in both his ambitions and his heart, "You have done well, my dear." Suddenly a rumble roars around them and their reunion is short-lived. They release just in time to see Furious dismount his bike.
He sneers at the couple as the orange tips of his mohawk begin to glimmer. He steps toward the pair with enthusiasm, "I knew today would be a good day. Which one of you wants it first?"
Brutalius replies to his cousin like the superior he believes to be, "Your orders are to remain in Alcazar until otherwise instructed, Soldier." Furious scowls and a brief flash of fiery shimmering light streaks down the tips of his hair, "I don't take orders from you Cousin, never have, never will. And after today, no one will." Instantly, Furious' mohawk bursts into red flames as trails of a fire-like essence flow down his forearms, twisting over each other like braids of red flame. Then in a shimmering ring, Furious flings his arms outwards and two long golden blades spring from each hand. The intertwining fire from his arms quickly spreads to each weapon. Furious leaps into the air, twisting his body toward Brutalius and Antonia. He slices the air with both swords and the action sends rippling waves of fire lashing across their bodies.
"Arrrggghh!" Antonia screams as the burns lacerate her side. She turns to run and Furious readies another strike. He's about to send the hurling blaze toward the fleeing woman but he's thrown to the ground. Brutalius is quickly on top of him, "I am the rightful ruler of our Clan and you will succumb!" Brutalius slams a small dagger into Furious' side and immediately, a pale mass spreads from the wound, bringing horrific screams deep from within the man's lungs.
Furious finally manages to send his right elbow into Brutalius temple, dislodging his grip, allowing him to reach his feet. He quickly summons two more fiery swords, sending them crossing over each other in front with ever-increasing-speed. Cackling, Furious slowly charges his target, sending ever-increasingly intense swells of flaming plasma, pummeling Brutalius' body with repetitive ferocity. The relentless assault knocks the man back until he is nothing but a defeated smoldering heap, lying lifeless on the ground.
"I'm glad you finally crossed me, Brute.” Furious chuckles, “And now, I'm going to kill your girlfriend. Remember that as you take your last breath." Furious examines the man's horrid condition, stopping just long enough to send his boot into Brutalius' side. As he returns to his bike, the flaming hue of his mohawk returns to normal and he rumbles toward Antonia.
Furious ignores the pain raging from the wound that was inflicted by the man left dying behind him. He's is too occupied with locating his new prey. After a while though, Furious begins to question if he went in the right direction because Antonia is nowhere in sight. Coming to a stop, Furious takes a puzzled look around. The land is so flat, he's certain he couldn't have missed anything. With too much time and fuel already wasted Furious turns back, yelling out, "I'll find you soon enough, traitor!"
He arrives back at the place where Brutalius fell, and his bewilderment grows even stronger as it seems Brutalius has also disappeared. Nothing about the area says there was even a fight. As he tries to figure out what happened, a wide grin beams across he face as he notices a woman frantically running up ahead of him. Furious' mohawk is again engulfed in flames as he races toward Antonia, leaving a blazing comet-like trail behind him.
The deep sound of his motorcycle cuts through the wind as Furious veers his bike toward the scrambling girl. Antonia turns back at her pursuer. Her grimace and wide eyes illustrate the terror pervading from her as she loses ground to him. "Pleeease!" She screams out as Furious bears down, his front tire ready to clip her legs. Then in an sudden shrilling stop, an explosive sound of clamoring metal rings out as Furious' chopper is suddenly compressed into a mound of mangled steel. He is flung through the air and his body smashes against solid stone. What was an open path a moment ago is now a group of towering boulders. Bloody and broken, Furious lays motionless on the ground as Brutalius and Antonia approach.
Brutalius revels in his victory, "That mind control serum you extracted from the Nephilim worked better than I could have imagined. He was completely taken by it." Brutalius examines the burned whelp across Antonia's back as she turns to him, planting a kiss on his cheek, "I'm fine my love, it didn't penetrate the armor. And did you ever doubt me?" Brutalius faces her now, gazing into her brown eyes, stroking her curly hair as he wraps a lock around the back of her ear, "Not for a second my dear, come now, help me bound him." The two pick up the unconscious man and carry him to an awaiting black truck, "We'll take him back to the Acropolis; I know the perfect place to hide him for now. I want him to see me before he dies. I want him to know who did it."
They pitch him in the back and shackle his arms and legs together. Brutalius take Furious' communicator out of his pocket, drops it to the ground and smashes it with his boot. While up in front, Antonia turns the key, bringing the engine roaring to life. Brutalius joins her and as she leans back, she places her hand on Brutalius' jaw, turning his face toward hers, "That's one down, two to go, my love."