I Have the Power!

Part Nine

Kyle had no idea what he was doing. The sword had told him to challenge the beast man, so he had done that, but what was he supposed to do next? When the sword had transformed him, what Kyle had really wanted to do was to stand there and figure out what was going on. Instead, the sword told him to rush downstairs to face his doom!

He didn't even know why he was listening to the sword in the first place. At this rate, the thing was just going to get him killed, and he'd never get the chance to find out what had happened.

"A new challenger?" The beast man growled. His voice was really scary sounding. "Bring it on!"

Now what Kyle wanted was to run away and hide, but he figured it was already too late for that. At this point, he was more likely to die if he tried to run than if he faced the brute head on. Kyle gritted his teeth and glanced at Tila. She was in a bad state, by the look of her. Lonnie and Rogelio weren't much better off. This meant he wouldn't be getting any backup from them. It also meant that he needed to win this battle, or they were all probably going to die.

Alright then sword, Kyle thought, Tell me what to do.

Fight, it said.

Great. Kyle gathered his nerves, taking a deep breath, and attacked the beast man, wondering as he did so how much good it would actually do. The beast man attacked him with one of his fists, and Kyle reacted instinctively, throwing his sword in front of him in defense. Somehow, that seemed to actually work. Apparently he'd been given extra strength along with the new outfit and the extra foot he'd gained.

The beast man growled and withdrew his fist once it became clear he couldn't push Kyle back. Instead, he changed tactics, sweeping his leg out to try and knock Kyle over. Kyle jumped back, avoiding the leg, debating in that moment what to do next. He decided that he didn't actually know anything about how to use a sword, so his best option would probably be to revert to his usual tactics—surviving.

When the beast man threw his next punch, Kyle dodged his thrust and grabbed onto his arm, using the same strategy as he had done on the man with the claw arm. Apparently, Kyle was too heavy for the beast man to hold, because he toppled over when Kyle latched onto him. He fell to the floor with his arm stretched before him, Kyle still clinging onto it. Kyle didn't have to know how to use a sword to do what he did next. He lifted the blade so that it was pointed downward and plunged it into the giant's shoulder.

The beast man roared in pain and leapt up, throwing Kyle off of him. He clutched his shoulder and stared down at Kyle, his eyes focused and calculating. "You... are strong," he said, sounding only a little surprised. "Perhaps we will fight each other again."

"You mean you're leaving now?" Kyle hardly dared to hope.

"Yes," the beast man said, and Kyle had to try very hard to keep the relief he felt from showing on his face. A portal opened up behind the hulking figure, and he turned to leave. Just before he left, he turned to Kyle, and growled menacingly. "I will be ready for you next time. You will not beat me again" and with that, he disappeared.

Kyle glanced around the room, examining the mess before him. Tables had been smashed, and there was a puddle of liquor spilled among glass in the corner. Someone's pink hat had been left behind, and had gotten completely trashed during the fight. He worried for them, whoever they had been, but he was more worried for his friends. Lonnie and Rogelio were both unconscious, and Kyle realized with a pang that Rogelio was bleeding. The wound didn't look bad, but it still made Kyle feel guilty. It was nothing on Tila, though. Her arm had been shredded by one of the cats, and although the wound had begun to seal itself, she looked rather pale. He walked over to her, then glanced around the room for something to bandage her with. His eyes caught on the beast man's cloak which was lying a few feet away. He grabbed it, feeling there was a certain poetic justice in what he was doing, and sat back down beside Tila, ripping off a piece and wrapping it around her arm. As he worked, he felt his form returning to its original state. Kyle was surprised to find that he had been worrying about that. He'd imagined it being some kind of involved process to become himself again, and was glad to find it was not. Apparently the form just faded away when he no longer wished to maintain it.

Eventually, Kyle stepped back to examine his work. All in all, he felt he'd done a fairly passable job at wrapping the wound—that hoard training of his seemed to come in handy during times like this. Though he'd wrapped up the wound okay, he couldn't do much about the fact that she was covered in blood. Her previously white clothes were now stained red. Those cats had done a number on her.

Thinking of the cats made Kyle realized that both beasts were still in the vicinity. The beast man had heartlessly left the two animals behind. One of them was knocked unconscious, and the other was cowering in the corner, blood dripping down its muzzle. Tila would have done that, no doubt—That girl was a menace.

Kyle gazed at the mangled cat for some time, and found himself feeling sorry for it. Eventually, he walked over to it, thinking he might try to help it, though he didn't know how. The animal cringed as he approached, cowering beneath him like a child before an angry parent. It looked so scared, so weak. Kyle could relate to that. He had been just like that too, though he seemed to be getting braver.

Kyle stretched out his hand, and the cat flinched and growled. "It's okay," Kyle said, holding his had out for the animal to sniff. "I won't hurt you."

The cat took a while to respond, but eventually it did start to sniff at Kyle's hand. Kyle watched it inspecting him, and his connection with the large animal seemed to grow. It may have been scary when it was fighting, but it was also kind of cute. "Your just misunderstood, huh?" Kyle asked it. The cat looked up at him, still a bit fearful, but also more appraising than before. He turned his hand over and lifted it as if to pet the giant cat. It hesitated, then walked over and pressed its head against Kyle's outstretched hand. Kyle smiled. If nothing else came of the fight against the beast man, at least he had managed to make a new friend.