The three guards stepped towards him menacingly, each manifesting psychic energy. "Just leave here, and we'll let them both live," one of them snarled.
"Not happening. Return them to me, and I'll ensure you get a decent, painless death," Griffon replied calmly. Still, he didn't risk stepping forward.
"Hah! An empty threat," Tarken called his bluff. "You can't even save yourself. Get him!"
Immediately, the three took action. Brinkhoff clawed forward into the air, and a wave of energy struck Griffon. Another guard raised a finger gun and pretended to fire. A blast of energy swept off his hand, flying through the air in a concentrated beam. Griffon roared, and a wave of fire erupted from the ground before him, breaking the psionic attacks apart. He raised a hand, and a ball of lightning crackled on his palm, filling the air with the scent of ozone.
Griffon leaped forward, thrusting his arm forward. The lightning ball shot away, striking the finger gunman in the chest. The man screamed in agony, convulsing as electricity cycled through his body. Steam rose up as he collapsed, hideously burned all over. Kinson watched in shock, glad he was covering most of Celeste's sight.
"No! Tinge!" Brinkhoff finally revealed the man's name with a furious scream. He charged towards the flaming Griffon violently, surrounding himself with power.
"Foolish," Griffon chided calmly.
He stepped forward and grabbed the man's wrist. The flames on his hand seared Brinkhoff's flesh, ripping a scream from his throat. Griffon casually flicked his hand, sending the man flying down the elevator shaft. Lightning arced after him, and the pirates' screams soon stopped.
The last man stood, stunned, between Griffon and his quarry. "Wh-what rank… who are you?" he said in terror.
He still hadn't attacked, but Griffon didn't seem wary of his power, advancing forward with confidence. "None of your concern. But you're far too weak to challenge me!"
With that, Griffon dashed forward, clearing the distance between them at a speed Kinson couldn't register. The next thing he knew, Griffon picked the man up by his throat and tossed him aside. He screamed in pain as he flew and crashed into a bed frame, mangeling the both of them.
"That's quite enough," Tarken said, overcoming his shock. "I don't care who you are. This kid dies if you move forward."
The indomitable Griffon finally stopped and looked at Kinson helplessly. While his destructive capabilities were unparalleled, rescuing hostages wasn't his forte.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. just get him!" Kinson called fearlessly. "Now!"
Griffon didn't hesitate, blasting a thin stream of lightning forward. Unfortunately, Tarken's finger was faster, and it descended on the trigger. And descended, and descended. The pirate's eyes betrayed his confusion and frustration, but nothing he did could make his finger move faster. His hand seemed stuck in slow motion.
"AHHHH!" Tarken screamed loudly as the lightning struck his face.
The sickening scent of burnt flesh assaulted Kinson's nostrils, and the pirate jerked back. He flinched as Tarken's hand suddenly moved, free of it's constraints. However, the pirate captain instinctively dropped the gun and clawed as his face. Kinson snatched the gun off of the bed and threw himself away from Tarken, who had collapsed onto the floor.
"Nice work, Celeste!" he looked behind him, but his look of excitement instantly turned to horror. "Celeste?"
Celeste had curled up on the bed, her whole body shaking by frequent tremors. Kinson rushed to her side and held her head, worrying clouding his thoughts.
"Griffon! It's Celeste!" he shouted frantically over his shoulder.
"I'm right here," Griffon calmly replied, right over his shoulder.
Kinson nearly jumped in surprise. He hadn't even noticed the man's approach.
Griffon reached over and felt her pulse. "What happened to her?"
"She used her powers to prevent him from shooting. It worked, but she suddenly collapsed!" he cried anxiously.
"She seems fine as far as I can tell. It might just be a case of over-exhaustion, but something doesn't seem right. We need to get her back immediately." Griffon stood, a dark look on his face. "I'm going to commandeer the ship.
With that, Griffon rose and went to the cockpit, blasting the door open with a vicious stream of fire. Kinson barely spared him a glance. He cradled Celeste in his arms, alert for any motion from the unconscious girl.
In a cruel twist of fate, Tarken stirred first. Kinson looked at the gun in his hand, then pointed it at the groaning man. His hand shook, but his eyes showed no hesitation.
"Urhhhg, what the heck was that?" Tarken groaned and rubbed his head.
"Don't move, or I'll shoot," Kinson said, his voice devoid of emotion. He had hurt Celeste, and must pay!
Tarken froze and peered up at Kinson. The man's handsome face had been horribly burned, and one of his eyes had already swollen shut. Most of the hair on his head was gone, and what remained was shriveled and frayed.
Tarken glared at him menacingly, but the effect was broken as the pain of his wounds returned to him. He screwed his eyes shut, clenched his fists, his whole body shaking. Kinson heard a savage hiss escape his clenched jaw.
"Serves you right," he muttered but didn't relax his guard.
His attention lapsed as soon as he heard a faint groan escape Celeste's parted lips.
"Celeste!" he called urgently.
She stirred for a moment, then settled down once more. Kinson looked at her in concern, then realized her breathing seemed to have evened out a bit. He turned his attention back to Tarken after he was certain she wouldn't wake. Fortunately, the pirate was still locked down by the pain, so watching him was easy.
Kinson jumped as a sudden scream broke the growing tension. He looked towards the cockpit, but nothing followed. A few moments later, however, the ship began to head towards the faraway Colony, evidence their mutiny was successful. An intercom buzzed down from the ceiling, and Griffon's voice greeted them.
"Keep an eye on them, Kinson. I've radioed ahead, so we'll have a medical team waiting in advance. ETA 5 minutes."
"Okay!" Kinson called back in relief.
"Idiot. It's an intercom, not a radio," Tarken criticized.
"Shut up." Kinson scowled. "Aren't you curious how he found us?"
"Not really. But please, enlighten me." Tarken said glumly.
"Fine. I simply gave him a video call and silenced my volume. He tracked us the whole way until we reached that horrible secret passage of yours. The call lost connection, but it was enough. What kind of idiot kidnaps someone and then forgets to take their phone?" Kinson gloated. Then, he frowned. It would be best to avoid this kind of thing. He could definitely understand why antagonists found this habit addicting.
"Something so simple…" Tarken muttered under his breath. He raised his voice so Kinson could hear, "That's a mistake I won't repeat again."
"As if you'll get the chance," Kinson snorted arrogantly.
The rest of their brief trip was silent. The ship entered the city through a small gate, before flying to the closest Airport. As they approached the emergency landing spot, the lights of several emergency vehicles immediately attracted Kinson's attention.
The landing was rather jarring, but much quicker than the takeoff. Several psionists wearing military armor approached the ship. A few seconds later, they had apprehended Tarken and taken the two students off the ship.
Kinson tried to stay by Celeste, but she was quickly ferried off to the hospital. Griffon arrived beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You did good there. Although I couldn't help but notice you've got the safety on," Griffon held out his hand with a smile.
"Huh?" Kinson finally realized he was still holding Taren's pistol. Surprisingly, none of the military or law enforcement had taken it from him. He sheepishly placed it in Griffon's outstretched hand. "I didn't touch it, so…"
They looked at the secure van holding Tarken and broke out laughing.
"Guess we had nothing to worry about. How are you holding up? They'll be taking you to the hospital, too, for a check-up," Griffon informed him.
"Oh, okay. Do I really need to go? I'm fine," he asked, a bit of a whine in his voice.
"It's proper procedure. Don't worry about it," Griffon brushed his excuse off.
"I'm sorry all this happened," Kinson said softly.
"Good people can't be responsible for the actions of the bad. Weakness isn't a crime, after all," Griffon said sympathetically.
Kinson was quiet for a moment. Before he could reply, a medical vehicle came to a stop by them, lights flashing. A kind-looking woman got out of the car and approached them.
"Kinson?" she asked cautiously.
He looked her in the eye and took a deep breath. "Yeah."
"Please come with me. Although you might feel fine, we need to give you a full check-up. You've experienced some traumatic things, so don't worry if everything is confusing. We'll take good care of you,"
Kinson reluctantly nodded, and followed her to the car. The woman looked him over but smiled in relief upon judging his condition.
"I'm glad you're safe. My name is Rose, so feel free to ask me if you need anything. " she smiled comfortingly at him.
"Okay, but I really am fine," he replied.