"Mellany, why are you crying?" Lawrie asked, walking up to comfort his sister.
"They... they got him!" she said, pointing at Ylva and Ben. Lawrie's gaze snapped over to them and the couple stood there, confused. The mutant man's eyes widened before he started laughing joyously. Tears streamed down his face as he laughed and he fell to his knees, pure bliss written across his face.
"Lawrie? What is it?" Tasya called out meekly. Lawrie pointed and Tasya looked, her face soon taking the same expression that his did. She laughed, and cried tears of happiness as she embraced him, hugging him close.
Ben and Ylva watched the display for several minutes, utterly stumped at what had them crying, but letting them do their thing. They wept and laughed for several minutes more, before the three of them collected themselves and stood back up. Tasya went with Mellany while Lawrie ambled up to the couple.
"Ummm... mind if I ask what that was all about?" Ben wondered.
"The man you took this from, he was a big one?" Lawrie asked.
"Yeah. Bigger than any of us here, and a sturdy son of a bitch to boot! Nearly split Ylva's head open, and it took me a while to bring the bastard down," Ben replied.
"Did he have a scar going from the top of his head down to his jaw?" Lawrie asked, indicating the left side of his face.
"Yes. He did. You knew him?" Ylva queried, her eyes narrowing.
"Unfortunately, yes. His name was Unktar, the Bloodthirster. He's ruined many lives over the years, including mine and Mel's," Lawrie explained.
"And you were asking about him because..." Ben asked.
"That axe you're holding, Ylva. It belonged to him. I'd recognize that foul weapon anywhere," the big man said with a growl.
"Sounds like you had a history with that bastard. I wouldn't fuss too much about how he died. Ylva made sure the fucker suffered," Ben commented idly.
"Really? What did you do to him?" Lawrie asked, curious about the matter.
"Well, it was Ben who hurt him bad before I could do anything. Broke his face, cut his knees and shoulders, so he couldn't move," Ylva replied while ruffling Ben's hair.
"You did that? But you're so... small!" Lawrie said in disbelief.
"Just because someone is small, doesn't mean they can't hurt you. The bastard learned that lesson the hard way," Ben said with a smirk.
"How? How could you have hurt someone so big?"
Ben scoffed before he launched into a complex kata, landing a successive flurry of mock blows on Lawrie before he had time to react. It amazed him at how fast Ben moved, barely able to track each blow as it sailed at him! It lasted all of several moments, but in that time, Lawrie had felt at least two dozen mock blows hit him before Ben stopped.
"OK. I... see. You could hit him as you had me? Putting full force behind each blow?" Lawrie asked.
"Yeah. Even though this Unktar was strong and built like a tank, his one glaring weakness was that he was slow. He couldn't move fast enough to stop my attacks, much less intercept them. But if you're looking for someone to thank for killing him, thank Ylva. She was the one who castrated the fucker before she slit his throat," Ben told him.
"Cas... trate?" Lawrie asked, unfamiliar with the word.
"It means she cut off his balls," Ben clarified. Shock flitted across Lawrie's face, then a vindictive smile found its way on his face.
"You made him suffer?" Lawrie wondered.
"For... hurting me," Ylva growled, her grip on the axe haft tightening.
"Good. He deserved the pain you gave him and worse," Lawrie stated.
"What did he do to you?" Ben asked. The moment the question left his mouth, he wished he could take it back. He almost did when Lawrie answered him.
"We used to have two older brothers, Mel and I," Lawrie started. "We lived with our parents on a homestead, many miles from here. We didn't have much, but it was ours and we were happy. Until Unktar showed up one day."
"Lawrie, you don't have to..." Ben started.
"You asked, so you will know. Unktar and his gang of slavers came to our homestead, demanding food, supplies and whatever women we had. Our father and brothers refused and told them to get off our land. Unktar drew his axe and cut them down, like they were nothing. Like insects under his boots."
"Mellany and I were told to get into the root cellar and hide there, while our mother prepared to fight them. We heard a scuffle and slapping, along with our mother screaming and then... moaning," Lawrie sniffled. "While they were occupied, Mel and I snuck out and got away. When we tried to go back, we saw that our home was on fire and our crops were taken or destroyed."
"We watched at a distance as they took our mother and walked away, laughing like they had a grand time. On that day, we swore vengeance on Unktar and his gang and we would have it. Since then, Mel and I have done everything we could to survive and get by. A lot of it was... unpleasant," Lawrie shuddered.
"We eventually learned that Unktar was a wanted man and there was a considerable bounty on his head. Many had gone after him, but every one of them turned up dead, killed by Unktar or his goons," Lawrie explained.
"They probably relied mostly on their size and strength to take down anyone who went after them. That bastard had a lot of power and his goons could throw a punch, but they weren't overly smart," Ben commented.
"But that is something that no one really knew about. Because of their reputation of being bloodthirsty monsters, with how brutal and ruthless they were known for being, no one dared go after them. You used your... fists to defeat him?" Lawrie asked.
"My fists and feet. Shotokan Karate is a brutal fighting style that emphasizes full contact sparring when practicing. No half assed mock combat, even during practice, as it would do little to prepare you for how brutal a fight could be," Ben replied.
"So, it was easy?" Lawrie asked.
"Easy enough, once I could telegraph his moves and what he'd do. I could see that he relied primarily on his strength to beat his opponents down. Once I took away his ability to hit me, hitting and hurting the man was easy. His lack of intelligence and inventiveness, coupled with my knowledge and practice of Shotokan, is what allowed me to beat him down," Ben stated.
"Still, to defeat and kill such a monster, is no small feat!" Lawrie breathed.
