Groaning in pain, Thakx staggered to her feet, every scratch on her body stinging like hell. Judging from the pain in her chest, she thought some of her ribs might be broken, too. The influence of the moon on her powers meant that she could only fight a fraction as well as she normally could have done, and every fibre in her body was screaming at her to get away from the weakening element.

She didn’t get the chance.

Roaring, Daxam ran at her, grabbing her wrists in his clawed hands and pinning her to the wall. Her head smacked against the hard stone with enough force to knock any normal person out. But she was stronger than that, and so instead of the relief of unconsciousness, a wave of pain washed through her head and drummed against the inside of her skull.

She writhed and kicked at him with what little strength was left in her, trying to focus her fire, but only a few sparks danced briefly from her fingertips, and Daxam bared his teeth and moved closer, moon-coloured eyes blazing.

“I wouldn’t struggle if I were you, Thakx,” he hissed softly, his pale face only a few inches away from hers. “The moon’s power has drained you nearly to death already, and besides, I don’t want to have to hurt you any more. Wouldn’t want to ruin a pretty face like yours, now, would we?”

Thakx stared at him, bright green eyes wide. She had never taken Daxam seriously before today, only thinking of him as a rowdy, perverted boy who was a nuisance, at best. She had never seen him at the full moon. But it was a full moon tonight, and now that he was Berserker, he had become something a lot more… sinister.

“It’s almost a shame we have to fight, really,” Daxam continued, sweat dripping down his long blue hair. “If only you could be on my side.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “If only we could be together…”

Those words sparked something in Thakx’s mind, a fiery echo of anger that surged through her head. Grasping at her last shreds of defiance, she lifted her head, sent him a death glare that would have half the boys she knew running for cover, and spat in his face.

“Perverted lowlife,” she growled angrily.

Since he clearly wasn’t used to anyone being as defiant as she was, Daxam took a moment to register this.

Then he let go of her with one hand, wiped the spittle from his eye, and, before she could gather enough energy to launch an attack, drove his fist into her stomach.

“Gaah!?!” Thakx cried out in anguish as the force of the blow drove all the air from her lungs. Her little remaining energy disappeared almost instantly, and she slumped, her head hanging, only dimly aware of Daxam pinning both her arms to the wall again with even more force than before. It was the only thing holding her up now.

Daxam grinned wolfishly, running a long tongue over sharp white fangs. “You’re hard to break, Thakx, I’ll give you that. You’re not the weak, stubborn amateur I used to think you were. You’ve grown up. And my…” He purred, his grin growing. Thakx didn’t have the power nor the fight left in her to resist as he leaned closer, angling his head so he could whisper menacingly in her ear. “Didn’t you grow up into a pretty little thing…?”