Axel pulls out an army knife, gives it a quick twirl, and rushes at Talon with a huge smirk on his face.
"What in the world is that small-ass knife gonna do to my shield, idiot?!"
Axel jumps back to avoid a shield swing and lunges in for a stab while Talon is exposed. Talon weaves around the blade twice—but still gets nicked on the right cheek.
"Grrgh…" Talon grits his teeth and kicks Axel in the ankle, making him stumble. But Axel quickly retaliates by stabbing Talon in the shoulder.
"AHHH!"
"I was never much of a hand-to-hand fighter anyway," Axel mutters, backing off—leaving the knife lodged in Talon's shoulder.
As he retreats, Axel pulls out a detonator and presses it.
BOOM!
The knife in Talon's shoulder explodes, blood gushing out from the wound.
"FUCKING HELL!" Talon roars, dropping to one knee.
"I guess that shield can't protect you from everything," Axel says, reloading one of his rocket launchers.
He aims and fires. Talon grits his teeth and surges back to his feet, blocking the shot with his shield just in time.
"You're gonna need more than an exploding knife to break down my defense!"
Through the smoke and debris, Axel charges in and rushes around Talon's side to get behind him.
"Ever heard of a distraction, blockhead?" Axel sneers, pulling out another grenade.
He tosses the grenade at Talon's back while leaping backward.
"Damn pest!"
Talon whirls around to block the blast—but the grenade explodes mid-motion, knocking him off balance.
"See, that's your problem, shield boy! You can't move fast enough to cover multiple angles—lowers your reaction time, bitch!" Axel yells, rushing in.
As Talon flies back, he glances forward, sees Axel closing in, and boots his shield forward in midair—cracking Axel square in the forehead.
"FUHHH!"
Talon hits the ground, rolls to his feet, and spots his shield falling from above. He sprints, snatching it out of the air.
"I told—!"
He rushes forward again.
"—you—!"
BAM!
He slams into the dazed Axel, ramming him full force with the shield.
"Oh FUCK!" Axel screams as he's hurled across the hallway and crashes into a metal pipe in the corner.
"Not to underestimate me!" Talon pants, breathing heavily.
"Damnnnn!" Axel groans. "You just gave me five counts of extreme CTE, asshole… that shield smacked the fuck outta me!"
He wipes blood from his forehead and chuckles.
"He took a shield to the dome and cracked his head on a pipe. The fact he's still talking means… he's not some regular intruder," Talon thinks. My next hit… I'll decapitate him.
"Hahahaha… my fucking head is killing me!" Axel screams with a twisted grin.
Talon immediately drops into a defensive stance the second he sees that expression.
"Oh don't get scared now! I thought you could 'do this all day!'" Axel mocks.
"I'm not fucking Captain America," Talon snaps back.
"Oh, hahaha! Yeah, you're not. But you sure are giving me a run for my damn money. Been a while since I had to wait for the rush of the boom!" Axel grins as he twitches and scratches his neck.
"Is this guy actually a crackhead?" Talon asks himself, confused.
Axel grabs his face while giggling.
"The ticking… the ticking… the ticking… it's hit its peak!"
Suddenly, he bolts through a door leading upstairs.
"Damn it—now he wants to run after talking all that shit?!" Talon grunts, charging after him.
As they dash up the stairwell, Axel pulls a pistol from his back and fires blindly behind him. Talon blocks with his shield, staying close on his tail.
Axel bursts onto the next floor, still firing rounds. Talon barrels through the door after him.
"Why do you keep running?" Talon demands, swatting the gun from Axel's hand with a shield bash.
"Haha! It's a surprise, dumbass!" Axel laughs manically.
"This bastard's lost all his screws…"
Talon lunges to slam him again—but Axel dodges easily.
"Try to catch me, shield boy!"
The chase goes on for five full minutes—up and down staircases, hallways, double backs, more near-hits and explosive dodges—until the two end up right back where they started.
Both pant heavily, drenched in sweat. Talon sizes up the situation.
Damn it. I can't land a killing blow. He keeps moving… he's way more slippery than I expected. But he's taken more damage than me. His stamina's close to breaking. I've got him… right where I want him.
Then—Talon's nose twitches.
He freezes.
"Oh, you finally noticed! Hahaha! Took you long enough!" Axel laughs.
Talon's eyes go wide.
"After the first time you tossed me down the hallway, my head hit a pipe. Hurt like hell—but I noticed something… smelled something familiar. Something I've been around a lot."
Axel points to the pipes lining the walls.
"This building's got a whole separate piping system. Probably used for special shit, huh? So I took it upon myself to—well, you know…"
He grins.
"…cut and shoot open every single pipe I saw."
Talon's face drains of color. He starts shaking.
"You crazy fucker… you'll die too!"
"Hahaha! Anything for the boom, am I right? And there's no blocking an explosion that comes from all around you at once!"
Axel pulls out a matchbox from his pocket.
"FUCK! He filled the building with gasoline! The very air is a damn bomb!" Talon screams, rushing forward.
Axel sees him charging and smiles.
"Don't drop the soap in hell, shield boy."
Axel dives out a shattered window. Mid-fall, he strikes a match across his teeth, sparks it alive, and tosses it back into the building.
"Tick… tick… tick…"
Talon sees the flaming match fly back inside.
"NOOOOOOO—"
BOOM!
The entire building explodes—engulfed in flames.
Axel hits the ground feet-first but collapses to his knees in pain.
"Fuuuck… I'm leaving that jumping shit to Roxie."
He turns to admire the inferno as the second floor crumbles.
Inside, he spots Talon writhing in the flames—burning alive.
Axel's smile widens.
"Hahahahahaha! Fuckass shield boy… pick up a strap next time."