This is a summary of Greyashe Episode 24.

OP: OUTRUNNER

ED: Talim.

Chapters Covered: 49-51.

Guy, Van and Claire stare down their enemy for a few moments, absorbing his stance and nuances hoping to grasp a weak point that they can exploit. The farseer boy is the only one who is filled with dread, as he knows just how fearsome the power that stands in front of them is. He motions to Claire and Guy, and despite the fact thattheir enemy stands in front of them,  they have a small huddle. Van relays his fears to his two friends, in which Guy replies that at this point they have no choice but to fight. Claire is a bit more receptive to Van's fears, and asks him if he can see anything within the man that they can exploit. Van confesses that his eye is throbbing too much for him to sort out the signals it's giving him, and even if he could, the fearful aura that he can see eminating from the enemy is too overwhelming for him to even move. A small noise causes the three to turn around, and find that their enemy is standing right beside them, despite the fact that he was across the room only a few seconds before! He admonishes them, asking if they can at least have the respect to talk behind his back after they have learned his name. After introducing himself as Raferty, he apologizes for being the last sight they see alive.

Everything slows down to a point that Raferty's lighting fast swing looks like a snail crawling lazily on a summer morn. He  aims for Claire specifically, but Guy blocks the blow and tries to counter with his own. Raferty's unholy speed aids him again however, and he manages to hit Guy in the gut with a body blow. Van is shocked to see the otherwise unflappable Cowan cower a bit and lean backwards, doubled over in pain. He grits his teeth and compares the punch to being hit in the chest with a train. Guy still isn't down for the count, and feinting to Raferty's blind side tries to launch an attack from the back. Without turning around, the villian is able to judge where Guy is coming from and grab him, tossing him over into a corner of the room. Guy admits that he's tough, but doesn't back down. Van tries to keep focused on the fight rather than his ever growing sense of despair, but is finding it difficult. He manages to tell Guy that an attack is coming from his right, but is surprised when Raferty fakes to his left. Claire tells Van to focus, that without focus his eye won't work properly. She then launches a fireball at Raferty's side, but he simply takes it and continues his barrage on Guy, promising the girl that he will get to her next. Van's eye starts to focus slightly, and he doesn't like what he's seeing. Somehow the madman is able to send out fake information to his eye, although his makeup is similar to Kani's....he cannot use magic at all. Guy grapples with Raferty, knocking him over with a leg sweep, and then preparing to follow up with a punch to the face. Guy says that any other time he'd stay and savor this fight, but they're got a mission. Raferty's eyes widen and for a split second, Guy hesitates, feeling the killing intent wash over him. This split second is too long, and Raferty is able to push Guy away from him, and then using a sharpened bone on the floor as a make shift sword, he stabs him in the torso. Claire tries to cover again with a stream of fire, and succeeds in creating a wall between them and their opponent. 

Raferty stares at the wall of flames for a moment, as if he is thinking of what to do next. However this is not the case. Instead he looks down at the bone-blade; specifically Guy's blood on the tip. He recalls how he had met Armus a few years back. He was known as one of 'History's greatest disasters', as he was a serial killer who left no one alive in his wave of murderous destruction. The long arm of the law finally got him in a choke hold however, and he sat on death row waiting to meet his maker. Armus had heard of the serial killer, and out of a curious whim went to see him. Impressed with his record, the collector moved to buy him as a form of security for his grand collection. He asks the killer if he enjoys the act of taking life, and when Raferty hesitates in his answer, Armus confirms this for him. He states that there are only two objectives human beings have in life. To enjoy themselves, and avoid what isn't enjoyable. People dislike work, but love money, so they work to get what they enjoy. Raferty has no recourse in killing others, so in a sense somehow, he must do it because he enjoys it. Being unable to answer this question himself, Raferty believes in Armus's words, and welcomes the chance to kill under his supervision.

In the present, the serial killer grits his teeth, and jumps through the flames. He is met with another fireball, and simply raises an arm to block it. Guy comes from the side, and prepares an attack to his chest but once again he loses the duel of speed, and Raferty grabs his face. He then takes the bone blade and gentlely slides it into Guy's already open wound. The man grunts, but doesn't scream. Van's eye suddenly clears, and he sees a blurred image. He has no time to notice as Raferty has now tossed Guy aside, and plans to run him through with the bone blade. Van tells Guy what direction to dodge to, but Raferty once again fools them, and takes the opposite path. Guy is already wise to his friend's unreliable eye, and takes the counter of the counter. Raferty's reach with his bone blade is much more than he expected, and he takes a slash to the chest. Claire grows fustrated, but knowing that too much fire in the small area will be bad for them all, her options are limited. Raferty grabs Guy's face again, and runs through the flame wall to the opposite side. He rams his opponent's face into the wall with his full strength, and then follows up with one more 'train' punch to the head. Guy slumps over, unconsious.

Van is frozen in shock, so much so that Claire has to drag him away from Raferty's next attack directed at them. She launches a fireball at his chest, and while it slows him down slightly, it does not stop his advance. She begins to wonder if he has a anti-flame magic incantation on him, but Van slowly tells her that he has no such thing. Raferty charges towards them, and Claire notices that their opponent is suffering from burn injuries...yet he won't stop. Van tells her that he is simply taking the attacks, and has no intention of letting pain stop him from killing them. There's no time for Claire to be aghast, as he is upon them again. The two split, and Raferty stands between them. The sprinkler system in the basement finally activates and the fighters are covered in dew. Raferty muses that this scenario is perfect for a murder scene, as he's experienced it hundreds of times. He repeats what he said when they entered his lair, that no one wants to go into the basement, as it represents the unknown within the known. He then looks at both Claire and Van, asking who he should kill first. Van realizes that he wanted to separate them from the very begining, and then begins to wonder if he should take the initative and step up first....just so Claire may survive.

He isn't given the opportunity, as Raferty charges to him first. Claire sends rapid fire ball blasts his way, but they all simply hit their target and disapate. Although only enchanted water can douse Claire's flame, it doesn't help that Raferty's pain is being aleviated by the cold water coming from the sprinklers. WIth no other choice, Claire charges at the killer, using her short stature to duck under his legs, hoping to push Van out of the way and launch a flame at Raferty at the same time. Instead, he stops suddenly and grabs the girl by her leg. Van gasps and then turns to attack the villian first, but is only swatted away. He then slams Claire on the floor, and wrapping his large hand around her small throat begins to choke her. Claire feels her life slipping away, but resists and breathes embers into Raferty's eyes, causing him to reel back and cover them. Van stands up to go to his friend, but the image from before flashes at him again, and he begins to understand what it is. He turns to Claire and tries to call out to her, but a skull smacks her in the back of the head. Claire grimaces in pain turns around, and is met by the killer's kneecap in the face. He then grabs her once again and like Guy forces her to the ground with a fearsome amount of force. Claire too is out.

Raferty stares over at Van, a predator who has spotted his prey. The boy breaks out in a cold sweat, and all of his thoughts turn to fleeing. He remembers the image he saw however, and realizes that he understands that there is a way to defeat this madman. Using both of his hands, he forms a makeshift camera lense and repeats the word 'focus' to himself. Raferty is less than amused and charges at the boy hitting him square in the stomach with no less mercy than what he had used on Guy and Claire. Van chokes up blood and flies towards the opposite end of the room. This isn't enough for the killer, and he then kicks the boy who is already down, causing him to launch a few feet. He bangs into the wall again with a sickening thud, but stands up again slowly, creating his camera lense. Raferty shows a slight bit of emotion, annoyed at the boy who is seemingly ignoring him. He then grabs Van by his neck and tosses him to his side. The boy lands on the floor, but begins to rise again....until  Raferty pins him on the floor with his foot. Staring down at Van with a clear lack of pity in his eyes, he raises his foot and then  brings it down on the boy's left arm. There is a nausiating cracking sound, and the resounding echo of a pained scream.

Kani dashes down the hallways of Armus's hall, the fact that she is barefooted does not slow her down. The red nail polish on her hands and toes looking almost like blood against her pale white skin. She is stopped by guards by a railing, and nimbly out manuvers them. When they surround her from both sides, she jumps on the banister, and taking a leap of faith grabs a a chandelier and swings right over the party below. Reaching the other side, she hops down and begins to run again, but is grabbed by guards there. She struggles against them, even biting when she can. The guards grow annoyed take a wad of napkins create a makeshift gag, and stuff it in her mouth. They carry the girl back to her room//prison, and make cruel jokes about plugging 'other' holes in her if she doesn't keep quiet. Kani stares down the hallway, and in a futile gesture reaches her arm out.

Armus and the Supervisor sit in the control room, their eyes glued on Raferty's massacre of Van and his friends. Armus is impressed at the killer's pure lack of any pity, and congratulates himself on making such a wise buy. The super visor asks if it's really okay to allow the Goddess killer to die like this, and Armus states that she's worth more dead, as the Challengers and GMAGY alike would love to know that their common enemy was killed and on HIS grounds no less. The supervisor cackles and then omniously says to Armus that the fight isn't over yet....

His broken arm dangling to the side, Van still rises to his feet. He uses his working arm to wipe away tears and blood and then stares Raferty in the eye. The villian is genuinely surprised at the boy's tenacity, and hesitates with his next attack. Van states that he understands him all too well. His eye gave him an image of the killer's psyche, but it wasn't until he thought back on what Guy said to him earlier that he figured out what to do. He enjoys killing? Not a chance. The truth is simple yet complex. What the killer wants is someone who cares about him and themselves enough to stop his tirade.

A fight is an interesting specticle. When two people fight, it's because they in some sense care about each other. A couple that fights over money, rather than seperating cares about saving the relationship. Two men who fight in a debate over politics care enough about the issues to try to convince others to see things their way. Raferty struck fear in everyone he fought against, and so they simply gave up their lives. They didn't care enough to stop him or save themselves. Breathing heavily Van declares that he will stop him. He has too much at stake to die here. He has to save Kani, Claire and Guy. He wants to see more of the world outside of Greyashe. He has friends IN Greyashe that await his return. Most of all his mother and his people are out there somewhere. Blood dripping down from his wounds, and his useless arm dangling in air, Van tells the killer that he cares enough to stop him, because everyone deserves that much, despite what they've done before, what they're doing now, and what they will do.

The words strike Raferty like a blow to the head, which Van follows up by literally giving him a blow to the head iwth his good arm. The killer stumbles back, which Van follows with a kick to the shins. He lands on his backside, and then staring at the boy in shock stands up, and reaches down to grab him. Van leans back slightly, using the villian's shock to his advantage. Raferty narrows his eyes and then throws a punch at Van. Van is knicked slightly and falls over, landing on his broken arm. He yelps in pain, and Raferty lunges at him. The two throw punches at each other, and both miss. Suddenly Van tries to kick at him again, but Raferty moves back. For the first time, he smiles at the boy's moxy, and shows him a real kick that really misses the boy again. Grabbing his leg, Van prepares to hit him in the toroso, but Raferty side steps and watches Van fall over into a pile of bones. Undaunted, he charges again and feints when he is right in front of of the killer. Raferty catches him, and sweeps him off of his feet. Van grabs his leg again causing him to trip, and allowing the boy a chance to kick him hard. The two stare back at each other and begin fighting again.

Armus narrows his eyes, and the Supervisor smiles. The two are no longer fighting to kill, but have regressed into a sparring match. Van's refusal to roll over and die has finally given the murderer a reason to be.  Someone finally responded to his punch with one of their own. If fighting is the only way for him to show his feelings, at long last someone had responded. Armus realizes that Raferty won't be his killer for hire with this change of heart, and turns away in disgust, telling the Supervisor that all things have their expiration date....and to take care of Raferty. Once the cruel host is out of the room however, the Supervisor cackles while watching the screen and then tells Raferty that he'll let him finish his match first. It's a bit cruel, but that's the kind of guy he is.

Van and Raferty continue their sparing, neither one giving up an inch. Raferty hits Van with a punch to the cheek, and the boy causes him to trip with a kick to his leg. Van stumbles a little bit, and then notices the weapon from the armor that the trio had encountered earlier. He picks it up and then turns to Raferty, who is sitting on his backside about to rise again. With a battle cry, Van runs over to the man and leaps into the air. He takes the blunt end of the pole and stabs it into Raferty's torso, which causes him to black out for just a moment. When he awakens again, he feels lighter....perhaps even...happy? He opens his eyes and finds Van doing his very best not to faint while standing over him. The boy asks in a voice quivering with both excitement and weariness....if he had fun. Raferty thinks for a moment, and then becoming infected with the boy's sudden wide grin and out stretched hand replies that for the first time in a while....he enjoyed himself.