Been a busy couple of weeks or so. Seen some fantastic movies (Avengers:Infinity War, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Deadpool 2) as well as trying to be proactive on other platforms to get some commissions going for much needed money. If you want to look, my username is the same on the site that is the Art of Deviant.
I am trying to slowly but surely post all my keyblades I've made and chapters for everything I've written up there.
Anywho, you are all here for another chapter of this ridiculous tail, not me trying to sell my soul (Bahaha as if I still have that dead weight).
I do implore that you read, fav, follow, review, hopefully enjoy, and grab that strange snack. Mine today is dark chocolate peanut butter spread over shortbread cookies.
Leaning forward in his chair, a bucket of popcorn between his legs, Nick was intently watching the television.
Judy sat in a chair only an arm's reach away, eyeing the delicious snack, though perturbed by the fox's strange proclivity. He was taking the popped pieces of buttered puff and dipping them in peanut butter.
"I honestly didn't think you were being literal when you said you were gonna sit back with a bucket of popcorn and watch the chaos ensue," the doe finally spoke, gesturing to the television.
Having told the tod about Lionheart's supposed press release that would exonerate them, he seemed excited to watch, taking some slightly justified pleasure in watching someone try to tackle their debacle.
"What's to misunderstand about that?" the fox questioned sarcastically between mouthfuls of his snack. "I didn't think I made it sound like a joke."
"And peanut butter… really?" she continued, brushing his answer aside to gesture to his snack combo, as if it were some sort of heresy against snackdom.
He shrugged, replying, "What? I like popcorn and I like peanut butter."
The doe facepawed herself and gave up, an irksome twitch of annoyance rising within her as she noticed the fox smile in knowing of her frustration. Her eyes rolled as she realized she was being played by her boyfriend.
"Oh don't pout," Nick chided her, reaching out to rest a paw on her head and give the grey bunny's fur a tussel. "I was just teasing you."
The rabbit tried her best not to smile, though her wiggling tail was a dead giveaway of the enjoyment had in his actions. The red tod chuckled, turning his attention to the television as the noted event seemed to be starting.
Lionheart was approaching a podium, flashes and a rolling murmur echoing through the room. He pulled out and adjusted reading glasses on his head, shuffling a small stack of cards in his paws.
"Want some?" the fox tod offered, holding out his bucket for the doe to take a pawful, if she so wished.
Judy smiled but turned him down with a shake of the head, her nerves killing her appetite.
"I've come here today to address a recently tumultuous issue concerning our staunch defender and the newly revealed partner that they appear to have," the lion began, slow and sure, but straight to the point. "The two armored mammals, Flux and 'Phantom', as the media has come to name the second one, have been labeled as vigilantes that are wanted by the government."
There were flashes on the screen, with more pictures being taken by the press in attendance, the murmur growing for a brief moment, then dying seconds later when the mayor cleared his throat and eyed a few mammals.
"I acquiesced to making a statement to the effect that both of them violated an agreement with the government," Lionheart continued, "but… I was unfortunately in the wrong. As opposed to what has been declared about an agreement with Flux, the truth is that no such agreement exists."
"How would you know that?"
"What or who is your source on that knowledge?"
"Does this mean Flux has been operating exempt from government assistance all this time?"
"What about the allegations that the government tried to kill or kitnap Flux to steal his or her tech?"
Many questions were shouted but the spirit of the crowd's concerns seemed to be those four questions.
The lion male took a deep breath, taking his glasses off as he had to address the concerns more directly, detailing, "I cannot in good conscience reveal my source or sources, but I can assure you that, while I am not privy to these higher level details myself, these are real and true. Also, yes, Flux has been operating on their own from the moment we saw them, with the government attempting some form of communication to try getting them to trade technological secrets. By my source's claim, they wanted to seem in control of the situation, revealing Flux to be an 'Agent' of their own to protect the citizens. On a final note of response to your questions thus far, the government did apprehend and detain Flux, with the newly known Phantom apparently coming to their rescue, freeing Flux from their captivity and making sure not to injure anyone at the facility they were held."
"Why are you now coming forward with all of this info?" a larger female pig asked energetically, making sure to get their question out before the rising cacophony of inquiries began again. A tepid silence settled before it could be entirely broken, all eyes back on the lion as he sighed.
"My coming forward might seem like an out to save myself," he explained in an increasingly tired tone, "or it would appear like I'm trying to seem like a whistle blower…"
Lionheart paused for a brief moment, looking around in full expectation that he would be interrupted. When he wasn't, he coughed and resumed his previous thought.
"...but with all the threats as of late, I truly want us to work with Flux and any allies they have, in order to protect our city and give the people a means to feel safer. We can't do that if we are bickering amongst ourselves with all of this useless drama. The enemy is not each other, but the Drones. I should hope that we can take a step back from all of our differences. So… Flux? Don't let recent actions taken by paranoid higher ups keep you from doing what you have always done for us, and will hopefully continue to do."
At that, he mumbled a 'Thank you' to the crowd of press, who all stood up, various shapes of mammals blocking the camera view as Lionheart left the podium and stage.
"Ugh…" groaned Nick, setting his bucket down and resting his muzzle in a paw, face full of disappointment. "Well… that was anticlimactic."
On the other paw, Judy was laughing a bit at her fox's reaction.
"What?" she asked, giving him a playful smirk, "Did you expect they would all be so flabbergasted and angry that Mayor Lionheart would be attacked in some gory stampede of rage filled mammals?"
"Is that so much to ask?" the tod wailed in a tone of false woe.
The grey bunny fell back in her seat, making noises that seemed like she was playing the scenario out, her paws splaying forth to mime a spray of blood, dramatically voicing, "Blood! Blood!... And…. Death!"
On the last word, she flopped back, going completely limp as Nick began to laugh heartily.
"Alright. Alright," the red fox told her. "Now you're milking it."
"Hey… at least it'll hopefully make things easier for us in the future," she mentioned in a hopeful tone. "Maybe?..."
"Bleh," Nick said, sticking his tongue out. "This is why I really hate politics."
"If you two are done with your… entertainment, should that be the right word," Leo interjected, "I wanted to put the two of your through a newer exercise that I've put together to work on your teamwork in battle."
"Do we have to do it now?" the tod groaned, slinking back in his seat.
"As I've heard you say before, 'Why put off till tomorrow what you can do today?'," the android fired back evenly.
Without missing a beat, Nick raised a paw and snidely stated in return, "And as a counter to that, 'Why do today, what I can put off till tomorrow?'"
"Now you are just being inefficient," came the robot's reply. "I'll see the two of you in the sparring chamber. Nick knows the way."
Looking at her fox, Judy cocked her head to the side, inquiring curiously, "Sparring chamber?"
The red tod only smiled deviously in response.
0000000
"You two never cease to amaze me with all your little secrets," Judy spoke in awe, looking around the chamber all three were now in.
It was pretty sizeable, though still confined enough to not be overstated. The ceiling rose in a dome shape, the peak of which was probably about three stories tall. Pillars lined the floor, taking up varying heights that ranged from her height to almost touching the ceiling.
Now she understood the reasoning behind her outfit and why this was underground.
The small doe was wearing a modified and more conservative piece of armor, though it seemed to be lacking armor plating and favored servos and field generators instead of armor and weapons. Nick wore a similarly designed suit, the purple energies emanating from both of them.
"Well this wasn't so much a secret," the tod defended, "as much as it was that mentioning this room never really came up."
"I'm going to have the two of you work on strengthening your bond as two parts of a Shard," Leo began to tell them, seemingly ignoring their recourse. "For that purpose, I gave you both suits that lack any weapons or real armor, instead relying on movement and creating special shields that absorb impacts."
"If you want us to strengthen our bond," the red fox started, "why not have us Shift so we can do so like that? I don't see how facing sparring bots would suffice with us separated."
"You won't be facing sparring bots," the android replied simply. "I've kept them deactivated for now. You will instead be fighting each other. Physical blows only and the suits you wear, as well as the fields projected over the walls in here, are optimized for shock absorption, so as to mitigate potential injury."
The robot exited the staging area, allowing a wash of energy to envelope the walls and pillars. Unlike the usual shields that they both had seen, these barriers seemed more malleable and fluidic. The grey bunny figured this was how it looked when trying to absorb damage instead of deflect it.
"Each other?" Nick sputtered in surprise. "How will that help us?"
Judy smiled in realization, as she seemed to finally understand something before her fox in regards to their role as partners.
"How better to connect than to fight one another?" she told him with a confident tone. "If you and I are subject to each other's decisions and actions in a fight, we can better understand how we will react, hopefully being able to increase our nonverbal understanding of one another."
"Couldn't have put it better myself, dear Judy," Leo commended her. She blushed slightly, feeling accomplished in her reasoning. "Though, there is another reason for this. You two have this mental link that goes beyond the boundaries of any normal means of nonverbal communication. While I cannot begin to fathom it's true potential, the Shard within you would only act to adapt as it has to evolve a better means of survival. It would stand to reason that strengthening that link between you two would benefit your future endeavors."
"Even so, I'm not exactly keen on hitting J-"
Nick's words were cut off when the rabbits clenched paw struck him across the muzzle and sent him flying across the room, impacting and bouncing off the shield that lined the wall. He grunted, getting up slowly as Judy giggled.
"Apparently, she doesn't share your sentiment," Leo evenly mentioned in obvious revelation.
"Well, it's not like he would ask us to do something like this without cause," the doe voiced with a shrug. "And I seriously doubt he would put us in real danger…. Maybe…"
The fox tod got up, taking a fighting stance and immediately advancing on his doe. Her ears fell as she let out a nervous laugh.
Powering forward, he spun in the air and swiped his foot around to kick at his girlfriend. She dodged, seeing the very plain move.
What she didn't expect was that he would use the momentum from missing the blow to loop around and bring his own fist to her chest plating. Suffice it to say, the bunny went flying, her body arching through the air and bouncing off a shielded pillar.
She came to a rolling stop, smiling as she realized she barely felt anything. Sure, the impact knocked the wind out of her, but the shock absorption in her suit, as well as the room's shielding, made it easy to recover and focus on sparring.
Rising to her feet, the rabbit bounced a bit, testing the suit's agility. Once she got a tested feel for it, she bounded up and arched over her fox, bouncing from a pillar and using the field to launch her from one to another. Using the shields like vaulting points, with the doe realizing that they seemed to use a similar principle to the Ricochet suit discus fields, she dove at her fox from behind.
He twisted and sidestepped her rebounding move, using the motion to send her flying sideways with a roundhouse kick to her midsection.
Though quick and agile, the bunny's boyfriend had experience and combat reflexes honed by years of whatever fights he had been in, even before the drones. In fact, given that their species evolved specifically to hunt or escape the other, both were pretty even in terms of physical adaptations. Judy's smaller form gave her a small edge in maneuverability, though Nick's longer midsection and legs gave him an edge in close range leaps and bounds.
One could spend all day comparing their physicality and surmising their prowess in battle, but the current event was making it rather clear that neither held a true advantage.
The grey doe was tenacious, with most blows not hurting her enough to keep her down. Occasionally, she was able to land a blow or two on the tod, her suit able to enhance her strikes to toss him aside.
Instead of becoming frustrated, the two started to laugh and get even more hyped up, landing less and less blows over time, with either seeming to read the other's movements and intentions.
Both of them could feel the link between them, with a small murmur that became clearer giving them some form of hint to the other's thoughts and such concerning the battle. It wasn't exactly cheating, as they couldn't clearly interpret it, but it seemed to be something that aligned with their inherent instincts and supplemented them in kind.
Soon enough, neither of them were able to hit the other, their match becoming more of a dance, with movements that seemed fluid in dodging or attacking instead of abrupt punches and kicks.
The two panted, a chuckle leaving their maws on occasion as blows came close but the link seemed to warn them.
Leo watched patiently and monitored everything he could. Energy readings, vitals, and all sorts of various such things. The robot was internally logging and taking note of the bunny's adaptive strides that seemed to be almost too quick. She was mimicking movements that the fox was using to attack, evade, or defend, having somehow been able to imprint not only the theory, but also the practice.
The being wondered if she was being subject to a bleeding effect of experience and muscle memory from Nick through their link. Whatever the case, it would be beneficial in their future fights.
Another mention worth noting to the android… was the joy that the fox seemed to take in sparring with his bunny. It made Leo wonder if he was holding back on purpose, or simply going with the flow of things as they were for a bonding effect.
There was too much to process currently, with too many factors that the mechanical being couldn't effectively comprehend with the current data it possessed.
"I think it's about time we…" the robot tried to begin, a humming rumble of an energy release shaking the room and cutting him short.
Nick had induced a semblance of his innate speed power, outflanking his rabbit and sending her flying with a lightning fast kick.
Judy's reaction time was superb, increasing her perception of time, with reflexes that almost matched her fox's speed. She couldn't be as quick as he made himself, but instinct took over and she raised a paw in defense.
While being tossed across the room, the doe was able to make a barrier coalesce around her, diffusing the damage and allowing her to bound from the wall and land with a roll back on the floor.
Though they couldn't see each other's faces, both knew the other was smiling in satisfaction, proud of their own combative achievements.
Not quite questioning the feats they were accomplishing, Nick darted around at phenomenal speeds, while Judy tried to react to his increasing expeditious movement with barriers to deter direct hits.
Leo would be in awe if he had the capacity to do so. Instead the android was going through scans of their current state to compare to all known variables that the two had given the robot thus far.
The red fox's mobility and monumental velocity became nearly impawsible to track, with the grey doe erecting whatever barriers she could to keep from being hit. They worked within reason. Her instincts were guiding her true most occasions as his strike would happen nearly an instant later, the tod favoring kicks over punches, and smashing into the floating purple shields like they were brittle shale. They did their job though, diffusing his hits and slowing him down enough to get a bead on where he would bolt off to next.
On one such event, Judy was pulled by something in the back of her mind, a paw rising after having put up a barrier and witnessing the fleeting glimpse of her boyfriend hitting it. From the palm of her paw, a spherical orb formed in an instant and expanded rapidly, almost exploding outward.
Nick was blasted back by a barrier that had expanded from behind the one he just struck, with it striking him. It had the force of a truck, though the rigidity of a bounce house, blowing him away without blowing him apart.
Rebounding off a pillar's field, he rolled and recovered a little ungracefully, truly taken by surprise with the little move of hers.
"Well that's a new one," he remarked to her from across the room.
"I know, right!?" she yelped excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she pumped her fists up. "I didn't even know these suits could do that."
"I'll have to ask Leo about that," the fox replied with a grin.
"Actually, your suits don't have those functions," Leo interjected, walking up to them and disabling the fields. "Mobility and absorption shielding. That's it."
"So… Fluff here was making barriers like before without suit functions?" the tod questioned, his armored tail swishing back and forth curiously. "I'm jealous."
"Don't be," the robot bluntly remarked. "You were also enacting innate abilities without suit assistance."
"Ha! Don't play me with that," Nick fired back with snark, crossing his arms. "I know these suits can move fast if I put enough power into them."
"Not these ones," Leo answered. "In fact, you burnt out 78 percent of your motivating servos with your excessive speed as of 39 seconds before I ended the session. You've been operating on your own power without suit assistance."
The face plate of both suits opened up to reveal two greatly flabbergasted mammals muzzles, maws agape in true shock.
"Balderdash!" the fox tod blurted out, making Judy cock an eyebrow and stare at him with a deadpan expression. He seemed to notice what he vented and smiled nervously while giving his bunny a sideways glance.
"Did you just…?" she began, devolving into laughter, falling on her back and kicking her legs, holding her belly as she giggled uncontrollably.
"I was a popular means of expressing disbelief way back when!" her fox defended, rolling his eyes and blushing slightly.
"Oh I'm sure that word was worth a parent washing her kit's mouth out with soap a couple hundred years ago," the bunny jibed between gasping chuckles, wiping away a tear from her eye.
Rolling with it, Nick tilted his head back and forth in thought, saying in response, "Well… you're not entirely wrong."
The doe stopped laughing for a second, wondering if she hit some sore spot…
...until he began laughing too, clutching at his midsection.
"If I might steer the topic back," the android began, "I had a couple noteworthy things to share with you."
Nick nodded for him to go ahead, calming down and giving his bunny a roguish smirk, licking his snout and watching her blush in response.
"What is it?" Judy asked, averting her gaze from the flirtatious fox and running a paw over her head and ears. She almost wished her face plate was still on.
"First of all, it would appear that the sparring event bore more figurative fruit than I estimated," explained the mechanical being. "During your fight, the two of you reached a new level of cohesive resonance, with my sensors reading an increase of Shard energy from the two of you at over three times the peak levels I've observed as of yet, whether during battle or not."
"While that number sounds great… what in the blazes does that mean for us?" the red tod inquired a bit impatiently.
"It means that, given your success and hopeful continued growth in this aspect, we can try to upgrade suits and weapons to accommodate your abilities and maybe even create more specialized suits to pair with your newfound strengths."
The grey bunny doe raised a paw, like a kit in class, to which Leo nodded and gestured for her to speak.
"How come he seems to be able to run fast… but I make shields and… explode things?"
"My summation is that it would allude back to a previous acknowledgement," the robot detailed. "Nick here is a more physically inclined part of the Shard with speed, power, possibly strength, and other such abilities grounded in supporting that. It is not to say you aren't capable of such things inherently, but likely less able to draw forth such things. You, Judy, are more the spiritual or mental portion of the Shard, with your mind being your greatest weapon or defense. I am sure, with time, that you will both be able to unlock further potential of other such abilities. Shards are vastly capable of these things, though it is hard to master, let alone muster the will to enact."
"At some point," the rabbit began, "I wonder where this type of thing will simply somehow cease to make sense to me."
"Oh come on," the fox barked in reply. "This has to be a dream come true for a science fiction nerd fangirl like yourself."
Judy perked up and hopped over to her boyfriend, a gleam in her eyes as she gushed, "I know, right!? I'm still geeking out about it!"
Letting out a chuckle, Nick patted her head, turning to ask Leo, "So… what now?"
"We build and we train," the mechanical entity spoke evenly, with the small doe practically bursting with excitement that made her fox look at her curiously. "We have about three weeks before the Gate is stable enough for use by the enemy once more, giving us that long to acclimate ourselves and prepare as many contingencies as we can."
An echoing grumble made the fox and android look at the bunny, her face freezing and cheeks turning red, a paw going to her stomach.
"Someone's hungry," the red tod snidely commented. "Whatcha hungry for?"
"I'll go get one of my aprons," Leo stated, beginning to walk away.
"Yay! Another pun apron," both Judy and Nick said at the same time, though the latter had a much less enthusiastic tone than the former, who began to giggle.
The chapter was a little shorter than I'm used to providing, but it's a transition chapter, more or less, and I think a few of you know how I feel about that. XD
Not a fan, even if I write them well enough.
It's like writing about being in a waiting room and trying to describe things that happen while waiting for something more interesting to happen. I do think I gave you a taste of what's in store for them. Hopefully they'll be come better combatants, both as one and as an army of two.
I've always loved the idea of sparring or playfully fighting with your mate, growing closer in a way that isn't intimate by normal standards and being able to understand how they move, how they think on their feet, and how they will react to certain things. If you can't fight them... use a game as a substitute. The results might surprise you, especially if you have a spitfire of a significant other who flips out when they know they've lost. XD
I find that most entertaining and cute.
Now... REVIEWS!:
I've been neglectful and remiss in doing these as of late. I apologize. I know i'm not exactly obligated, but I like giving recognition and reply to those that take the time to give me an opinion that isnt hateful... though... even the negative reviews like that give me a good laugh.
Gremmers: Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I was both sad and happy to see it end, but now I can focus on other projects for a while.
Combat Engineer: Lol. I'll let you draw whatever comedic relief you want from how I wrote it. I wouldnt want to assume it is funny but who knows. XD
Okamiluver00: I do love to fluff. and i'm glad my world building doesnt come off as overly wordy. I mean... I know it probably does, but I've not recieved much complaint so i'm here going "Whew... i must be doing something right" XD
and I'm so glad that my fic is still worth a re-read.
StoryWriter2015: Thank you. While I feel that knowing the villain is great... making a clear cut identity for them isnt always realistic, which is why they remained enigmatic for so long. I hope to give them more "form" that the reader can draw upon in the coming chapters.
surviversp: Thank you for your patience and kind words.
Starfang's Secrets: I like him too. the movie made him out to seem kind of selfish, but I think he had a bit of a point. Doing the wrong thing for the right reason. Not always best but he did have the public interests of making them feel safe at heart. best to lament a few missing mammals instead of fearing that any predator near you might up and hunt you down.
Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps: And I can't wait to detail all those pawsiblities. As opposed to my other fanfics thus far, I hope to keep this one going for many many more chapters with a very intricate and innovative story, even if elements of it do seem very iron man ish or such. XD
DrummerMax64: I dont have popcorn all that often... but that's so I can thoroughly enjoy it at the theater, covered in whatever i want and drenched in heart clogging butter.
And thank you for your compliments. I'm glad it was something that didnt make many have to go back and check my facts or something, wondering if i "crossed the streams" with details. haha.
DONE!
Now... off to use a squirt gun full of mustard and another one full of nacho cheese... to try creating some abstract art i'll call... Condiments Craze. I would use ketchup too... but then some neighbors might see the red through the window and think i'm murdering someone.
Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts.