Noobed Titan: I'm glad you like it. And don't worry about that suggestion of yours… I have a rather nasty surprise for someone involving that particular enemy.
The Anonymous PMer (You know who you are): …Uh, okay… wow… You sort of just managed to predict the future there, mate. Blink has, well, Blink has that exact ability… Freaky.
Guest: Honestly, while I am glad to have gotten another review I kinda wish you could have said a bit more. Thanks for taking the time to review though!
Don Socrates: An impressive feat for someone who almost never talks, no? Glad you like him.
GJ115: I responded to you via PM so I don't see the need to repeat anything here.
300 I.Q. Prower: A nice long review! Cheers, mate. There isn't really a backstory piece there, I just figured that Zer0 would be one of the best swordsman out there. I plan to avoid the scenario you are talking about. While Gen may get stronger as the story goes on, the others will get stronger with him. I'm glad you like that the old Vault Hunters are still strong, it was kind of what I was aiming for. Thanks for taking the time to review.
TitianWaffle: Thanks for the compliment. I'll do my best to keep writing to the same or better standards.
TheMysteriouswatcher: Not entirely sure why you decided to go via PM but I figure I'll count it as a review. I'm glad to hear that you enjoy the story, even if my initial chapters leave much to be desired. I hope my interpretation of events doesn't disappoint.
cmech54: Thanks. Yeah, that is part of it.
Guest no. 2: I love that line too.
Disclaimer: Sharp.
Chapter 21- The Duellist 2.0
Zer0 stared at the figure challenging him, cocking his head slightly as '…' appeared on his faceplate. After a few seconds of careful thought he said, "Can it wait until/ We are at Sanctuary? Would that suit your needs?"
Blink paused briefly but nodded his head a second later. By this time Phase and Fyrefly had joined the group, introducing themselves to Maya.
"What's your friend's deal? He seems pretty obsessed with fighting Zer0." Maya asked curiously.
"No idea. He gets all serious like this sometimes and often doesn't bother sharing why. There's usually some kind of big reason behind it though." Fyrefly responded, shrugging.
"Fair enough, I suppose…" Maya didn't sound particularly reassured but she forged on. "What brought you lot to Pandora anyway?"
"Me and Blink are looking for an old friend of ours. Phase is looking for his sister." Fyrefly explained.
Maya looked the blonde boy over. Her eyes widened as she spotted the metal of his leg. The Siren held her hand up a distance above the ground and asked, "Your sister wouldn't happen to be about this tall, a redhead and have the general disposition of a mad scientist, would she?"
Phase blinked. "…Actually that sounds about right. Do you know her?" There was no mistaking the hope in his voice.
"Know her? She's practically family! Almost no one I'd rather have watching my back in a fight." Maya smiled widely at the boy.
Phase just gawked. "…She actually fights?!"
"Well, yeah. She's damn good too. Give her a decent shotgun and that Anarchy tech of hers will clear a room better than your average grenade. And even if she misses someone DT or Gen tend to handle them."
"Gen?! As in Genesis Da Omega?!" Now Fyrefly was excited. "Green skin, orange eyes and an inability to go more than a week without something exploding around him? That Gen?"
"Yep, sounds exactly right to me."
Fyrefly wooped. "Ya hear that, Blink?! Gen's a Raider!"
Blink raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't react.
"Can I talk to my sister?" Phase sounded excited, understandable with how close he was to the end of his journey.
Maya winced slightly. "Sorry, kid. She went out on a mission in the Dust with Gen and Duke. She might not be back 'til tomorrow."
The Aeronaut and the redhead both stared at the Siren. Off to the side Blink had actually facepalmed.
"...You have to be fucking kidding me..." Fyrefly's voice was dull.
"What do you mean?" Maya seemed confused.
'We just came from the Dust.' While his lack of a tone meant he couldn't convey his emotions verbally, Blink's expression served perfectly to convey the mixture of exasperation and other, harder to identify emotions. Or it would if he had actually removed his hand from his face.
"Does Duke happen to wear a red scarf?" Phase asked in a voice just as dull as Fyrefly's. Fyrefly's eyes widened as she realised the implications of his question.
"Yeah. Why?"
"We drove past them." Fyrefly practically sobbed and actually wrapped her arms around the once-again stoic Blink, pretending to cry into his shoulder. At least they thought she was pretending.
'She hasn't had a nicotine hit in two weeks. I think this is the straw that broke the camel's back.' He explained.
Fyrefly pulled away, leaving Blink to send a distasteful look at the suspicious new damp patch on his shoulder.
"Does anyone have a cigarette or some of that nicotine gum or something? I... I could really just use something right now."
Phase blinked and patted his pockets before pulling out a silver blister pack.
"Actually, I do." He bristled as everyone looked at him weirdly except Fyrefly, who eyed the nicotine gum like a junkie eyed their next fix, which, come to think of it, was actually a fairly accurate description. "Don't give me those looks. I found them lying on a seat, thought they were normal gum 'til I tried one. Not sure why I hung on to them after that though."
"If you don't want it, can I have it?" Fyrefly asked hopefully. Phase wordlessly tossed her the pack. The Aeronaut actually squeed in pleasure before tearing out a piece of the gum and chewing contentedly on it.
'Fyrefly's addiction and your habit of eating things you find lying around aside, are we going to Sanctuary sometime soon? I want to fight Zer0.' Blink arched an eyebrow at his two companions.
"If there's nothing else to do here, we might as well head back." Maya responded, receiving nods of agreement from the others.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
The group all materialised in the Fast Travel station in Sanctuary, the three newcomers quickly shaking off the minor disorientation that came with the travel. Blink was shifting slightly from foot to foot, the closest he ever really got to fidgeting. Not that his expression betrayed his anticipation. He was going to fight Zer0, one of the best swordsmen ever seen. This was his chance to finally test himself, to prove that his training had been worth every minute, every drop of blood and sweat. A vicious smile threatened to spread across the Blademaster's face but he quashed it, and the emotions that accompanied it, ruthlessly; this was no time for him to lose his head.
"I'll grab the others. I reckon they'll want to see this." Maya informed them excitedly, though she was mainly addressing Zer0.
There was a nod from the Assassin, who had taken up a position with his back to the large centrepiece of Sanctuary's central space. Blink stood with his back to the Fast Travel station. Neither of them had any weapons drawn. Yet.
'Shall we make this more interesting?'
A question mark appeared on Zer0's face plate.
'No shields. Let's fight without them. Then we'll see who is really the better blade fighter.'
Zer0 paused as he considered the request before slipping his shield off his belt and tossing it to the returning Maya. The other Vault Hunters were behind the Siren, all curious about the newcomers.
"So that's the guy challenging Zer0, huh? He knows who he's dealing with, right?" Axton didn't look impressed by what he saw as he looked Blink over.
"Hey, don't diss Blink! Guy could cut you into fuckin' salami before you could land a single hit." Fyrefly was quick to jump to her companion's defense.
Axton raised an eyebrow. "And you are?"
"People call me Fyrefly. This is Phase."
"Fyrefly? Haven't I heard of you somewhere?" Sin frowned as she thought it over.
"I ain't ever met a Siren before today. You tell me."
Sin snapped her fingers. "That's right. You're the Rocket Girl. You blew up the Institute for Gifted on Novacaya."
Fyrefly grimaced. "Oh… right… that… In my defense, several people wanted that to happen."
"You blew up a school?" Roland asked, his voice carefully neutral. A few of the Vault Hunters were eyeing the Rocketeer warily now.
Fyrefly snorted. "That place was as much a school as I am a Rakk Hive. Slave camp seems like a better description. Fuckers just gathered up 'gifted' kids and fucking pumped us for inventions and ideas. Bastards made millions, billions off us and what did we get? Zip, nada and a 'get back to work.' You ever hear about the Golsden Propulsion System? How about Biangular Reverse-Gravitational Theorem?"
"I have. It helped me when I was building my robot." A female voice called out.
"I FUCKING INVENTED IT! Those assholes stole my idea and I didn't get a fucking ounce of credit!"
"Harsh. But I could have sworn you told me you let that one go after you watched the place burn to cinders." A male voice responded, distinctly amused.
"Do I know you, buddy?" Fyrefly swung round to look at the speaker and stopped, her jaw dropping.
"Well, unless you know anyone else who looks this good in green I doubt it." Gen replied, grinning at her. Beside him, Gaige chuckled. Fyrefly snapped out of her shock a second later and moved forward, socking the Splicer in the arm.
"Asshole."
"Aww, that hurts, Viola."
Fyrefly punched him again, harder.
"Okay, okay I'll stop."
"Not that it isn't fun to watch Gen get punched, but who are you?" Gaige asked.
"Viola Garspodanov, but I much prefer Fyrefly."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Gaige Sciuto, this fuckwit's girlfriend." The Mechromancer jerked a thumb at Gen.
Fyrefly blinked, surprised by that, before running her eyes over the girl. "Damnit, Gen! Why'd you have to go stealing the hot girl?" She whined playfully.
"I got here first." Gen retorted, sniggering as Gaige reddened slightly.
Fyrefly paused as rather important piece of information came to the forefront of her mind. "Wait. Did you say your name is Gaige Sciuto?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"We found your brother in the Dust."
"What?! Is he okay?! Where is he?!" Gaige had gone from mildly amused to frantic and panicked so fast even Gen was impressed.
"Woah, woah! He's fine! He was here just a second ago."
"Gaige!" Phase ran towards them, having been trying to avoid the attention of Krieg, who seemed to have developed a strange interest in the blonde.
"Phase!" Gaige sprinted over and pulled her brother into a tight hug. Gen followed at a more relaxed pace.
"So you're Phase, huh? It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Gaige." The Splicer extended his hand.
"And you are?"
"Genesis Da Omega, but everybody calls me Gen."
Phase cautiously shook his hand. "So what sort of things have you heard about me exactly?"
"The vast majority were positive, I assure you. But I am curious about one thing; what inspired you to try and lick a live wire to get some sauce off it?"
Phase looked mortified as Fyrefly promptly burst out laughing.
"…You swore you would never speak of that!" Phase yelled, rounding on his sister as she tried in vain to smother her laughter.
"I didn't mean to! I was a little drunk, okay? It just sort of slipped out."
"Wait, drunk?!" Phase rounded on Gen. "What the hell have you been doing to my sister?!"
"Cool it, Shortie. I didn't do anything. She brought the bottle, I just happened to be meeting her."
"And why the hell would my sister buy alcohol before meeting you? Actually, why would she be meeting you full stop?"
An awkward silence descended over the group.
"…Because he's my boyfriend, Phase." Gaige explained slowly.
Phase froze. "What?"
Gen gave him a cheeky grin. "Surprise."
Before the conversation could go further, a message flashed up on all of their ECHOs. 'Are you lot done? I actually want to get this fight done sometime today.'
"Blink! You're here too! Nice to see you again. Also, what fight?"
"Your pal Blink challenged Zer0." Maya explained.
"Really? Awesome. I always wondered how Zer0 would react if he got beat."
There was a moment of silence.
"Is Blink that good?" Gaige asked.
Gen snorted. "Blink actually managed to hold me off when I was hyped up on my formula once, and I highly doubt he's been sitting on his ass since then. Zer0 might give him a run for his money though. Regardless of who wins, it'll sure be an interesting fight."
Before anyone could respond, Zer0 spoke to Blink. "The rules are simple; The first to concede loses; no killing, no guns."
'Are we allowed to use any and all blades we possess?'
Zer0 nodded.
'Very well. I accept your rules. Now, fight me and prove you are worthy of the praise.'
Zer0 wordlessly drew his signature katana, holding it out and to the side. Blink mirrored him, drawing an almost identical blade although his glowed a bloody red where Zer0's shone electric blue. For a moment, everything was still as the two fighters sized each other up.
And then the fight began.
In unison the Assassin and the Blademaster lunged at one another, their swords connecting in a spray of sparks. For a split second they stayed there, each pressing their blade against the other. Then they resumed their fight, their blades blurring as they cut, stabbed, parried and blocked each other, their fight almost too fast for the people watching. Gen had actually taken a small dose of his speed formula just to make it easier for him to see what was going on.
Zer0 dodged backwards from a sweeping cut and for a second his form flickered before he charged right back at Blink.
'What the hell was that?' Blink wondered, tensing for some kind of trick. Something was tugging at the back of his mind but he couldn't identify it. As he prepared himself to block what seemed like a telegraphed strike at his abdomen, the thought crystallised. 'Wait. His feet… they're not kicking up any dust!'
By that point his blade was in mid-swing for what he already knew was a trap. The Blademaster's mind raced as he quickly tried to figure out how to make it out of this one. Then he realised why he had failed to notice the anomaly before now; he was allowing his emotions into the fight again, he was too invested in wanting to beat Zer0. Closing his eyes, Blink made a conscious effort and forced down his desire, along with the slight panic he felt, leaving him in an almost serene mind state. It was in that state that he registered the faint crunch of a footstep behind him.
Then, in a move that was neither too fast nor too slow but perfectly timed, he brought his katana down to complete the diagonal slice through Zer0's hologram. However, instead of stopping after he had made the cut, he kept the blade swinging, allowing the katana to sweep through the air behind his back and feeling the vibration though its hilt as it came to stop blocking Zer0's attack from behind. For a moment, everything was still; the Vault Hunters were in shock at how this unassuming figure had located and blocked Zer0 seemingly without effort. They were of course unaware of the turmoil the Blademaster had experienced. But their shock was nothing compared to Zer0's own; he had thought the fight to be over when his opponent had swung for the hologram.
'Are cheap tricks and stabs from behind all I can expect from you, Zer0?'
A dozen points of blue light sprang to life on Blink's back and Zer0 barely had time to start throwing himself back before a sword blade sprang forth from the digistruct units placed there.
'I came here for a fight, to prove myself better than the best swordsman in the galaxy.'
As Blink slowly straightened up the holographic words hovering over his head started to flicker, occasionally distorting so as to be unreadable, as Blink's emotion began to overwhelm the cold logic of his psyche and affect the interface he used to project the words.
'So faR I have seen nothing to shOw yoU dEserVE thAt tItLe.'
The words were changing more and more as Blink went on. The Blademaster turned his gaze on Zer0. The Assassin saw something in there, something that could unsettle even him. There were no words that could truly describe that look, none that could do it justice.
'ShOw me whY yOu DesErve the tiTle.'
Blink turned so that he properly faced the Assassin.
'sHow me wHy You are WoRth my tiMe.'
For a moment, there was silence.
"Very well, Dark Angel." Zer0 intoned, his voice as solemn as the grave.
Blink's katana vanished, only to be replaced by two short swords. Then he simply flickered and vanished. Zer0 threw his sword up in an overhead block as he heard the unmistakeable whistle of a blade above him, feeling the hilt vibrate as Blink's blade connected with his own. Looking up, Zer0 stared at the man. Both of them understood that this fight had just risen beyond a simple sparring match.
With another flicker Blink vanished, reappearing instantly behind Zer0 and swinging for his spine. When Zer0 moved to block Blink vanished again, this time reappearing in front of Zer0 while still in mid-swing. Zer0 took a page out of Blink's book. Instead of trying to stop his blade's momentum and bring it back to the front, he simply allowed it to keep swinging until it came back to the front and clashed with Blink's attack. A nasty smile spread across Blink's face before a spot of blue light appeared on his palm. Dropping one blade he aimed it at Zer0's chest, a two foot scimitar sprouting from the digistruct module half a second later. Zer0 batted the younger man's arm aside almost casually.
"There is only one/Person I have ever seen/who can teleport." Zer0 growled out between blows. "She is a Siren/But clearly you are not/How do you do it?"
'An experimental device. I stole it years ago.' Blink replied, projecting the words directly to Zer0's ECHO so the Assassin wouldn't have to pause their fight to read the words above his head. Zer0 nodded and returned his full focus to the battle.
Outside of the fight the Raiders were still watching the two figures clash again and again, their dark-clad forms blurring as their speed increased even more.
Gaige leaned over to Gen. "So, you know how both of them fight, right?"
"Mm-hm. Why?"
"Do you really think Blink can beat Zer0?"
"In all honesty, I'm not sure. Blink technically should have a distinct advantage in this fight because he specialises in blade fighting, whereas Zer0 is both a sniper and a swordsman. But the same thing that gives Blink his advantage is also a disadvantage."
"Que?" Fyrefly butted in, having been listening in.
Gen frowned thoughtfully. "Think about it. Blink has spent years training to be better than everyone he meets at fighting with blades but that means that nobody can challenge him. A person with his self-discipline might be able to avoid growing complacent for a while but, like I said, it's been years. I doubt he's actually faced anyone of Zer0's skill in a long time. The real question is whether or not Blink's skills have dulled enough to match Zer0."
As if to punctuate Gen's statement Blink was sent backwards by sneaky kick from Zer0, the Assassin hopping backwards to widen the gap between them. Blink was trying to rein in his own anger.
'How am I struggling so badly? I should be better than this. I need to focus, but…'
Blink felt a snarl escape him as he fought to suppress his own anger. It helped somewhat but he refused to perform such an action again. Doing so would show Zer0 that it was an ideal time to strike. Blink's mind raced through strategy after strategy, searching for one that might give him the advantage he needed. Then it came to him. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he considered the plan.
"Are they actually gonna keep fighting at some point? Or are they just gonna stare at each other?" Axton commented dryly.
Then Blink turned his back on Zer0 and sprinted in the opposite direction.
"What the hell is he doing?" Maya murmured curiously.
"Looks like he gave up." Axton sounded smug, "Guess he's not as good as you thought, Gen."
"…Blink never runs away from a fight he hasn't finished." Gen said gravely.
Fyrefly grinned as she realised what Gen was getting at. "He's got a plan."
Blink materialised half a dozen throwing knives as he approached the monument at the center of Sanctuary. He hurled them one at a time at the monument as he approached it, each one higher than the one before it. Behind him Zer0 tightened his grip on his katana, wary of what the Blademaster was planning. That soon became apparent as Blink launched himself up the side of the monument, using his own blades as footholds to climb higher.
"Ax, you installed those shields on your turrets right?" Gen said slowly.
"Yeah. Why?"
"You should activate those now."
As Axton was opening his mouth to question the Splicer, Blink reached the last knife, paused for a fraction of a second and then launched himself away from the face of the monument. As he sailed through the air, his entire body lit up with points of blue light.
"Oh shit!" Axton threw down his turrets, the shields springing up just as a wave of blades, all different kinds and sizes, burst out the digistruct units on Blink's body to bury themselves in every nearby surface. Zer0 found himself dodging and deflecting blades ranging in size from stiletto daggers to two-handed claymore blades and, at one point, a battleaxe. When the hail of sharp edged weaponry ended the Assassin looked up in time to see Blink land in a crouch and slowly rise to a standing position.
"Was that meant to hit?/Sorry that it didn't work/It looked impressive." Zer0 taunted the Blademaster, hoping to draw him in.
'Who said it was meant to hit?' Blink felt peaceful again. Having a plan had taken the edge off his emotion and allowed him to regain his equilibrium. He slowly raised his gaze to meet Zer0's. 'This is just changing the playing field.'
Blink reached out and yanked a nearby longsword out of the ground. 'Now we can really fight.'
Then the Blademaster suddenly struck one the blades nearby, sending it into the air. He repeated the process twice before the first had even begun falling. As that first blade did begin to fall, the Blademaster drew back. Just as it fell past him, he swung, sending the blade flying straight at Zer0 in a glittering pinwheel. He did the same with the other two then charged after them. Zer0 knew that it would be almost impossible to block a spinning blade like that; there was too much risk that it would simply spin around his katana and continue on into him. So he dodged he first, the second and jumped right over the third. But all three blades had served their intended purpose; distraction. A fourth blade, flicked up by Blink's foot and sent flying with a strike from his sword, struck Zer0's katana just before he landed and ripped it out of his hand. Without pausing to contemplate how he had been deceived Zer0 reached out and grabbed one of the swords stuck in the ground nearby only for it to vanish as his hand closed over it.
'Those are mine.' Blink reminded him, charging at the Assassin.
Zer0 didn't bother replying, jumping back to avoid an overhead strike. He ducked and weaved, occasionally slapping aside Blink's attacks and throwing punches and kicks as he sought either an opening or…
There!
Zer0 feinted a sweep kick at Blink's ankles and as the Blademaster moved to counter, the Assassin dived to the side. A four fingered hand closed over a familiar hilt and Zer0's katana sprang into existence as he rolled to his feet. Blink smiled.
'Now isn't this more like what we're both after?'
A question mark appeared on Zer0's faceplate.
'You and I are similar in a lot of ways, Zer0. We're both used to being the best at what we do. We're both loners.' Blink plucked a dagger from the ground at his feet to go with his longsword. 'And we both seek a challenge.'
Then the fight resumed.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
"Still going?" Axton asked casually, sauntering up next to Gen. Most of the Vault Hunters had wandered off as it became clear that the fight was going to take a while. The only ones who had stayed were Fyrefly, Gen, Gaige and Phase. The blonde boy was constantly shooting glares Gen's way and the Splicer was cheerfully ignoring it and making a point of having his arm around Gaige.
"Yep. Got interesting when Blink got a kunai to the arm but it doesn't seem to have slowed him all that much."
"Hey, check it out. Looks like they've finally stopped." Fyrefly pointed at the two fighters, who now faced each other from a distance of ten meters. Both were breathing hard and were each covered in cuts and nicks from the other.
For a long while the two simply stood watching one another.
'It's pointless to continue, isn't it?'
Zer0 nodded.
A wry smile tugged at Blink's lips. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he recalled all of his scattered weapons into his digistruct modules. Zer0 sheathed his katana and the two approached one another. When there was a meter separating them, they stopped and, as everyone looked on, bowed to one another.
"Though this fight is done/Someday we must fight again/To see who's better."
'I promise it will be me.'
They straightened.
"We shall see that day/It has been an honour to/Fight the Dark Angel."
'The honour is mine.'
"If you two are about done kissing each other's asses, can we get some food? I'm starving over here!" Fyrefly yelled.
Blink facepalmed. 'Why, of all people, did I have to end up with her?'
"Luck of one kind or another." Gen informed him cheerfully.
'I think I want less luck then.'
"Ouch. That hurts, Blinky. Like, right here." Fyrefly put on a mock hurt tone and laid a hand over her heart.
'Call me Blinky one more time and I promise you're getting a knife somewhere you really don't want it.'
Fyrefly laughed.
"All right, you two, settle down or get a room." Gen commented dryly.
'Please, we all know I have higher standards than that.' Blink was smirking.
"Ow. Now that one hurt." Fyrefly pouted at him. Blink remained unfazed by it.
"Seriously though, food is in order. So let's go already!" Gaige nudged the Splicer in ribs as she spoke.
"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Fyrefly yelled.
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
"That was almost too easy." The figure commented dryly, looking at the various bloody and bruised figures scattered around him.
"I'm surprised; usually you've double tapped them by now. Going soft?" The voice in his helmet teased.
"What's the point in wasting ammo on them? They got nothing I need and quite frankly they're just unlucky that they went looking for a fight and found me."
A slight figure in a mottled blue hooded cloak came up next to him.
"All done already?"
The hooded figure nodded.
"Nice. So what have we got?"
"Here you go." The voice in his helmet responded cheerfully.
A file appeared in his visor and he rapidly scrolled through the information.
"Well at least he's made some new friends. Still, I wonder he's gonna react to seeing me again."
"It'll be fine."
"Yeah, I know."
There was a pause.
"Welp, no use standing around here. Let's go, Iosob. We got a meeting to get to."
The hooded figure nodded.
The man slowly turned and as he did so the emblem that adorned his faceplate lit up with a dull red glow; a messy capital 'A' in a circle.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Who are these new people? You'll have to wait 'til next time to find out, though some of you may be able to guess. Next chapter will probably feature the first steps towards the assault on Control Core Angel.
I am so sorry for taking so long with this but I have been working through my preliminary exams and applying for uni and all the joys of school nearly being over. That's really my only excuse. Well, that and Dragon Age Inquisition swallowing my entire life.
I am really sorry.
Anyway, Read and Review.
Until next time,
Elemental Hybrid