The Phoenix
Chapter Three: Lessons in Combat
Author's Notes: Chapter Three is heeeerrreee!!! V^o^V Read and Review! By the way… this chapter's kinda short (sorry) and it's all X's POV.
Minna no onaji fuku de…
Medatanaku shite 'reba…
Kirawarenai hazu da to
Tsumerarani seikaku…
I jumped backwards as the hologram slashed at me with deadly litanium (AN: yes I spelled that right… if you watch the old cartoon you'd get it) claws, coming within microns of my midsection. Even though no contact was made I felt the poison that coated the sharpened metal…
The holo-Maverick raised its arm up, pulling his hand inside hide his wrist to make room for his plasma cannon. I cursed, ducking and rolling out of the way just as the deadly wave cascaded over my previous position. Glaring at the Maverick, my eyes widened at the realization that he was no longer there…
I whirled to the right at the sound of laughter and a charging cannon… I hurriedly powered up my own weapon to attack, but the glowing wall of energy was already upon me! Desperately I let loose a wild ball of plasma from my X-buster, speeding outward to collide with the Maverick's blast.
Contact! A huge explosion rang out when the two powers met, momentarily rendering me blind and deaf. However… that nanosecond was more than enough of a lapse in attention for a poison-coated set of claws to strike me across the neck, just barely… it was a small set of scratches, but already the toxins were affecting my internal systems! The Maverick came at me again with its crazed golden fiery gleaming maniacally in anticipation and bloodlust.
I tried to knock myself out of the path of this new charge, but my body would not respond to my mind's commands… he raised his claws again, slicing in an agonizingly clean arc into and through my arm as if the blue armor wasn't even there… My blood spurted from the infected wound as a crimson explosion, my opponent freezing into a locked position to savor my despair and suffering as he rotated his bulky arm to irritate the gashes… I cried out once in pain, my face twisted into the guises of horror, disgust and overwhelming agony at once…
"Commander X."
The clipped tones of the training computer cut like a blunt knife into my mind, automatically freezing the holographic Maverick into place. I winced, gritting my teeth to keep my voice even.
"Computer… remove… Holo-Mav Level 8…"
"Now removing. Stand by."
The fearsome opponent erased from existence, and I felt the toxic poisons leave my body with the projection. However… contact wounds from mock battles do not disappear, and so therefore the claw marks through my arm remained. I clutched at the wound wincing grievously at the blood seeping out between my fingers.
"Commander, there is a new program user. Do you wish to accept a sparring challenge?"
I thought for a moment. "Affirmative. Initiate masked spar program BetaOmega.exe in one minute."
I sighed, walking to the small alcove where the medkit was stored. Hesitantly I removed my left hand from my injury, the white glove sticky with blood. I tried my best not to look while wrapping the deep wound tightly with a bandage to stanch the bleeding that had already begun to slow.
"Ten seconds to initiate."
I secured the bindings tightly about my shoulder, closing off the alcove as I walked to the center of the training area.
"Initiating masked sparring program. Please select holo-mask."
"Select residual gray holo-skeleton only," I answered crisply, stretching out slightly to warm up.
"Stand by."
I waited a few seconds, and soon the masked image of my new opponent flickered into existence. Silver and blue, he stood six feet tall, a violet power crystal shone brightly from the forehead of a demon's head helmet.
He raised his face, where twin pools of midnight blue glittered to a near black. His features remained blank, though I sensed an aura of determined anxiety as he activated an indigo plasma sabre. I raised my X-Buster in defensive stance, tense and eager to begin despite the beating I just took.
Tangible moments of anticipation passed over us to the point I could not breathe from the thick silence. At last the pre-battle trance was broken when my opponent took a step forward. I let out a low-energy blast from my cannon, racing backward to dodge the incoming sabre slice. He continued running until the instant my blast made contact, then disappeared in a blinding flash.
Not wanting to make the same mistake as before I kept my eyes open, every nerve trying to determine the reploid's new position. The smoke cleared, but still there remained no sign of him… I thought for a moment that I had truly won, but my combat experience scolded that no battle was ever won so easily.
'Where are you?' I thought. 'You're close… I can feel it… but…" Then I heard the low hum of plasma somewhere behind me, and I whirled around in time to duck a horizontal swipe aimed at my stomach, reflexes pulling me into a froward roll and using my feet to hook onto my opponent's ankles. With a grin I yanked at his boots fluidly, dragging him onto the ground… Then, using the force of his fall I propelled myself to my feet, twisting around in midair to expertly aim a fresh blast of high-power X-Buster power at his chest.
Faintly uttering a curse he tried to roll out of the path of the energy, but a meant-to-miss punch pointing to his face caused him to take the blow head-on.
I jumped backwards and out of range only to see my fuming opponent struggle to his feet, armored chest-plate dented significantly. Growling, he crouched to pick up his fallen beam sabre, reminding me somehow of a cornered-- and extremely angry-- cat.
Swiftly and gracefully he retrieved the weapon, then in a single motion rose, gained speed and charged again. Caught unprepared I tumbled into a sloppy sidestep… but suddenly he faded out of existence.
Perplexed yet alert I powered up the trusty X-Buster while rotating to the right… and my eyes widened to see him approaching again! I fired, but yet again he vanished… I turned to the left… and there he was! Confusion sang within my head as I fired a bolt of lightning-fast power. I rushed to the charge again, expecting the same hit-and-fade trick. To my surprise though, this time the blue reploid leaped straight up into the air… reaching a good fifty feet… and stopped dead. In midair.
From beneath the midnight blue helmet I saw his wide leer, raising his sabre high above him. The indigo beam flared to life as if on a cue, and a flash of light announced the existence of magnificent silver wings… made of pure, high density plasma. I stared in awe at this amazing technology.
Spreading the wings to their fullest he twisted himself into an elegant dive… swooping in a perfect arc with sabre blazing as a bolt of lightning splitting the sky. I judged his trajectory well enough, but my shock came from the sudden burst of speed that sent him spinning…
All that was left to do than was slide under his arc. I kept my eyes on his position, ready to spring at any moment; however the caution I took proved futile soon enough. Each dive he gained even more speed, seeming to phase in and out of view in a blue and silver blur. Disconcerted by his aerial advantage I charged my cannon again, closing my eyes to clear my mind.
Rushes of displaced air hit me on the left, the hum of a plasma sabre echoing. I kicked outward but only hit a small current of wind, and then absolute silence fell. Opening my eyes once more caused me to nearly jump out of my skin, for there he stood not six inches in front of me. I punched wildly, and somehow my fist went right through his armor! My gaze raised to meet his triumphant one, but I was not yet ready to admit defeat… A tap on the shoulder broke the defiant stare I gave. Slowly I turned, and was immediately knocked to the floor by a jab to the helmet.
The ground rushed up to meet me with a resounding CLANG and before I could get up a large blue boot anchored itself onto my back. That was it… I lost.
"Nice job, X," said my opponent, removing his boot to release me from my pinned and helpless position. "You put up a great fight."
Wait a second… I knew that voice! Hurrying to my feet I saw truly the blue eyes, brown hair and indigo plasma sabre… graceful energy wings…
"Is that YOU, Angel?!" I cried in disbelief, drawing from the figure a smile. The holo-image shimmered, then flickered away. The door to an adjacent training room opened, and the one who stepped through confirmed my suspicions.
I snorted. "Shoulda known… You're the only one other than the commanders with access to these programs."
She… yes, she… threw a small grin my way, tossing her long and silky brown hair behind one delicate, tanned shoulder. Tall, but not as tall as the hologram she had conjured, she remained a mostly silent figure who tended to fade into the background. But it was not to say that she was one to be ignored... she was indeed one-of-a-kind.
For Sierra Light was half human, half reploid. A horrible accident should have killed her… but her grandfather (also my creator) saved her life by implementing his ingenious cybernetics technology to repair her lost tissue. Now she was trapped between woman and machine… both blessed and cursed with eternal youth as a twenty-one year old, as well as the ability to live for hundreds of years.
"What were you thinking?" I demanded angrily. "You know I can't fight you! You might have been seriously hurt or…"
"X." She raised a long, slender-fingered hand to silence me, smile fading just a bit… "You didn't even realize it was me. And in case you hadn't noticed, I just beat you."
My mouth dropped open. Hell… I hated when she was right… "You've been training," was all I could muster to say.
The grin brightened on her lovely face, then washed away completely as a star in supernova. "Yes. But I hadn't intended to battle you. We have to go and meet Cain now… Actually, we're late. Your lockout codes were on, so the only way to get your attention was to initiate a spar."
My turn to smile. "You always have found a way around things, Angel. All right then… let's go and find Cain."
Saying I won't be despised…
If I wear the same clothes as the rest
And blend with them…
What a boring character
Author's Notes: What do you guys think so far? Please let me know! ~Sierra Omega~