10
Rick swallowed. This guy handled himself very differently than any other Burst Linker he'd ever met. He'd clearly been playing for a long time, but since the status bars didn't indicate the level of his opponents, he couldn't be absolutely certain. Only one way to find out...
"Uh, you mind giving me your level?" Rick asked. "I'm level 3."
"I know. I'm level 7."
Crap! Level 7? That was way out of Rick's league! Even with him and Bell at full strength, he could probably beat them by himself, even if their levels together equaled his.
And on that note, Rick thought, where's his partner? He didn't know who Baby Bubble was, but they must've been quite impressive to hang with this guy.
"Where's Baby Bubble?" Rick asked. He was going for a major delay here, but half an hour was a long time to stall! Sadly, only about 5 minutes had elapsed so far.
"She's... around," Magnesium Apex said evasively. He actually seemed a little nervous at the question. What was he hiding?
"Where?" he insisted, still stalling. "Setting up an ambush somewhere? Not that you should really need it. I mean, look at your handy work there," he said, pointing to Bell, who still hadn't moved. "Or did Baby Bubble do that?"
Magnesium Apex let out an echoing sigh and lowered his sword. "I know you're just trying to buy time. Look, if I beat you, I can't challenge you again for twenty-four hours, right? So, lose and go on with your day. If the fight's a draw, I can just go and challenge you again. And I will."
"But you've already won!" Rick yelled, pointing at Bell's broken body. "You're level 7! And here you are, beating up on a level 4! Make you feel like a big man? Huh?"
"Look, I've got instructions to carry out, all right? The information about the bounty is very specific and if I want to collect, well... I don't like it, but you've got to do what you've got to do."
"Cowardly excuse!" Rick shouted, getting angrier by the second.
"Stop being mean!" a tiny voice yelled out of an alley-way to the side.
Rick looked and saw a tiny head attached to the smallest avatar he'd ever seen. It quickly darted out of the alley and made a bee-line to Magnesium Apex's leg, which it latched on to with a fierce grip, as if trying to hide from Rick's view.
The only distinction on the entire avatar was a seam that started at the center of the foot and went up the side of its body and over the head, then back down the other side. The entire avatar was a blue so pale, it was nearly white. And it was a little on the thing side, but other than that, it was roughly the same shape and size as a toddler.
In fact, if Rick hadn't known any better...
"Easy, Bubble," Magnesium Apex chided, as if speaking to a child. "He was only playing."
"Leave my daddy alone!" she yelled at Rick before hiding again.
Rick was flabbergasted. "That can't be..." he pointed.
"Yes. This is Baby Bubble, my child. My actual child."
"And how old...?"
Magnesium Apex let out a chuckle. "Turns three this year."
"But...wha...and..." he was grasping his head with his hands. "You...downloaded Brain Burst into a toddler's neurolinker!? Your own child? How... how old are you!? And... and... I have so many questions!" Rick was having trouble thinking now.
"And I'm sorry, but I can't answer any of them," Magnesium Apex said, sounding slightly amused, if that deep, vibrating voice could be said to sound amused. He leaned over and removed the small avatar from his leg. "Sweetheart, could you please go wait where daddy told you?"
She – at least Rick was pretty sure the avatar was a she – looked into the hellish helmet of Magnesium Apex and almost seemed to smile, despite the fact she didn't have a mouth. "Ok daddy! But I can help lots, if you need it!" She scampered back to the alley she'd been hiding in. "Win daddy!"
The massive avatar looked back to Rick and shrugged. "Kids, right?"
"Uh, dunno," Rick replied. "She talks really well for a two-year-old."
"Well," he chuckled. "I can't deny that Brain Burst and acceleration have certainly played a role in speeding her mental development, but I'm trying to limit her exposure to the Accelerated World, so she can have at least a some-what normal childhood. It's a tough balance."
Rick didn't doubt it was.
"You have a kid?"
Rick was flattered that this behemoth of a man thought that plain, boring him could have a kid. And at thirteen-years-old too! But then he remembered that Magnesium Apex saw Copper Tarnish, not Rick Billings.
"No. No kids, yet."
"Good. Don't get me wrong, but fourteen was way too young to have a child. I love my daughter more than myself, but I wish I'd thought the decision though more rationally."
Rick glanced at his heavily damaged tag-team partner, who was finally stirring. No matter what, he didn't want her taking any more hits. Glancing at the time, Rick saw he had about twenty-two-minutes left. Why did the time pass so much faster when he was fighting?
"One last question." Rick said quickly, "then we can get started."
Magnesium Apex nodded.
"What possible trauma could an infant or toddler have gone through in their past to create an avatar?" He truly wanted to know.
"You don't think birth is traumatic for the baby?"
Rick had to admit, the thought hadn't ever crossed his mind, but now as he considered it, birth probably was pretty traumatic.
"Now then," Magnesium Apex said, hefting his sword onto his shoulder, "If we could?"
Sighing, Rick readied himself. "Yeah, sure. Thanks for answering my questions." He began thinking of possible strategies against his opponent.
The main problem was Magnesium Apex's size. His height and width would've made him a problem to fight, even at level 1! He couldn't be tossed around, or even lifted, like Yolk Glider the day before. And his usual attacks with his tarnished arrow wouldn't bother a level 7. the loss of two HP wouldn't even register to him.
Really, the more Rick thought about it, the best chance he had to inflict any real damage was to use his Mega Arrow. Unfortunately, he'd have to wait for his special attack gauge to fill and try to survive in the meantime.
He really felt the nerves for this fight. This would be the strongest opponent he'd ever faced, and while it technically wasn't impossible for a level 3 to beat a level 7, it was highly, highly unlikely. Plus, he knew that magnesium Apex wasn't a casual Burst Linker, dueling for fun.
No, he hunted prey. And that prey was wounded.
Here goes! Rick though, dashing forward as quickly as he could. He crossed the thirty or so feet in good time and jumped into the air as high as he could, right knee extended forward. He was rewarded by the clanging of metal-on-metal, striking the much taller avatar square in the chest, though it didn't even move with the impact.
Rick landed nimbly on his feet, jumping back to get out of reach of that sword his opponent held. He knew right off the bat, that had been a stupidly reckless attack, what with that weapons reach! He was lucky Magnesium Apex had decided not to attack.
He decided to check their Health bars to see how much damage a flying knee would deal. Rick had to double-take at what he saw.
"What's the game?" he called to Magnesium Apex. "Why did I take damage attacking you?" And of course, Apex hadn't lost anything in terms of health.
"No game," he replied. "I'm simply too high a level for a basic attack from a level 3 to affect me. If I weren't metallic, you might've done some damage, but you should know the defense of a Metallic shouldn't be underestimated."
Rick had only fought one other Metallic before Apex; a level 2 named Tin Bin. As metal avatars were very rare, it wasn't something he had the opportunity to do all that often. Now, he was attempting to remember the strategies others had used against him!
"Magma Armor, disengage," Apex rumbled. His avatar's armor changed from its vivid orange-yellow to a more normal metal grey, like nickel.
Rick had to stop himself from slapping himself in the head. Of course, that was the answer! He had a damage shield! Now that it was deactivated, he should be able to touch him normally; now if only he could overcome his damage reduction!
Carefully, Rick started to circle his opponent, trying to get the injured Bluebell Bonnet out of his sightline. Hopefully, removing himself from between the two of them wouldn't backfire.
Rick quickly shot his hand out, palm facing his foe. "Tarnished Arrow!" The dart flew true, hitting the armor and bouncing off, dealing the normal two points of damage.
"That attack uses your health as ammunition," Apex observed. "You'll have to be careful; using it recklessly against a stronger opponentis a risk."
You have no idea! Rick thought as he charged the larger avatar again, firing another arrow. Heedless of his enemy's words, he began a reckless assault of punches, kicks, knees, and elbows. He even threw in a headbutt or two! Anything that might deal some kind of damage to the seemingly invulnerable opponent before him.
And to his credit, it looked like Magnesium Apex was actually on the defensive for a minute or two.
After landing a particularly good, solid punch to Apex's faceplate, Rick jumped back a few feet and fired three or more arrows, all of which hit. He took a glance at their respective life totals again and saw that his foe had actually lost health, though it was only about six or seven percent. Still, he was putting up a fight, not giving in to a stronger foe!
It was then that he noticed the quiet. Taking a quick look around, he noticed a complete lack of spectators. There was no Gallery! Not that it particularly mattered to Rick, but there had been times when a cheer of support had pushed him to victory.
He figured he'd been too far away for anyone in his Gallery to be there, but he thought at least Peri would be there for Bell. And Magnesium Apex did he shut off his Gallery feature?
"Where's your Gallery?" Rick asked, again stalling for time.
"I have no Gallery," came the cold reply. "Most tend not to trust bounty hunters, les a price fall upon their heads." He sighed. "Besides, I've not been a Burst Linker for some time."
Huh? But here he was, in a Brain Burst duel. Didn't that make him a Burst Linker?
Magnesium Apex straightened his posture, holding his great sword in front of him. "In honor of your devotion to duty and your protective spirit, I have allowed you to make a valiant attempt at defending your charge. It ends now."
The massive avatar launched forward, moving much faster than anything that size and bulk had any right to, holding his sword over his head. Rick was able to side-step the first, vertical slash, but quicker than he could blink, Apex made a side swipe. Slashing across the torso of Copper Tarnish. Orange sparks leapt out and Rick's health dropped about six percent.
Ignoring the burning pain in his chest, Rick tried to counter while his opponent was still slightly stooped from swinging his sword. Using the strategy from the day before he had used on Yolk Glider, he grabbed the horns of magnesium Apex's helmet. Using all of the strength he could muster, he brought the head down, smashing his knee into the faceplate three times before attempting to smash it into the ground.
But Magnesium Apex caught himself and broke out of the hold, knocking Rick back, then delivering a flat-footed frontal kick, causing Rick to actually fly back into a pillar, which crumbled as if made of sand when he made the slightest connection with it.
Getting up, trying hard to ignore the pain – and the warning bells in his head – Rick stood straight, not backing down from the clearly much stronger opponent. Magnesium Apex took a step. Then another, the gleam of the Twilight Stage's sunset gleaming beautifully off of his armor.
Looking at their respective gauges, Rick noticed that those knees to the face many have done slightly more damage than his other attacks. A weak spot, perhaps? But was he weak to hits in the face, or knees? In this game, it could be either! His own health bar was down by about elven percent. Sure, he had fired a few arrows, but he'd only been hit twice by Apex, so that wasn't a good sign!
"Shouldn't you be running?" Apex asked.
"Sorry," Rick said, trying not to sound too terrified, "but my legs aren't at home right now. IF you'd like to leave a message?"
A deep chuckle at that. "You've got guts and a sense of duty. Yes, I think she chose well."
Why did everyone sound so surprised when they were forced to acknowledge his bravery? Was it the way his avatar looked or something?
He shook his head. "Nah, I don't have guts. My brain just doesn't work all that well in stressful situations."
"Either way, I'm impressed, which is no small feat. I'd really like to see if the rumors are true and you really can transform into gold."
"Not today." Rick muttered. His special Heart of Gold advanced armament could only be used once a week, and he'd used it in the territories against stupid Yolk Glider!
Magnesium Apex shrugged. "Well, you can report to your Legion and Governor that you did your job well. I have little doubt your friend will do the same." He pointed to the side at Bluebell Bonnet.
"Tarn!" she shouted suddenly. "Attack the baby! Get rid of Baby Bubble! If he doesn't have a partner, we can still win, no matter how damaged we are!"
Rick started at the suggestion. Attack a toddler? He acknowledged that, yes it would probably be a pretty easy win, but the thought of attacking a two-year-old left his insides twisted in knots.
Slowly, Magnesium Apex turned to face Bluebell Bonnet. She was trying to stand, a difficult task with only one arm and the building supporting her about to crumble into dust.
"I can't believe you just said that," the echoing voice said. "You would attack a harmless child to get a victory?"
"Why not?" Bell countered. "You attacked me knowing I would be helpless."
"False equivalent. You can defend yourself."
Bell pointed to the alley where Baby Bubble still watched. "Is she a Burst Linker or not?"
"Don't worry!" Rick called, trying to break the tension, "I would never do something like that! Really!"
"Regardless," Apex said coldly, not looking at Rick anymore, "she suggested it. My instructions said to ensure that she suffered. I didn't like the way that felt, but if she can say something like that, with no shame ore remorse, maybe it's warranted." He took a step in her direction.
Without thinking, Rick ran up and jumped onto the larger avatar's back, wrapping his arms around his neck, not that it mattered since avatars didn't breathe! Still, he needed to do something!
"Bell, get out of here!"
But no! Of course not! Instead, he watched as Bluebell Bonnet charged Magnesium Apex and leap onto his chest, wrapping her one arm around his neck herself. Now, their opponent had two smaller avatars – one child sized – hanging off of his body like a jungle gym. "Tarn," Bell said with heavy intensity, "move your hands."
Magnesium Apex let out a sigh and stuck his sword into the easily cracked and broken ground. "This solves nothing."
"Yeah?" Bell shouted. "Solve this! Headbutt!"
Rick quickly let go of Apex's neck, hopping off and stepping back. He watched Bell's bonnet brim glow with an intense light as she reared her head back. Snapping her head forward, the bonnet's wide brim actually pierced the level 7's armor, biting into his throat, removing a decent amount of health.
"Urgh!" Apex stuttered.
"Headbutt!" she called again, taking another piece of his neck armor out like a lumber jack felling a tree. Not for the first time did Rick wish his own special attack didn't drain his entire special attack bar!
"Enough!" Magnesium Apex roared, sounding horse. He reached with both hands, grabbing hold of Bluebell Bonnet, her child-sized avatar easily pulled off of his chest and held over his head.
"Tarn! Aim for his neck! Lop off the head and his level, his health, it doesn't matter!" she called as she was lifted high into the air.
Rick braced himself for the sickening crunch of Bluebell Bonnet being thrown into the ground, or the sound of buildings collapsing as she was hurled into them, but what happened next haunted his dreams for a long while/
With one hand wrapped around her thigh, another her neck, Magnesium Apex brought Blubell Bonnet down hard, impaling her on one of the horns on his helmet through her gut, eliciting an anguished "Urg" from her.
But he wasn't finished.
He lifted her over his head again and, as Rick watched, too terrified to move, proceeded to rip Bell in half at the torso. In one sift, fluid motion, as if made of building blocks, he pulled her into two pieces.
She let out a ragged shriek as she felt a small percentage of the pain of dissection, then fell silent as she became two. Her life bar instantly zeroed out and after a second, the two pieces of what used to be the avatar Bluebell Bonnet exploded into millions of tiny pixels, evaporating in the air.
Rick couldn't move; couldn't think or speak.
"I must apologize," Magnesium Apex said after a few moments. "I was told to make her suffer, but not even the most solid and valid of contracts would allow me to justify how brutally I just killed her." He looked at Rick, "Please, convey my sorrow to her when you get the chance."
There was no blood, no viscera, but that shriek. Rick could still hear it echoing in his head. The image of a life being snuffed out so easily sickened him.
"No," Rick replied through gritted teeth. "No amount of your sorrow is going to help her. You're never doing something that depraved to anyone ever again! I don't know how, but I'm gonna kill you. That's not a threat, that's a promise!" He was seething now.
Magnesium Apex nodded, as if that response was completely expected. "I would wish no less from a Senator trying to protect a member of his Legion. Fight to kill; I absolutely deserve it." His tone was honest, not a hint of mockery.
Rick looked at the divots carved out of Apex's throat. Damage Bell had caused knowing she would die. If he could strike that spot with a powerful enough attack... But his normal arrows didn't actually pierce anything, they just 'pinged' off of their target.
His Mega Arrow on the other hand...
Well, at close range, that had been known to blow holes through things. Unfortunately, his special attack gauge wasn't full yet. Not that his particular opponent couldn't fix that in an attack or two; it was simply a matter of surviving those attacks. But he needed that damage! Not just to fill his gauge, but to charge his Mega Arrow!
The countdown was under eleven minutes now. He could just run and let the time run out. He'd already lost this fight with the loss of his partner. But Bell had sacrificed herself to help him...
No! He told himself. He would not run. He would not let the time run out! Bell deserved better than that! Without a thought of what he was doing, he charged the larger avatar, letting out a cry.
"Graaaaaah!"
He began throwing everything he could at Magnesium Apex, aiming for the possible weak point of his face. Because of the height difference, it was tough to hit between the helmet's face guards accurately, but for every blow there, he heard a grunt come from the giant. His attack seemed to be working, as Apex was legitimately trying to stop him.
But Rick was in the zone. It was as if his opponent was moving in slow motion, his attacks wide and predictable. Rick was easily able to dodge sword strokes, counter grapple attempts and side step punches and kicks with little effort. Slowly, but surely, he began to push Magnesium Apex back.
Had he been paying attention; he might've noticed a faint golden aura start to appear around his arms and hands.
"Bubble Bounce!" a little girl's voice shouted from across the street.
Startled, Rick stopped his onslaught and turned in the direction of the voice, seeing the tiny blue avatar launch into the air, heading in his direction, one arm cocked back to punch. Now what did he do!? Defend against a toddler's attack? Strike back? Not to mention Magnesium Apex, who was starting to regain his composure.
"Bursting Bubble!" she cried, as Rick struggled to make a choice. He watched as her fist became encased in a large, springy bubble as she punched directly at his face. The bubble popped before her fist actually made contact and he flew backwards, smashing through the wall of a small building; maybe a café in the real.
The building shuddered for a moment before the whole thing collapsed on top of Rick, turning into a pile of dust.
Baby Bubble landed safely and began to laugh, jumping up and down, pointing to the rubble. "Look, look, daddy! I winned against him! I winned!"
Rick groaned as he pulled himself from the debris that used to be a building. The attack itself hadn't caused much damage, but the building collapsing on him certainly had! No matter how easily things broke, they still hurt!
But one problem had been solved; his special attack bar was full.
Magnesium Apex knelt next to his daughter. "That's very good, sweet-heart, but I told you to stay in your hiding place, didn't I?"
She stopped jumping and looked up at her father. "But he was being mean to you daddy! I wanted to help."
"Yes, and I'm glad, but it isn't good manners to interrupt, okay?"
"It's not p...po...polite?" she asked, struggling with the word.
"Very good!" Apex beamed. "That's right. It's not polite to interrupt."
She nodded. "Okay! Sorry, daddy."
He pointed to Rick, who was now quite dusty as well as tarnished. "Don't tell me; tell him."
She turned to Rick and waved. "Sooorry!"
"Uh, that's okay." he replied confused. "You, uh, you hit really hard. That was a good attack."
She giggled happily before scampering back to her observation spot.
"Sorry about that," Apex said.
Rick was still royally pissed at Apex, but he couldn't find it in himself to be angry at Baby Bubble. As far as she concerned, she was protecting her daddy. What child wouldn't do that if that could. "No worries."
"Want a free hit?"
"No," he replied flatly. "I don't want anything from you." Less than five minutes now. There was no momentum now, no element of surprise; he had to proceed very carefully from here on. With his full special attack gauge, he just needed one shot.
Magnesium Apex hefted his word. "Thank you for understanding. I appreciate your anger at me. I felt much the same when my friend was banished from the Accelerated World. Feel fortuned that yours can still return."
Rick didn't follow all of that, but the beginning, he caught. "I can't say I really understand any of why you're doing this. You're really strong. You shouldn't have to do something this cruel unless it's something you choose to do, and I get the impression that you're not that kind of guy. Or that kind of father."
Apex seemed to recoil at that last remark. As if the words had physically hurt him. Again, it looked completely sincere. Rick smirked to himself; he could still deliver a good line when he needed to.
It was now or never.
Without warning. Rick blasted forward in a sudden sprint, sending chipped pavement in his wake as his copper-plated feet pounded the brittle asphalt. His hope was that his opponent would expect another frontal blitz like before and would attempt to defend himself appropriately.
Which was exactly what he did, which left him out of position to defend against the actual attack Rick had planned.
Rick skidded to a stop about five feet in front of the behemoth, again sending pavement chips scattering. He held out both arms, hands open, wrists together, aimed directly at Magnesium Apex's throat.
The giant avatar started at the sudden change in tactics, completely off guard.
"Mega Arrow!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
In less than a second, the two arrow-halves came together and launched directly at the divot in Apex's neck. That was it! He had won!
And quick as lightning, his opponent's sword flashed, knocking the arrow off course. He still lost a fair amount of health from his life bar, but the surprise attack had failed.
"Hmmm," Magnesium Apex rumbled. "It still deals damage when deflected. And that much, too? You have a very dangerous weapon there, Copper Tarnish. And it certainly would've had the desired effect of removing my head from my shoulders."
Rick stood stock still, knowing it was all over now. He could only hope it would be quick.
"I like you," Apex continued, raising his sword again. It began to glow orange, then red, then blazing white. "You remind me of the friend that I lost; of better times. You have a code of morals and you follow it, and I respect that. And because you are honorable, I will give you the death of a king, instead of ignobly allowing the time to run out. I want you to know that I have enjoyed fighting you, Copper Tarnish. If the rest of your Legion acts in this manner, then I deeply regret what I must do." He nodded deeply. "Until next we meet, sir."
He lifted his sword over his shoulder and swing as if trying to hit a baseball with a bat.
"Headman's Strike!"
Rick saw it but didn't move, unable to save the head of Copper Tarnish.