— A/N —
Hello~! The entire chapter is a fight, as I figured I might as well do so since it'll be a while until the next fight. The next couple of chapters will be less action-orientated and more narrative-focused.
- Reviews -
EShrew: Thank you for the feedback!
Sarah9730: Lol. If I take a page out of Coeur Al'Aran's Raise format and have headlines read out, would people be bothered about it? Nah, I won't be doing that format, but I will have the news be mentioning recent events in the next chapter.
123ABIR123: Thank you!
Molag Vile: I only know of Ninja Gaiden from its NES game, but I looked up the modern games, and the combat looks fun! And thank you for your feedback as well. It's good to know that I don't have to plan out a grandiose narrative. And by the way, bonus points for you for noticing that. :)
Blue1ao: Thank you. Though, I'm not sure if it would be satisfying if I just told the ending in an author's note if I ever do drop this. Hopefully it won't come to that.
King-Of-Gods: Thank you. I've also seen that story, and I've even read a bit more of it after you mentioned it.
Jack Redhawke: Thank you!
Singular Ash: Thank you! And yes, the broomstick is the most powerful weapon in Remnant: Grimmdark.
Onxio: Oof. Sorry about that. Originally, that was my plan—to keep chapters short (3k-4k words) and be able to update it more frequently. However I've been starting to increase word count per chapter. Also I have other things going on in life, so that also affects when I'm able to update.
ThePowerfullKira: I love that scene.
main882: Got to leave people wanting more.
Jowasut: More action in progress! But on a later date.
blackredray21: Thank you! I'm okay with whatever I decide because ultimately I'm happy with writing this story. May not be perfect at times, but being able to get my ideas out there and create something is enjoyable.
NJMR IV: Good to see you again. I've slowly been trying to increase chapter length, but I'm not so great when it comes to that; anything reaching 5k words and I start to take longer to publish them. You also said that the fight should have a purpose, and asked me if this one would move the plot forward or just be another showoff of Teddy. I always try to give a narrative purpose to fights as there's always something that results from it—Cinder now seeing Teddy as a threat, Ruby deciding her goal from the Docks to stop Teddy, etc. Just know that fights that are inconsequential I plan to skim over, but the reason I'm not and that I'm putting in effort for these is because it's the start of the story. And to Teddy showing off, I'm afraid that's a part of his whole schtick—he can't make any mistakes, and characters outside of his POV can't understand how. I will take your advice and space out fights in between chapters.
karmax992: Thank you for the feedback, and for introducing me to a really nice web novel!
"SAVESCUM"
Chapter Seven
What makes a good fighter?
Was it skill? Planning? Numbers?
"Hey, stay back!" Pyrrha quickly leaped back as the killer lunged toward her. She was caught off guard, but for him to immediately go after her made her cautious. Ren was the closest one to react.
Holding the broomstick like a staff, he blocked Ren's kick parallel to the ground and snapped the handle towards the side of Ren's neck. The hit landed, and it must've landed hard, because despite having his aura up, Ren stumbled back in a daze. The broom spun, like how Ruby would twirl her Crescent Rose but not as quick or cleanly, and delivered a solid hit on Ren's ankle, making him fall on the ground with a thud.
Nora had charged at him, shouting all the while. Her fist reeled back all the way behind her until she swung it around. That just meant he had a lot of time to grin smugly and pivot off his foot to avoid it.
"Nora!" Jaune shouted, having run over to Ren to help him up. "Watch out!"
There was a clear moment where he could've struck her, but he didn't take it. Instead he bent his body down at a near ninety-degree angle and took a step back to avoid a punch he shouldn't have seen coming from Yang. She had to stop herself from hitting Nora when she realized what happened. The killer then swung the broom, hitting both Nora and Yang in a single strike that also left them dazed momentarily. Yang still stood, while Nora landed on the ground.
This wasn't what they had planned. It escalated—he escalated—and now the others were rushing to put a stop to this. And it wasn't the best situation; all of them trained and fought with their weapons that they don't have. The only person who was in their element was Yang.
Using her semblance, Ruby charged at him; her cloak wrapped around her body as she spun, becoming a red bullet. That was when he pulled Yang in front of her path. Her cloak grazed Yang as she sailed past both of them.
Skill alone can't be what makes a good fighter. They were all skilled, having either been trained or self-taught at a young age to fight. What does he have that we don't? Why can't any of us hit him?
Ruby came to a full stop and began to charge back at him with her semblance once more. "Ruby, don't!" Yang took her eyes off the killer for a split second, and he was able to wrestle the broom free from her grasp.
If Ruby could just bring him to the ground, then the others could restrain him easily. This time, Ruby stopped using her semblance a second before she would tackle him with her weight and momentum. Just one second. That was enough time for him to step out of the way of Yang and swing the handle of the broom right into her. It felt like her skull was hit by a bowling ball. Her momentum had left her body rolling across the intersection until she unceremoniously came to a stop.
I-It hurts! Isn't my aura supposed to protect me? It was; she felt the usual sensation of her aura pooling at her face, and other parts of her body that scraped against the street. And it was only then did she realize why her friends were dazed after being hit—he really did just hit that hard. The power he had behind his attacks were deadly, and he did a good job disguising that fact by the lack of proper form.
Yang got shoved back, and tripped over Nora on the ground. Weiss ran up to the killer to attack. Her partner was doing the best she could without her sword—a sword that she practically has trained with since becoming a huntress, and one that's needed to use her semblance. He side-kicked her square in the gut before she could even do anything. It was her best given the circumstances. Pyrrha tried to flank him from behind, but the killer grabbed onto Weiss and shoved her in front of Pyrrha's kick.
Each of them knew how to coordinate with each other, but that was only for a team of four. They've never fought as a group of eight; there's just too many people getting in each other's way, and he's taking full advantage of that.
"Ah–! I'm sorry, Weiss!" Pyrrha quickly returned her attention to him. They traded blows, but neither one was able to hit each other. When Yang, Ren, and Blake tried to stop him, Pyrrha broke off and got some distance from him.
Ruby was struggling to get up—her head was still pounding. Blake used her semblance to avoid an attack that never came, which allowed him to swing the wooden broom into Ren's midsection. Ren nearly doubled over himself, but still stood tall and grabbed onto it. With his weapon now immobilized, Yang broke it in half with a punch. Relief flashed in Ruby's face, until she realized that he had a sharp weapon now. Yang backed away from his wild swings.
"Hey!" Jaune shouted and held the lid of a trash can up like his shield. Though he didn't have his sword, he still charged towards the killer.
· · ·
Teddy wasn't sure where he read it before, but he knew the human body was capable of performing tremendous feats, but restricted itself through pain—sores and aches that tell the brain that they're doing too much and need a rest. If the developers made the player character a 1-to-1 with a real human body, then that had to be why he feels numb throughout his entire body. The exertion in his every move was starting to take effect.
Though that can wait. Right now, this blond huntsman was right in front of him, and Teddy couldn't help but think that he was the protagonist if Remnant: Grimmdark was a linear story game. Jaune practically has every trope going for him—scraggly, messy protagonist hair, a cast of unique and quirky side-characters all around him, and an underdog in physical strength but more than made up for it by being a tactician, if him staying behind his friends was anything to go by.
Heh. Friends… A strange feeling welled up within him whenever he looked at Jaune in the face, and those around him. Teddy didn't know why, but… well, he could think of a reason, but it seemed ridiculous. He hated it. He hated this strange feeling, and he hated how it took away his focus.
Two pairs of arms grab him from behind. Weiss and Nora, if the names are correct, held onto his sleeves and forced him on his knee when Weiss stabbed her heel into the back of his leg. He looked back up in time to stare down a leather glove in his face. Blood shot out of his nostrils and trickled down to his chin as his character fell face-first onto the street.
Unmoving and vision fading. His character was out cold. The last time he let himself be unconscious, he woke up tied to a chair in a warehouse; if he continued, he'd probably find himself in a police cell. Which to him didn't sound so fun.
[Loading Quicksave…]
They may be kids, but they're fully trained hunters. They will really fuck me up.
"Hey!" Jaune shouted. He held that thing like a riot shield—as he should, considering it wouldn't do much. He had better chances using a plastic knife like a katana than that. As Jaune charged towards him, Teddy counted how many steps he took before the two girls would grab him—the timing was important.
He twisted his body to slip in between the two. Nora anticipated this and managed to pinch the end of his peacoat. I need to do something about them, otherwise–! His arms came up to guard his face, but instead of a punch, he felt a foot plant itself on his exposed gut. With a loud grunt, Jaune push-kicked him hard enough to lift him off the ground, and when Teddy landed, the back of his head crashed against the curbside with a crunch. He also does different attacks. Great. I'll be seeing you real soon, 'main character'.
[Loading Quicksave…]
One. Two. Halfway into Jaune's third step, Teddy bent down and slipped underneath their grasp as he backpedaled. He made the two trip forward by pulling back Weiss' leg—who was wearing heels of all things—and jamming the broomstick in between Nora's legs mid-stride. Weiss fell, and Nora merely stumbled, but she could quickly stabilize herself and retaliate.
That works. Feels like I could do better, though. He could now set his eyes on his target to deliver the coup-de-grâce. His off hand grabbed the top of Jaune's shield and forced it down to expose his face—or, he would have if it wasn't shrouded in a black aura. The lid was firmly in place and wouldn't move an inch.
His eyes drift over to the hoodie girl, whose outstretched arm was shrouded with the same black aura. Those were civilian clothes, but there was no mistaking it—with that vibrant red hair and deep green eye color telling him of her occupation—this was her semblance at work. Ugh. Why is it always the redheads that have the strange gimmicks? Well, I can definitely use this to my advantage.
The lid bashed into his face with the force of a truck that sent him flying with a broken nose. Maybe some broken teeth too, if he was lucky.
[Loading Quicksave…]
· · ·
Weiss and Nora had no luck in flanking behind him. He grabbed onto Nora's wrist from behind himself and pulled her all the way around to slam into Weiss, which had knocked them both onto the ground. It seemed like something out of a comedy if this wasn't serious. From an outsider's perspective, it would've been ridiculous—like just grab him already, they'd say—but it just didn't happen. Blake was right, it was almost like he knew what they would do before any of them did anything.
When Jaune and he stood before each other, the killer raised the broken piece of wood and hammered at the lid. Each strike made a dent more worse than the last. Jaune looked like he would fold any minute, but there was a subtle black aura around the trash can lid that kept it from going any lower. When the killer delivered a sharp low-kick to Jaune's exposed legs, he fell onto his knees, but his arm that was holding the shield was still held up. The broom handle fell to the ground, and a switchblade was in his hands.
The broom had been a decoy from the start. None of them could've seen it coming, not even Pyrrha.
In one quick strike, the knife found its way underneath Jaune's still held-up guard and landed just below his left arm. The first strike pinged off his aura, but on the fourth one… They all knew firsthand how much power he had; with all of that concentrated into a knife's point, it pierced Jaune's aura.
The pained shout that came out his mouth was quick, but was bitten down with a groan when the knife was twisted and turned, deeper into his shoulder. Jaune's pained groans grew louder and louder until Ruby heard the sound of a hard snap, followed by the handle of the knife hitting the ground.
Her eyes widened; she couldn't believe it. Jaune—her first friend at Beacon and someone who trained to be better than he was before—was now lying on the ground bleeding, like those dying White Fang members at the docks. Yang, or someone else, muttered a curse underneath her breath, and it was that moment that the killer turned and ran.
"Don't let him get away!" Blake called out. She tried to intercept his path, but he somehow managed to slip past her and keep running. The other three of her team chased after him, but Ruby just stayed behind. Even if she wanted to move, she just couldn't.
"Jaune! I-I'm sorry!" Pyrrha desperately tried to stop the bleeding with her red sash. Even though Jaune was the one stabbed, she looked more hurt than he did. While Jaune did his best to reassure her that he would be fine, the pained expression on his face was telling. Ren and Nora also rushed by his side to check up on him, the former contacting Beacon with his scroll.
This is what she wanted, isn't it? She got her chance for them to fight him, and now one of her friends was injured. But even if they followed Yang's plan, even if they wanted to avoid conflict, he wouldn't surrender.
"I-It's a deep wound." Pyrrha was calmer now. "I can try to remove it with my semblance, but I need to w-wait for the paramedics. If I remove it now, I might make it worse."
Ren nodded, before turning to Jaune. "Don't worry, we'll get him." The scroll was still ringing in his hand.
"No." A single word came out from Ruby's mouth. All three of them looked at her. "No… Stay here. Look after him, and tell the police which way he headed."
"Let us help," Nora said.
"Please, no. I don't want any of you to get hurt for something you didn't agree to. It's better if it's just my team."
Ren placed his hand on Nora's shoulder when she would've argued. He nodded with his head for her to go, and with nothing else being said, Ruby ran after her team. One last look behind her showed Jaune was still trying to stop the bleeding, while Ren and Nora watched her. As good as it would have been to have the extra help, all eight of them couldn't do anything. Having numbers wouldn't change anything.
The alleyways were a narrow maze, with garbage cans along the edges and tall buildings that prevented the sunlight from touching the ground. Ruby would've been confused on which path he took if it wasn't for the trail of broken glass bottles and thrown-around bits of trash. That's how he fights—never using one singular weapon, but anything nearby. A car alarm suddenly went off, and echoed out into the atmosphere. It certainly helped telling her where they were.
Coming out onto a street, Ruby found where the alarm came from. The driver's door was slightly dented, along with its window smashed. Leaning against the car was Weiss, completely still and unmoving. 'Worry' was an understatement. Rushing to her partner, she held her partner by the shoulders.
"W-Weiss?!"
"We're not–" She coughed. "–used to fighting… without our weapons… Yang." Weiss was definitely out of it; even though Ruby was inches away from Weiss' face, her eyes struggled to focus on her.
Her white hair at the back of her head was stained pink. When Ruby checked, she was glad to see that it was just some small cuts from the glass, and nothing like her head being cracked open—as morbid as it was for her to think that.
"You're going to be okay, Weiss. Just hang on tight. Help's on the way."
"R-Ruby? Where… are the others?"
"I told them to stay behind."
"Wh… What?"
"I'm sorry, but there's no time! Where did they go?"
Weiss' left hand twitched, and barely lifted up off the ground to point where. "Store… Left…"
Looking down the street, she spotted the only door that was open—a men's shoe store by the looks of it. She didn't have anything to cover the bleeding, but she made sure that Weiss would be fine before she left. As she came closer, she realized that her partner was right—most of them didn't know how to fight without their weapons.
Her fingers trace the edges of her scroll in her skirt's pocket.
· · ·
Blake threw a kick at him with a shout, one that Teddy narrowly avoided as he backpedaled towards the leather boots aisle. Reaching for a pair, he tossed it at her, only for it to be swatted away.
Her expression reminded him of the docks—that ferocious glare that trained at him and his every move. Teddy couldn't help but wonder why she was so aggressive both here and back at the docks. All he did was attack the White Fang. Is that why? Lady, you were fighting them too. Besides, I was helping your friends find you. If it wasn't for all the gunshots and fighting happening, you probably wouldn't have found her. If he were to disregard the large cloud of smoke, then yes, he'd be correct. Is this really how you repay me?
Apparently so when Yang came from out of his view. She threw a jab that looked like it would land on his chin, but it curved downward and the fist uncurled into an open hand. She grabbed onto the lapel of his jacket—much like he did to her earlier—and pulled him into her straight-right punch.
[Loading Quicksave…]
Save her for last, then. I'll deal with Blake first.
"He's getting tired!" Blake's shout repeated. "Don't let up!" Despite her words, the black-haired girl was too cautious. But play around with that too much and she'll get impatient, and would commit to her attack—which is exactly what he needed.
Teddy took one big step forward and jolted his shoulder forward to make it look like he was going to throw a heavy jab. Like always, she used her semblance to back away. A grunt hissed out through her teeth. When her eyes quickly darted to his side, he took a step back and narrowly avoided Yang's hook. He knew not to counter now, because Blake jumped over her and tried to kick him.
"What was it cal–" Yang mumbled before she shouted out, "Bumblebee!"
He knew what to expect the moment she called out that keyword. These two were practically in sync now. They leap-froged each other with their attacks; Blake tried to swipe at him with her fingers and throw kicks, while Yang practically threw heavy haymakers.
Just like last time—the last five times, to be exact. This was the part where Blake was going to kick him again while Yang slipped out of his view. Instead of backpedaling, he ran forward and grabbed a plastic shoe horn by one of the aisles, and pivoted off to the side of her kick. The result was that the two were directly in front of the other.
By this point she should've been hit, and yet despite thinking of this action so clearly in his mind, his character was delayed by a small margin. Because of that, Blake was able to grab onto his arm and lock it behind his back. He was then pressed onto the ground. When a deep pop came from Teddy's shoulder, he knew something had become dislocated.
'Major fatigue', as it would turn out, was just as much of a debuff as 'major bleeding' was, and a debilitating one at that. This was the first time he got this status effect. It made sense—he'd never been pushed to this point before. The average street criminal may have some aura, but they weren't super soldiers.
Didn't go as planned, but I think I'm on the right track. If I get rid of Blake quickly, I can deal with Yang alone and escape before I become too tired.
[Loading Quicksave…]
· · ·
Ruby didn't enter the building. If he really wanted to kill them, then he could've done so already when Jaune's aura was broken. No, his main goal is to escape. He wouldn't just run out the same door he came through, not with Yang and Blake after him. He'll try to find another way out. He likes to take the alleys, so he should be… She turned to the left and ran down along the side of the building towards a door next to a garbage bin. At that moment, something large fell over within the building followed by smaller objects hitting the floor—a tall shelf with boxes, maybe. The door in front of her burst open. There.
The first thing she noted was how worn out he looked. His hair was fraying, with some strands covering his face. From the ambient light that came into the alley, it reflected off the sweat on his forehead. He took deep breaths that made his jaw open and close, and she had the impression that he was using all his might to keep himself from falling over with how his back was hunched.
And yet, he still grinned at her. Was he really that confident?
Of course he is, she thought. Because he has a weapon behind his back. Why else would his left hand be hidden? A shoe, maybe, or something else.
Ruby sprinted towards him. Right when he took a step forward to attack, she used her semblance and got behind him. Her cloak had got in the way of her vision, but when she could see him, he was facing towards her. Ruby only had enough time to block with both of her arms when his left arm shot out like a coiled spring. The knife's blade broke on impact from her aura.
That knife was an exact copy of the one that cut Jaune. Looking up at him, he pulled out another switchblade from inside his coat and held it like Weiss held her Myrtenaster. He has more knives?! The store he came out of, the one where the owner called him a thief, was a knife shop, wasn't it? Calm down. I just need to stall for a couple more seconds. Then this will all be over.
They both heard a single footstep from the side. He broke off from her and managed to avoid Yang's fist. The way he did so was clumsy, looking more like he tossed himself away. He nearly stumbled to the ground.
There was heat coming off from Yang as she shouted, "Get away from her!"
· · ·
His opponent was coming at him. Fast.
It was one of those cliche standoff moments—like two boxers throwing their straights at the other's chin, or two gunslingers shooting their shot in a duel. Two opponents facing off against each with only one move, and only one of them could walk away. For him, he aimed the knife to her head. For her, she aimed her fist at his head.
Luck wasn't on Teddy's side.
She angled her head off center and the knife grazed past her. On the other hand, her fist rocked him off his feet and sent him flying into the side of a dumpster. His body slumped against it with his head hung low. He was definitely hurt. No one, not even the player, without aura could shrug off what she gave him. So why did he feel absolutely nothing? It felt like there was a hole where the side of his head should be. Maybe after playing this game for so long, his headset had thrown in the towel and broke from repeated use.
"Really, that was it?!" A relieved sigh came out. "No wonder you keep dodging us. One hit and you–"
Teddy could barely look up, but her eyes were no longer on him. Instead on some golden strands that gently fell to the ground. Her head snapped back to him, and her eyes were different; they couldn't have been red before. A wave of heat fell upon his body as she stomped over to him.
He was yanked up onto his feet. There was nothing he could do to stop her fists from drilling holes into him. First at his ribs, then his arms, all the while her screams of hatred rang his eardrums. With a final strike to the other side of his head, the force nearly ripped his head off his shoulders. She probably would've continued had it not been for the blood that he spat at her. All that anger she had was gone in an instant.
"Wait, he didn't… Oh shit…"
Even after all of that, not a single feeling could be felt. He fell to the ground, limp and unmoving. Perhaps his character had died and was unable to feel anything. No, that couldn't be right. He could still move his eyes and his fingers still twitched when he thought to move. But there was something. He felt a slight tickle on his skin that he couldn't tell where on his body it was located. Then slowly, it began to fill his body with a numb feeling, but not the one he knows. This one was tingling, like pins and needles across his body, across every part that this girl had hurt him.
That's when he realized what it was. She had given him so much damage to the point where the numbness felt more like an actual feeling. He could probably compare it to paradoxical cold—where touching something so hot it feels cold. While the feeling was strange and new and exciting, it wasn't what he was after.
More. I can almost feel it!
[Loading Quicksave…]
· · ·
As Yang reeled her fist back, his smile only became bigger, and his chest rose and fell a lot faster. He merely took a step to the side and slipped underneath her right hook. With her momentum carrying her forward, Yang had her back towards him.
In one quick motion, the knife was swiped across Yang. Her aura was up—it always was, that's how they've been trained to be—but over half of her hair fell to the ground. It was cut diagonally from slightly-above her right shoulder to below her left arm. The killer hopped back on one foot, and silently chuckled. Ruby brought forth her semblance to stop him. She can't hesitate now, she had to do something.
"You… You… YOU–!" Anger wouldn't begin to describe it, livid wouldn't either. Yang was truly alive.
"Yang, don't!" She was almost there, just within arms reach of tackling him to the ground to restrain him. But Ruby was thrown off course, and she crashed into the wall. Yang's semblance was out in full force; her hair—what was left of it—was on fire, and the force of it activating pushed everything that wasn't bolted to the ground away.
A roaring shout that echoed off the walls was all that signaled to him of her fast approach. This wasn't her trained hand-to-hand style, this was her unleashing everything she had just to hurt him. One after another, wide swings pushed the air around. But not him.
The thing about semblance usage is that it required aura—like gasoline to a car. Semblances can be used a little bit in order to make aura last, but using too much in such a short time can leave them weak.
And Yang was burning up all of it.
In the midst of her volley of punches, the killer grabbed onto her right wrist and threw her over himself onto the ground which knocked the air out of her. She winced in pain when the back of her head slammed against the ground. While still holding onto her, he stabbed her right arm by her elbow over and over again just like he did with Jaune. It wasn't as fast, but it still had that same power. Her aura shattered, and with it, the knife cut into her right arm by her elbow.
Yang was at the mercy of him. Ruby's heart stopped when the knife was aimed at her sister's throat. But before he could do anything, the weapon locker crashed at the very end of the alleyway on Ruby's side. The door opened up and revealed her Crescent Rose. He stopped, and Ruby expected him to change target to her, or maybe to run away. The knife moved away, and he let go of her. Both the killer and Ruby locked eyes. His mouth silently mouthed words that her mind filled in the blanks.
Go on, take it.
Ruby quickly used her semblance to shorten the distance to get her weapon. Feeling the handle of the bolt, and her finger around the trigger comforted her. She came back in, using the recoil of her shot and her semblance to get to him within a blink of an eye. Of course, he dodged it. She tried to get into a groove in order to beat him, and yet he still keeps dodging her every move. Worst of all, he's managing to sneak in his own hits against her as well. Each time the knife drags across her arms, it chips off pieces of her aura.
Eight hunters-in-training struggled to fight one person. It was embarrassing. At least most of them had the excuse of not being good in pure hand-to-hand combat. But now that Ruby had her Crescent Rose, a weapon that she made herself and practiced with consistently, what was her excuse? What was her reason why she couldn't stop him?
That feeling that she'd been ignoring for a long time came back. She had to accept it.
She wasn't good enough, and this monster, who took joy out of killing others, was better than her—better than all of them combined. Maybe that's why he always grinned, because he knew how infallible he was, how he could do anything he wanted and get away with it.
Why am I doing this? Why am I even trying to be a hero?
It was all so pointless.
· · ·
He knew the moment that everything clicked, he had achieved that familiar feeling. When every part of the brain is being used efficiently, there's no part of him that's worried about anything—not the stresses of life, not his opponent, not the environment around him, not the tactile sensations in response to his actions, not even the uncomfortable sweat that drenched his shirt in the real world. Because all that mattered was now.
That is what flow is.
Shows and movies like to portray this concentration like time slowing down, but that wasn't the case for Teddy. Time moved normally, maybe even faster than normal, and he was able to react at an unnatural pace.
He could feel his heart pulsate with rhythm throughout his entire body, and the shallow breaths his lungs took with a sharp hiss. In front of him was an opponent whose specialty was being fast. She swung that great, big mechanical scythe around her body like a red tornado. Each time it came around, he would step back and let it miss him by the skin of his teeth. He sees the intricate details and the mechanical parts that allow it to transform, as well as the rectangular end of the barrel. The air that was displaced by it rushed past him like he was standing at the edge of a highway.
When he reaches this state, two major things happen.
His mind does not think of any coherent thoughts, it merely acts in response to the slightest intentions of action. Dodge, and his body obeyed, making small, minor movements to avoid being hit. Each time he did so, the girl's face became more and more troubled, but it went unnoticed. Punch, and his left arm shoots out like a mechanical piston. The impact of his fist against the girl's jaw traveled to his elbow, which made its way to his shoulder, but it was barely felt. Stab, and his right hand fluidly slices through the air and cuts into the girl's aura. It felt good seeing a hunter despair, because he knew that he was winning this fight.
And most importantly, he becomes unstoppable. And when he's this good, what's the point in reloading?
Ruby's attacks were slowing down with every attack that landed. His speed and the amount of attacks that landed kept getting higher, and higher, and higher. Then with the knife, he shot it forward towards the girl's forearm no differently than the numerous times he did so before.
The knife broke, but so did her aura.
Her scythe falls to the ground, and so does she.
Teddy stood there almost dumbfounded for more than a second. There was no way that it just ended like that. There was no grand finisher, no… nothing. His opponent just felt like she gave up. But rather than let his guard down, he had his knife still up. The young girl before him simply rolled onto her side in pain. He looked at the others. They too were like her—defeated, and unable to fight.
It's… over? I won? To answer his question, a great shot of dopamine hits his head. How sweet it was; it never got old. A huff of air came out of his mouth.
[Quicksave Complete…]
Perhaps he gave hunters a lot more credit than they gave them for. Hunters may be difficult to fight, but they weren't impossible—they still obeyed the rules of the game like any other human character he's fought before. They can still be beaten and outsmarted.
His moment of jubilation came to a close when he heard his phone alarm go off. Those loud beeps that sounded off to his left ear, right where his bedside table should be. Three hours already? Then again, it did take a lot of time to get used to these fighters. Teddy supposed that since he's won already, he could save and quit here.
"What… are you saying?" A weak voice stopped him in his tracks. Teddy's eyes shot to the red-cloaked girl. She struggled to even move her head towards him. "What are you…?"
Teddy stared at her blankly. He hadn't said anything. Hesitantly, he held his hand to his chin, and found it moving in sync with the beeps of his alarm. It seemed impossible—no, improbable was more like it. Remnant: Grimmdark was an indie game; there was no way that the developers could have implemented a voice chat. And how was it picking up his sound? He was instantly reminded of that talk with Owen. On the opposite side of his bedroom, his microphone was still plugged in.
In the real world, he licked his lips and cleared his throat.
"You can hear me?" Even though he spoke clearly, the movement was incredibly subtle, but it confirmed it—his microphone picked it up and was transmitting it as an input.
Teddy would never get a response when Ren showed up, and he showed up packing. Could he have still taken him on? Absolutely. Could his character do so? No, his character was too exhausted, too slow to do the types of moves he would need to do to try to avoid bullets. It didn't help that police sirens were now audible.
"Ruby, we got your message about Weiss. She's okay; Nora's with her right now. We never planned on leaving it up to just your team, but we needed to wait for our weapon lockers to arrive." Ren gripped harder on his pistols when he turned back to Teddy. "Don't move."
Ruby was trying to sit upright while Ren stared him down. Thinking on his feet, Teddy throws the knife towards Ruby and turns on his heel. With that, Ren had two choices—shoot him and let the girl get hurt, or stop the knife and let him get away. As it would turn out, he chose the third option—both. He dove in front of the knife to stop it, with the blade pinging off his aura and clattering to the ground, while simultaneously firing the full-auto pistol in his off hand.
Teddy ducked low and covered his head as bullets sailed all around him. His run was more of a limping stumble out of the alleyway. He would have to find a place to lay low until things calm down. As much as victory against impossible odds felt great, he had a lot to explore with this new discovery.
— A/N —
This particular fight is less about Teddy and more about Ruby—since we all know it would end in Teddy's favor. If the fight at the docks made her want to fight him, then this first fight between the two showed her just how out of his league she is. Aftermath in the next chapter.
Honestly, I'm hoping that I made the result believable. I tried to provide enough justification as to why the students wouldn't be the ones to win this fight.
By the way, here's a fun little story: that part with Teddy not feeling anything until it slowly settled in is related to an experience I had with playing airsoft with some friends. I was wearing a mid-century Belgian army helmet that I got from a military-surplus store, and while I was behind cover taking shots at the enemy team, something happened on my left side. I turned around, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary; my teammate was still shooting back at them like nothing happened. He said some things, but it wasn't loud enough. That's when I realized I couldn't hear anything from my left ear—there was absolutely no sound, not even any ringing, like my left ear was muted. After a minute, the ringing in my ear started quiet and grew louder, and it lasted for a while. I think what happened was that a BB had hit the very edge of the helmet right next to my ear, and the sound was so loud that it just stopped my hearing for a bit. My hearing is still fine to this day, by the way.
As always, let me know if there's any errors, be it grammar or writing-wise.
Published: Mar. 2, 2023
