"NOW THAT THE SECOND FIGHT OF TODAY IS OVER, WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO THAN RAPIDLY GET RIGHT INTO THE THIRD ONE?"
The cacophonous audience already knew the answer to that, making that fact known via more loud excited roars. Now that the tournament's weaker links had been taken out, every match from the start of the quarterfinals to the eventual finals would be more intense than the last. So when the contestant whose guts and determination had previously been enough to push through fire and flames entered the scene, the crowd knew that their cheers would be rightfully placed.
"IN THE BLUE CORNER, THE RED FIEND MAKES HER ENTRANCE! BACK IN THE FIRST ROUND WE SAW HER DISMANTLE CONTESTANT INFERNO WITH A COMBINATION OF RAW STRENGTH, GRIT AND A PASSION FOR BATTLE THAT COULD BLOT OUT THE SUN! AND NOW SHE'S BACK TO PUT HER HAT IN THE RING AGAINST AN OPPONENT OF EQUAL STATURE! WILL SHE PROVE TO BE THE FASTEST GUN IN THE MULTIVERSE, OR WILL THE SUN SET ON HER JOURNEY? WELCOME BACK: CONTESTAAAANT ASHES!"
Ashes met the crowd's roars of admiration with some simple waving and flustered laughter, her smiling face hiding her more conflicted thoughts. Sure, she was good at what she did, but was she really worth this much cheering? Although the audience didn't take notice of her modest reservation; they just saw a likeable warrior who knew how to put on a show. One that was quite easy on the eyes to boot.
"AND IN THE RED CORNER, IT'S THE RETURN OF THE GENIUS BRUISER! WE'VE ALREADY SEEN HER USE A COMBINATION OF PURE MUSCLE STRENGTH, EXTREME BRILLIANCE AND INVENTIVENESS TO TAKE DOWN CONTESTANT MOLLY! AND NEXT UP ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK IS THE RED FIEND OF UNIVERSE 7! WILL SHE FIND A BREAKTHROUGH AND BREAK THROUGH HER FOE, OR WILL SHE BE SENT BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD?
SHE'S BACK: CONTESTAAAANT ABIGAIL!"
Abigail was met by a similar reception and responded in more or less the same way, albeit with less uncertainty and more overall friendliness. One look into her psyche would tell you that performance issues were not a part of it, although there was some annoyance regarding the crowd's borderline mindless admiration for everyone that so much as set foot on the battlefield. But that part was small enough for the Half-Orc to put aside as she came face to face with the surprisingly humble tiefling.
"Well then, we haven't had the time to properly meet, huh? I suppose right before a big fight to the finish is as good a time as any! I'm Abigail, but please call me Abby! Nice to meet you, and let's make this a good one!" the inventor laughed while holding out her hand.
Her soon-to-be opponent chuckled a little, before firmly grabbing Abigail's hand with her own. Proving herself as one of the few people who could endure the Half-Orc's handshake without wincing as she did so.
"Haha, you ain't wrong! Well howdy, the name's Ashes! Let's make this a scrap to remember, out and out!" the farmgirl wholeheartedly responded.
And with that, both fighters turned around to get into position. For a moment, Abigail was left dumbfounded. She had understood roughly half of what Ashes had said through that rural accent - was she speaking some strange variant of Common? But as the tense arena fell silent in anticipation, so did Abigail's questions. Now was the time to get serious, not to puzzle over an interdimensional Tiefling's vocabulary. And judging by her sharp glare and focused body language, it was clear Ashes was thinking more or less the same thing.
All that was left was to signal the start of the match. A signal that right now cut through the still air across the arena.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"BEGIN!"
[KABOOOM!]
Ashes started off the match with a quick draw of her revolver. Less than two seconds after the explosion had rung out she'd already fired two lead bullets towards her opponent. But while the projectiles did hit Abigail dead-on, they failed to pierce her skin. Because the Half-Orc's quick reflexes had enabled her to get up a Shield spell in time, completely protecting her from harm. And she was fully intent on preventing Ashes from making another attempt, rushing towards the Tiefling with all the speed her ponderous legs could muster.
Abigail had kept a close eye on Ashes during the latter's fight with Inferno. She thus knew that despite her enormous frame and remarkable skill at close range, she seemed to be most comfortable using the firearm. Which meant that must've been her main weapon. And while Ashes was almost certainly the more skilled of the two in terms of melee combat, Abigail estimated herself to have the edge in strength and durability. So since the inventor didn't have much in the way of ranged combat, that factor would have to be enough. Thus she was now closing the distance between her and her opponent, putting all her weight behind a heavy shoulder tackle.
The Tiefling put back her gun in its holster almost as fast as she'd drawn it. The ol' six-shooter clearly wasn't enough to break through that magic barrier, and by the time it was gone Abigail would be right up in her face. So the brawny farmgirl answered the mechanic in kind; she put her trust in her own remarkable bulk, bracing herself to meet the Half-Orc's shoulder bash with one of her own. More than 270 kg of collective muscle was about to collide with each other.
[BAROOM!]
The resulting impact would've been enough to bowl over almost anybody else. But despite taking a full-force hit from an almost 7 feet tall musclebound behemoth, Ashes had only been pushed back a little with nothing more than an aching shoulder. While grinning like a lunatic from what seemed like sheer elation. Not what Abigail had been expecting, at least if her somewhat perturbed expression was to be believed. From her own calculations and observations she had the edge over the farmgirl in not just intelligence, but also physical strength and weight. Ashes should have been knocked backwards by that tackle, but here she was - matching it almost perfectly. Abigail formed a subtle grin; it seemed like the two were much more evenly matched than she first thought. Maybe this wouldn't be so straightforward after all.
"Phew, you sure hit like an all-fired rockslide! I'd better step up my game if I wanna get out of this in one piece!" Ashes exclaimed.
The two fighters glared into the other's eyes, both filled with a steadily rising fighting spirit. All the while pushing back against each other in order to break the stalemate. And eventually it did break, but not before Abigail responded to the Tiefling's statement.
"Please do! It would be a shame if this ended without both of us showing all we've got!"
Realising that this tug of war could go on forever, both women simultaneously ceased their pushing before jumping backwards to create some distance. Now they were ready to fight for real. As if to signify this, Ashes grabbed ahold of her black longcoat and threw it to the side in one hefty motion. Seeing as her opponent didn't look to be about to rush at her at the moment, she took a second to stretch her body before drawing her shortsword and shield. In the meantime, Abigail scrambled through the subspace that was her backpack in order to find and pull out her sturdy warhammer. Almost as soon as the bag was returned to its spot on her back, the inventor started running towards her foe with the hammer to her side. Ashes didn't move an inch, instead slamming her shield with the hilt of her sword; daring the Half-Orc to bring her A game. Something Abigail was very much planning to do.
"THE CLASH OF TITANS STARTS OFF WITH A COLLISION WHICH ALMOST SHAKES THE EARTH, AND FROM THE LOOKS OF IT THAT WAS JUST THE WARMUP! SO NOW THAT THE GLOVES ARE OFF AND THE WEAPONS ARE OUT, THIS FIGHT WILL ONLY GET MORE INTENSE! LET'S HOW MUCH FURTHER THESE POWERHOUSES CAN TAKE THINGS!"
Abigail went in for the offensive first. With as much force as she could muster, she swung the ponderous hammerhead towards Ashes' right leg. But a weapon that clunky was anything but fast; the Tiefling easily avoided it by simply taking a step backward. She went in for a counterattack with her sword, and unlike her opponent's hammer strike this attack connected. The Half-Orc let out a pained grunt as the blade slashed her upper left arm, and although the resulting cut wasn't serious it still hurt like hell. Ashes tried to follow up with another slash to the opposite arm, but was stopped by a sudden slam to her stomach. Abigail had recovered enough to bash the gunslinger with the top of her hammer, knocking the air out of her long enough for Abigail to land a solid uppercut right in Ashes' lower jaw.
With her opponent being sent reeling, the bulky mechanic once again tried to slam her robust weapon into the Tiefling's left shoulder. But instead of flesh and bone, the hammerhead smashed into wood and steel. At the last moment, Ashes had managed to put up her shield in the way of the warhammer. And now her foe was wide open. With a sharp battlecry, she plunged her shortsword into Abigail's midsection. But while the strike did draw blood and the inventor was clearly in pain, the attack hadn't accomplished much else. Ashes hadn't been able to put that much power into it, with her having to focus on blocking the hammer and all. Which gave Abigail the opening she needed to get in a quick bash into the left side of her opponent's torso. With the same result as every other attack dealt in the match so far; a pained reaction, but not much else.
"Ugh, this is going nowhere. I'll need to get in a big hit if I want to gain an advantage here!" the Half-Orc thought to herself.
As soon as she'd finished that thought, the head of her warhammer began to glow a bright orange light with what appeared to be steam rising from it. If a few regular bashes wouldn't do the job, then perhaps one big bash enhanced by the Branding Smite spell would. And so accompanied by a bellowing war cry, the inventor reared the white-hot weapon back to strike at her opponent. A look of concern, perhaps a hint of panic, took root in Ashes' face - at this range, she wouldn't be able to fully dodge in time. She only had one option, and even that wasn't guaranteed to be safe. The farmgirl gritted her teeth as she braced herself for impact.
[KABRAMMM!]
Despite the thundering strike smashing into her with enough force to create a bright shockwave and crack the ground beneath her, Ashes' arm was left intact. Aching tremendously from the shock, but still intact. The same could not be said of her shield, however. She'd managed to put it in the way of the hammer at the last moment, but the enhanced weapon had completely smashed it into tens of tiny pieces that were now scattered on the ground beneath her. Her trusted defensive tool was gone. But she could mourn the loss later - Abigail was left completely open after that wide blunt swing. Without warning, the beefy farmgirl lunged out to grab her opponent's weapon with both of her hands. The Half-Orc appeared a bit surprised at this sudden assault, but regardless she did not let go. The two warriors were now tugging back and forth for control of the warhammer, neither side putting in anything less than their utmost effort.
"Hnngh… you're gonna regret that, ya big strapper! If you're gonna smash my shield, then I'm gonna go ahead and even the odds!" the Tiefling snarled.
But despite her bravado, the only reaction she'd garnered from Abigail was an unimpressed stare. Slowly but surely the stalemate began to break; Ashes found herself struggling a lot more than her opponent.
"Oh yeah? Go ahead and try then!" the mechanic grunted.
Despite the contestants' similarly tremendous physiques, it became clearer and clearer who the stronger one was. Ashes found herself realising the uncomfortable truth - she couldn't overpower Abigail. If this kept up then the Half-Orc would eventually regain control of her warhammer, with the only thing Ashes having managed to do being to tire herself out in vain. So the farmgirl decided to change tactics; if she couldn't wrestle away the weapon with brute force, then maybe she could with a classic feint. One that Abigail, with her different biology, wouldn't expect.
Without warning, Ashes lunged her tail out towards the inventor's right leg. The thick appendage wasn't flexible enough to completely wrap itself around its target, but it was enough to grab ahold of it. And before the surprised Abigail could react, the Tiefling pulled with all the might that her tail could muster. The trick worked - the Half-Orc completely lost her balance. And her grip on the weapon along with it. The farmgirl now found herself staggering backward with a heavy warhammer in hand, but despite her opponent being left wide open she did not opt to attack. Instead Ashes hurled the hammer as far behind her as she could. She had never been trained to use a warhammer after all; it was better to keep it away from Abigail instead of fumbling around trying to use it against her.
"WHAT A COMPETITION OF SHEER MUSCLE POWER! CONTESTANTS ASHES AND ABIGAIL'S TUG OF WAR FOR CONTROL OF THE LATTER'S WARHAMMER ENDS WITH A SUCCESSFUL FEINT FROM THE FORMER! WITH A SWORD STILL IN HAND AND WHAT SEEMS LIKE THE BETTER CONDITION, IT LOOKS LIKE CONTESTANT ASHES HAS THE ADVANTAGE! BUT FOR HOW LONG CAN SHE HOLD ON TO IT? DOES CONTESTANT ABIGAIL STILL HAVE A HIDDEN ACE IN THE HOLE?"
Both sides were beginning to show signs of exhaustion, either due to their decreasing stamina or the wounds they'd amassed so far. And with this last contest of strength, they were back to square one. Neither Ashes or Abigail were making a move; they needed to form a new plan of attack.
As if in response to their thoughts, the ground beneath them suddenly began to rumble. And once more hidden hatches began to open up to reveal several sturdy walls of concrete. In other words, some welcome cover. Both fighters threw themselves behind the barriers closest to them, their enormous frames preventing them from taking any other position than laying on their sides without leaving themselves open. And then, tense silence. The mind of a rural farmer and the mind of a genius inventor, otherwise almost nothing alike, were both focusing on creating a plan to best the other.
About 20 metres away from the competition, most of the other contestants were watching on with varying levels of interest. Some, like Prime or Root, were cheering as loud as they could for their respective friend to win. Others like John or Gameron clearly didn't have anything better to do other than to drowsily follow the action. And at least two of them found their thoughts drifting completely elsewhere.
Right now, the heated clash between Ashes and Abigail was the last thing on Pulse's mind. Ever since the young Drow had realised that she'd be fighting Vuzrak - her long lost dad - in the next round her turbulent thoughts had been all over the place. Just seeing him turn up after having been dead since she was a newborn, even as a spirit, was difficult enough to process. What do you even say when you're suddenly face to face with one of your closest relatives for the first time in 19 years? One that claims to have saved you from certain death? And now you're forced to address this, and on a battlefield no less? Pulse was, to put it lightly, very much troubled.
The elven genius needed something to distract her from her own thoughts, but no matter how much she tried to focus on the match in front of her it was to no avail. She quickly glanced around the stands; anyone there she knew? But that idea didn't get far - Abigail was out fighting, Alva was busy watching the match with Molly and the others she didn't know in the slightest. Other than Vuzrak, but for obvious reasons he was out of the question. But eventually her eyes fell on the one person who she might've been able to talk to. The Drow quickly scooted over towards her possible friend, or at the very least possible acquaintance.
"So uh… what's on your mind, big fella?" Pulse stiffly asked.
The Drow could feel herself heat up - both from the sudden regret of her botched delivery and from the high temperature of the unmoving construct beside her. But the robot known as Inferno didn't seem to care. They simply looked down towards Pulse, as if simply acknowledging her presence. And to the inventor's surprise they proceeded to answer her question.
"Response: Currently, I am processing my emotions regarding Ashes of Universe 7. My cranial unit has reported the expected feeling of disappointment in my own performance, but one point still remains unanticipated: I cannot help but generate the feeling of gratitude towards my former opponent."
"Gratitude? What… do you mean?" the bewildered Pulse responded.
She hadn't really expected an answer, and definitely not such a direct one. At least it had had the effect she was hoping for - her own turmoil was temporarily forgotten in favour of this remarkable metal being's statement.
"Continuation: Approximately 19 hours and 54 minutes ago, Contestant Ashes approached me to proclaim her thoughts about my combat performance" the automaton continued.
"Upon my loss to her in the first round, my systems declared that I had failed my main mission parameters as a protector of my home dimension. But she dismissed those calculations. She told me that even if this particular battle ended in failure, my performance as a defender was still at an optimal level. That I 'had not failed anyone, pardner', as she worded it. She is the one responsible for restoring my emotional state from their lowest recorded measurements."
"She said all that, huh. Sounds like she knows how to put a mind at ease" the fascinated Drow sighed.
Inferno wasn't done yet, however. As they went through their experience with the big-hearted Tiefling, a hint of happiness could be noted in their otherwise monotone voice.
"Conclusion: Affirmative. The fact that her viewpoint of me was confirmed as genuinely favourable merely solidifies that. If she is capable of maintaining a positive outlook of me despite my defects, even after a decisive battle, then so am I. Especially since she has had no experience regarding me beforehand" the robot stated, their unmoving face fixating on the weary Tiefling down on the battlefield.
"And what about you, Pulse Cadwalader of Universe 1? What is your current thought process?"
Pulse could feel a weight lift from her shoulder, almost as if pieces of a puzzle had been beginning to fall together in her mind. All this time she had been dreading seeing her dad for the first time, especially since she'd now ended up needing to fight him. But here was Inferno, someone who'd essentially done the exact thing that she had wanted to avoid; stood right in front of an opponent they knew nothing of. And even if the robot had much less of a connection to Ashes than Pulse had to Vuzrak, their recollection of their experience with the farmgirl of Universe 7 was enough to open the Drow's eyes. She just needed to face this dilemma head on, ignore all the difficulties if she had to. And with this story in mind she felt like that wasn't an impossible outcome anymore. Not to mention that this was, after all, her dad it was about. If there was anyone who wouldn't have any hard feelings about her conflicted emotions, it was him.
"Same as you I suppose, big fella. Same as you" the smiling inventor replied.
And two rows of seats above the unlikely duo, a set of long pointed ears had overheard the whole thing. While Vuzrak didn't say anything, his newfound sense of clarity and relief couldn't be concealed - it was written all over him. Maybe this upcoming fight could end up with a good outcome after all. But right as he finished his train of thought, all sets of eyes in the watching area once again became fixated on the field in front of them. Something was finally happening again.
For the last minute or so both Abigail and Ashes had been cautiously watching eachother, waiting for the other to make a move. And as the concrete walls suddenly sank back into the ground, the one who ended up making that move was Abigail. The burly Half-Orc suddenly thrusted her right arm forward as if throwing a ball, but the thing that was thrown through the air wasn't anything as simple as a rubbery toy. This was a thick blob of dark yellow liquid, not too visually unlike motor oil: The Grease spell. Seeing this, the somewhat eased Ashes simply took a small step backward. Abigail had used this move in her fight against Molly after all; this was a spell meant to make the ground slippery, not to be used as a direct attack. But only a second after finishing this thought, the Tiefling came to regret it. Because the approaching mucky blob was only inches away from her face.
[SPLASH!]
A disgusted clamour surged through the stands as the surprised Ashes was covered from head to toe in a yellow oily solution. The farmgirl hadn't been hurt in the slightest, but the cold liquid all over her body and the powerful smell of motor oil was enough to gross her out something fierce. To the point that she lost focus on Abigail in order to try and get as much of the grease off of her as possible. Which she quickly did - her clothes remained drenched and messy and she was still smelling pretty terrible, but at least most of the fluid had been shaken off. Just in time for her to spot another projectile rapidly coming her way.
"OOF, DISTRACTIONS DON'T COME MUCH MORE DISGUSTING THAN THAT! CONTESTANT ABIGAIL BREAKS THE STANDOFF BY LOBBING A THICK BALL OF GREASE STRAIGHT ONTO CONTESTANT ASHES' FACE, ALL TO GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO SWITCH WEAPONS! THAT IS CERTAINLY AN… EFFECTIVE TACTIC!"
Ashes narrowly moved to the side in time before the thick iron-tipped javelin could hit her. Abigail sported a wide smile - so far, so good. She'd figured that a straightforward mind such as Ashes' wouldn't have expected a spell like Grease to be used as offence, and since the Tiefling had backed right into the point of impact her guess had been entirely correct. Which had given the mechanic all the time she needed to pull out her second weapon from the backpack. One that had an extra surprise built into it. And given how her opponent was currently reaching for her revolver, now was probably a good time to reveal said surprise.
"Tch… now you're throwing a stinkin' blob of muck at me? Well that ain't gonna help you for lo- ARGGH!"
The farmgirl felt a surge of pain as something sharp brushed through the side of her right leg, interrupting her attempt to make a threatening remark. The damage wasn't anything major, but it was enough to open a nasty wound and shock her to the point of falling over. And it didn't take long to see where it had come from. Ashes looked on in awe as the javelin magically flew back to Abigail's hand on its own, its edge covered in a spot of dark red blood. Ashes' blood. But this wasn't enough to stop the Tiefling for long, if at all. Before she even hit the ground, she had aimed her loaded firearm towards her wide open foe. And half a second after that she had pulled the trigger.
[BANG!]
Finally one of the gunslinger's bullets hit their target, and unlike against the metal-plated Inferno it actually caused some notable damage. Abigail loudly gasped in pain as she clutched her bleeding left leg; the bullet had lodged itself in her thigh, and while she was tough enough to not lose the use of it she was still sent reeling. No more running or jumping with that leg, that was certain. Luckily for her, her plan didn't require anything like that. All she needed was the elaborate harness strapped onto her back beneath her backpack, pulled out and equipped while Ashes had been shaking off the grease. A harness which was currently starting to hum louder and louder as twin streams of smoke rose from two exhaust points.
"Hnngh… nice shot, I'll give you that. That gun of yours is quite effective. But when we're talking about mechanical contraptions, mine are far beyond even your wildest imaginations!" the inventor boasted.
As soon as her sentence had concluded, the entrapped audience watched in amazement as the harness unfolded. Two thick metal poles, each one about as long as Abigail herself, emerged from both sides of the contraption's base. A thin hatch opened up from their bottom side, followed by two thin sheets of steel plating generating from within them before settling into the shape of wings. And as two small rockets mounted on the back of the harness began to shoot out streams of magical flame, Ashes watched on in a mix of awe and bewilderment. She'd been through a multitude of strange things in her day, from fighting spiders the size of elephants to witnessing people come back from the dead. But despite this she'd never expected to see a Half-Orc take flight.
"This, my trigger-happy friend, is my latest big invention. Rocket thrusters strong enough to effortlessly lift even someone my size high into the air, yet tuned enough to turn on a silver piece. Stabilisers built in the shape of the extinct - at least in my universe, don't know about yours - pterosaur. All with the same material cost as a set of regular steel armour. I was originally gonna call them simply Wings of Flying, but then my kid came up with a much better idea. Allow me to present the key to my victory: the Wings of Iron!" Abigail shouted down towards Ashes.
Once again the mechanic found herself monologuing about the details of her inventions, but right now she didn't care. The odds were in her favour and she knew it. All she needed to do was to make sure her opponent emptied her gun's magazine, and then she'd be out of ranged options. But first there was the matter of the pounding pain in her leg that needed to be taken care of, preferably before Ashes got the idea to attempt another shot.
As if reading Abigail's mind, the Tiefling lept towards her gun which had fallen onto the ground following her tumble. But the Half-Orc wasn't about to just let her do that - she once again threw the hefty javelin, trying her best to ignore the pain of her bullet wound. Her aim wasn't the greatest, but it was good enough for the weapon to land straight in front of Ashes. Causing the latter to stagger enough to drop her firearm again. With her foe on the ground without a weapon, Abigail took the chance to heal up a bit. Her left hand became surrounded by a faint green light, and as she clutched her wound with it she could feel the pain begin to subdue. By the time Ashes had gotten back to her feet, the mechanic had managed to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. Upon seeing this, the gunslinger simply gave off a deep annoyed sigh.
"By gum, now I'll have to nail you again! And I don't give a damn about your contraptions, all I care about is taking you down!" Ashes shouted up towards her airborne opponent.
Most of the confidence behind her words was genuine, but behind them was a carefully hidden sense of doubt. The Tiefling was down to her last three bullets, and if she hadn't brought Abigail down to earth before those ran out then her chances of victory looked slim. She needed to end this soon. So Ashes pointed her revolver up towards the smug inventor again, and moments later a loud bang signalled that her fourth bullet had left the barrel. And moments after that a familiar blue glow signalled that Abigail had successfully negated any damage it could've dealt. By now Ashes had really come to dislike that Shield spell.
"FOLKS, IT LOOKS THIS FIGHT IS ENTERING ITS FINAL STAGE! CONTESTANT ABIGAIL TAKES TO THE SKIES WITH A MARVELLOUS WINGED JETPACK, LEAVING CONTESTANT ASHES STUCK ON THE GROUND WITH NOTHING BUT AN ALMOST EMPTY GUN TO RELY ON! BUT WE'VE SEEN THE MOST UNCANNY COMEBACKS HAPPEN IN THIS TOURNAMENT BEFORE; CAN IT HAPPEN AGAIN? OR IS THIS IT FOR THE RED FIEND?"
Now unbothered by having a lead bullet lodged into her thigh, Abigail went on the offensive. She held out her hand towards the grounded javelin, summoning it back to her hand while narrowly missing Ashes on the way. Then as soon as it was back in her grip she threw it again. Ashes sidestepped it once more, and it got recalled just like the previous times. Then another attempt. And another. And yet another. Over and over the flying Half-Orc threw the weapon towards her opponent with as much force as she could, and while she failed to hit the mark she did force Ashes to keep moving around. But eventually the Tiefling made a crucial discovery.
For every throw, the javelin sailed through the air slower than the last one. That, coupled with Abigail's heavy sweating and uneven breathing, told the farmgirl what she needed - her foe was tiring out. With a confident smile on her face, Ashes began to form yet another battle plan: Keep moving around until Abigail became slow enough that she could land her final two bullets. A simple plan, but hopefully enough to win this fight. All she needed to do now was to keep avoiding that jav-
[TCHUNK!]
Another stunned gasp surged through the audience as a steady stream of blood flowed out of Ashes' stomach. The Tiefling could only stagger in place as her mind processed what had just happened, until eventually her wide-open eyes moved their gaze towards her midsection. Sure enough, there it was; a metre-long javelin lodged deep inside her abdomen. It was about then that the shock subsided to give way for a ferocious pain.
"Gnnngh…!"
Despite the agony she was in, Ashes forced herself to maintain her composure. If she lost that, then Abigail would've already won. The burly farmgirl gritted her teeth as she stomped down on the ground to stop herself from reeling - if there ever was a time that she needed that trademark moxie of hers, it was now. She would ignore even the most excruciating pain and damage until the brawl was won, never surrendering to even the most overwhelming enemies. That was just who she was.
The onlooking Abigail could barely believe her eyes as she stared at her steadfast opponent. What was this Tiefling made of? What would it take to make her give in? The hulking mechanic was so stunned at the sight that she didn't even notice Ashes reaching for her gun. But eventually she did. And by then it was too late.
[BANG!]
Abigail let out a loud gasp as the bullet struck her square in the chest. The projectile hadn't hit any vital organs and thus wasn't a mortal wound, but it did result in quite a lot of red blood exiting her body. But while the Half-Orc was clearly writhing in agony, she too gritted her teeth to ignore it; she'd handled a gunshot wound mere moments before, and so she could do it again. Which was definitely a good thing given how she was currently out of magic after all the Shield spells and healing. But right as Abigail returned her gaze towards Ashes, her eyes shot wide open once again. Because Ashes had one bullet left in the barrel, and she was right about to use it.
"Heh. Made ya look!"
[BANG!]
For a brief second, Abigail was left shocked. The pain she'd been expecting never came - the bullet had missed her. But as she felt a rapidly rising heat from right behind her accompanied by the sound of a stuttering engine, the Half-Orc realised what the gunshot had actually struck. Ashes had hit exactly what she'd aimed at.
"Oh. Fuck, that's not go-"
Before she could even finish her sentence, the flying mechanic lost all semblance of control over her motions. The Wings of Iron only had two major exhaust ports, so when the left one broke down so did the harness' stability and balance. Abigail was left uncontrollably rocketing around the arena, leaving Ashes somewhat dumbfounded on the ground; that had been a remarkably accurate shot, even for her standards. The Tiefling had intended to merely bring her opponent back down to solid ground by destroying her harness, so this wild zooming around was merely a bonus. Eventually however, the wings directed their wearer downwards. Finally bringing Abigail right back to where Ashes wanted her.
[BRAKOOOM!]
The tense crowd focused their eyes on the crash site, eagerly waiting for the dust to clear so they could see if Abigail was still in the fight. And after several long seconds they could all see something move. The Half-Orc staggered to her feet, covered in bruises, dirt and one hell of a graze on her left shoulder where she'd collided with the ground. The Wings of Iron laid discarded on the ground, completely busted and unusable. But despite all the damage and exhaustion, Abigail was still standing. Although one look at her made it obvious that wouldn't remain the case for long.
About 12 metres away from the heaving inventor, her opponent wasn't much better off. Ashes was notably tired and wounded herself, not to mention the large javelin still stuck in her abdomen. Both sides knew it; this would be over very soon. It was about time to wrap this up.
With a confident smile on her face, Ashes suddenly grabbed a hold of the javelin embedded in her with both hands. And with a hefty grunt she started to bend it. The sturdy wooden weapon creaked loudly as it began to fracture - almost as loud as Ashes' groans and screams of pain. But she didn't let up. And finally, almost 10 seconds later, the javelin violently snapped in two. Half of it still lodged in the farmgirl's stomach, but the other half was now thrown to the ground. With the large hindering stick now taken care of, the heaving Tiefling glared straight into her opponent's eyes.
"Well now, seems it's all come down to this. No more gizmos or weapons, just your tuckered out guns against mine. So what d'ya say, partner? Wanna finish this?" Ashes proclaimed.
Judging by Abigail's white-hot glare, it was clear she was thinking the exact same thing. This fight had gone on for long enough, and both sides were on their last legs - this next attack would decide everything. Just one more punch, that's all it would take. And so they began to move. First a single steadfast step. Then two more. Then several more, until both fighters were sprinting towards each other with thundering strides.
Two immense muscular right arms tensed up as their owners closed the distance more and more. And then, time seemed to stop for a moment as the two women reached the arena centre. The audience were at the edge of their seats. Googlorp was, for once, silent. Abigail and Ashes simply glared at the other, each one knowing that only one of them would make it out of this. It was in that moment, that moment of anticipation, that their final attacks connected.
[WHAM!]
For 5 long seconds, there was no movement to be made from anyone in the arena. Both Abigail and Ashes stood completely still, their fists planted firmly in the other's cheek. There wasn't even a groan of pain from either of them. But eventually, one fighter faltered. A loud thud broke the silence as Ashes toppled face-first into the ground.
The Tiefling had recklessly thrown herself forward when attacking, having only been held up by her opponent's fist over the last few moments. And since Abigail lowered her arm, there was nothing to keep Ashes standing any longer. There was only one fighter left standing - the fight was over.
Just like at the end of all the previous fights, a small cap-wearing fairy flew over to start the knockout countdown. He buzzed around Ashes' fallen form as if to confirm her defeat, before eventually raising his arm to announce it to all. But he didn't start the countdown. Because he was interrupted by two short words from the battered Half-Orc standing to his right.
"Huh. Godsdammit."
The gaping onlooking crowd stared in amazement as Abigail fell on her back with a huge thud. The understandably surprised judge quickly shifted his focus towards the fallen mechanic, and with one look her state was confirmed - she was completely unconscious. That last blow had knocked not only the living daylights out of her, but what little remained of her stamina as well. But what about her likewise fallen opponent? The winged referee got his answer as a gasp went through the audience, causing him to turn around towards the farmgirl. Ashes was slowly rising to her feet.
"What… f-finished already? 'Cause I can keep going all d-day!" the Tiefling stuttered, finishing her sentence by spitting out a bloody tooth.
She was bruised, bleeding and awfully tired, but she didn't seem to care. Her fists were still put up in front of her, clearly ready to keep fighting if she needed to. But her still opponent clearly wasn't. The battle was over for real this time, and all that was left was to announce it to the shocked crowd. So the referee quickly cleared his throat and began the countdown; just for a different contestant than he'd thought.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
"6!"
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"K.O!"
"DAMN, WHAT A FINISH! THAT FINAL CROSS-COUNTER PUNCH LOOKED BRUTAL, BUT IN THE END CONTESTANT ABIGAIL WAS THE ONE TO REMAIN STANDING - OR SO WE THOUGHT! BUT THE ONE WHO RETAINED CONSCIOUSNESS AND TOOK THE WIN WAS CONTESTANT ASHES! THE RED FIEND OF UNIVERSE 7 PROVED TO BE THE STRONGEST!"
The weary Tiefling crashed down on her behind as the audience broke out in loud cheers yet again, all the while smiling and shaking her head. That little slimy fella got it all wrong. She hadn't won because she was stronger than Abigail - it had all been a question of stamina. While the Half-Orc had been physically more powerful, she'd also been worn down much quicker than the more resilient Ashes. She had simply won because her opponent burned out faster. Although the fact that she was a trained fighter while Abigail wasn't certainly helped matters too. Regardless of the reason, the fight was finally over. And judging by her steadily widening grin, the winner had had one hell of a good time.
It didn't take long for the healing field to light up the battlefield once again. As the shimmering white light covered every inch of the arena, Ashes could feel her battle damage disappear. The broken javelin was pushed out from the regenerating stomach wound, her many bruises were evened out and her cracked bones healed up. The farmgirl was even treated to the weird sensation of having her broken tooth flying back into its socket good as new. Meanwhile, Abigail was slowly regaining consciousness. The damage from the gunshot disappeared, her stab wounds closed up and the nasty graze on her shoulder evened out. By the time the healing field was gone she was fully awake and back to full health.
"Hnngh… so this is as far as I'll go, huh? Not gonna lie, this is pretty disappointing" Abigail muttered as Ashes came up to her.
The Half-Orc let out a big sigh - right now, her frustration was written all over her face. She'd just started to get into this whole thing, and then all of a sudden her turn in the spotlight was over. And while she admitted to herself that it sounded selfish, she couldn't help but want just a bit more. The bummed-out inventor took a deep breath as she stood up, before reaching out her hand towards Ashes.
"But I don't think this is the time to mope around. You beat me, and that's that. Thanks for this whole thing, and best of luck in the semifinals! If you just hit whoever you end up facing with everything you gave against me, then you'll be in the finals in no time!" Abigail said as she firmly shook the gunslinger's hand.
Ashes was still grinning from ear to ear. She enthusiastically shook the Half-Orc's massive hand, before bursting out in a small fit of delighted laughter.
"By gum, you're one of the most entertaining strappers I've ever scrapped with! I'll make sure to give 'em a few hits in from you too!" the Tiefling laughed.
With this, the contestants let go of each other to go pick up their scattered tools and leave the battlefield. But as they turned around, Ashes called over to Abigail one more time.
"Let's do this again sometime! Brawls like these don't come around often, after all!"
Abigail looked back towards her former foe with an agreeing smile on her. With a quick but robust nod, she answered the Tiefling's proposal.
"You're on, buddy! Loser buys the other drinks, alright?"
"AND WITH THAT, LET'S GIVE SOME BIG THANKS TO CONTESTANT ABIGAIL FOR HER HERCULEAN PERFORMANCE! AND LET'S CONGRATULATE CONTESTANT ASHES FOR HER VIGOROUS VICTORY! BUT NOW, WE HAVE FINALLY REACHED THE FINAL BOUT OF TODAY: THE LAST QUARTERFINAL! IT'S TIME TO SEE WHOEVER WILL TAKE THE FOURTH AND FINAL SPOT IN THE SEMIFINALS! WHO WILL WIN: THE DEVOUT FATHER OR THE INGENIOUS DAUGHTER? WE'LL FIND OUT SOON, SO STAY TUNED!"
In the blue corner's waiting room, a certain Drow cleric was preparing himself for arguably the most important encounter of his afterlife. Vuzrak had only kept as much focus on the battle as he needed to; the rest had gone to building up his composure. He'd been envisioning the upcoming confrontation in his head from every angle he could think of, even reciting out loud some of the things he really wanted to get said. By now he couldn't be more ready if he tried. All that was left was to get out there and face his daughter - the panic and despair he'd felt a mere day ago was all but gone. But right as the cleric finished his mental preparations, he heard footsteps coming from the arena corridor. It appeared as the previous contestants had left the stage.
Ashes entered the simple waiting room, her longcoat slung over her shoulder and her freshly restored shield in her right hand. She looked over towards the room's only other occupant, politely nodding towards him as she passed by.
"Hiya, mister! Good luck out there!" the muscular farmgirl chirped.
Even if she didn't really know the guy, her rural upbringing had taught her to be as kind as she could towards everyone. A simple hello could end up making someone's day after all.
"Thank you, miss! Congratulations on that win of yours too!" Vuzrak cheerfully responded.
In a way, he really wanted to thank Ashes for unknowingly helping him with his family dilemma. But he decided not to - she'd simply helped Inferno during their fight, which had led to them helping Pulse which in turn had indirectly helped Vuzrak. It was a bit too far-fetched for him to directly thank her, especially since all it would do would be to leave her confused. So instead he simply gave her a quick wave as she left the room, before turning to head out to the battlefield. And with one more deep breath, he was as ready as he could ever be.
"Alright then, time to go out there and be a dad!"
Meanwhile in the red corner's waiting room, Pulse was wrestling with her reemerging doubts. The talk with Inferno earlier had helped her come to terms with the prospect of fighting her long-lost father, but now that she was only moments away from it her anxious qualms came back in full force. What was she even supposed to say? She didn't even know what she thought about him! The only thing she did know was that she didn't hate him; being dead was about as valid of an excuse to be missing from your daughter's entire life that you could have, after all. But she still didn't know if she liked him yet. And above all she had no clue what he thought about her either.
"Ah, hi there Pulse! Good to see you!"
The Drow quickly turned her head towards the cheerful robust voice addressing her. Abigail had just entered the room, fresh from her quarterfinals bout and pleased to run into her fellow artificer. But although Pulse was glad to see a friendly face, she wasn't in any mental shape to show it.
"Oh, hi Abby. Nice to see you too" the elven inventor half-heartedly responded.
Abigail had been about to wish her friend luck in her upcoming fight, but even she could see that something wasn't as it should be. She slowly walked over towards Pulse, a hint of worry creeping up on her face.
"Something wrong? You look concerned" the Half-Orc asked.
Pulse clearly hadn't been ready for that question, at least if her surprised expression was anything to go by. Normally she'd simply respond that she was fine and change the subject, but right now she definitely needed to ventilate a little. Besides, Abigail seemed like the type who'd be perfectly eager to lend an ear.
"I… look, I can give you the quick version. You sure you wanna hear it?" Pulse asked, still wanting to 100% confirm Abigail's willingness to hear her out before spilling the beans.
"Absolutely. You can tell me, I won't spread it" Abigail responded. She sat down right beside the troubled elf, not moving a muscle as she focused entirely on her.
"It's about my dad out there. He's been dead for as long as I can remember, then he just shows up out of nowhere to fight in the same weird tournament as me. All the while claiming that he saved me from certain death as a newborn - from my real mom, of all things - by taking me away from Drow society to live on the surface. And while that does add up with what my… adoptive folks have said, it's still a lot to take in, you know? I mean, this whole tournament of people from across the multiverse is strange enough. I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that Multiverse Theory is real. But these sudden family issues really were the straw that broke the wyvern's back" Pulse blurted out.
Abigail was listening intently, even though she did have a bit of trouble following. She had no idea that her fellow genius had had such a turbulent start in life, although the part about understanding the circumstances of this contest was easy to understand.
"I see, I see… I'm sorry to hear that, that sounds terrible. But you're here now, so he definitely did the right thing back then" Abigail answered.
"I guess so. But I have no idea what he's like! I just… don't know what to think. Do I like him for being family and saving my life? Should I look up to him? Or should I just ignore him because he's a stranger to me? Maybe he's actually lying, what do I know? Maybe he actually sent me from an alien planet before some tyrannical overlord blew it up? At this point, nothing would surprise me!" the steadily more agitated Pulse continued.
It was clear as day that this was something she'd kept pent up for a long long time, and now all of it was pouring out at once. Tears began to form in her golden eyes, despite her best efforts to keep them back.
"And… what if he thinks all his efforts were for nothing? That I grew up to be a flimsy one-armed wuss that's only good for building bizarre junk and nothing else? What if… what if he thinks I'm a disappointment?" Pulse cried out.
Abigail sat silent for a moment, as if taking everything in. But eventually she put a firm hand on the panicking Drow's shoulder while letting out a big sigh.
"Look, I know that is a lot to handle. But I'm gonna be straight with you: you're just speaking a load of minotaurshit right now. Think of it; your dad gave up his own life just to give you the smallest chance to keep yours. If that's not love, then I don't know what is!" the older mechanic said, almost shouting.
Pulse simply sat there, somewhat dumbfounded; she'd been so caught up in her own paranoid panic that she'd failed to notice that not so small detail. Not to mention how Vuzrak had clearly been trying to approach her from the moment this tournament had started, only to be met by a cold shoulder. The young Drow felt quite a bit of shame creeping up on her as Abigail continued.
"Right now, it's clear that you're anxious about finally facing him. But I'm willing to bet an arm and a leg that he's just as, if not more so, nervous about seeing you. And if he's anything like you've described him, then the only way he'd be disappointed in you is if you kept yourself from reaching that goal of yours by holding back out of fear and anxiety. I should know. I gave him about the same pep talk I'm giving you right now, after all!" the Half-Orc finished.
Her younger friend had stopped crying by now, instead looking somewhat revitalised by Abigail's little speech. Her dad had been acting the same way as her? Huh, maybe they weren't as different as she'd thought.
"Wow, that's… how are you this good at teaching people life lessons?" Pulse asked, her mouth still hanging somewhat open.
"It comes with being a mom. But I've held you back here long enough already; you prepared to head out there and show your old man what you've got?" Abigail said, a small laughter finishing her sentence.
A look of determination replaced the Drow's previous emotional frown as she stood up from the seat. She still had no idea what to say out there, but at least she wasn't as afraid to set foot in the arena anymore. If she wanted to go all the way and win this tournament, she had to get through this first. Pulse turned around towards her motivational senior, before grabbing her hand with both of her own.
"Heh, makes sense. But yeah, I think I'm ready now, thanks to what you told me! I honestly can't thank you enough! You ever considered doing therapy sessions? You'd be famous in no time with that vocabulary!" Pulse exclaimed as she shook her friend's massive hand.
In the background, the crowd's impatient chants grew louder and louder; clearly they'd had enough of all the waiting. The Drow quickly bowed to Abigail to sign her gratitude, before running out towards the arena - towards her fateful reunion. The Half-Orc simply chuckled as she saw the young genius take off, then left for the watching area.
"Happy to be of help, kiddo" she whispered to herself.
Two Drows, both having dealt with their complicated relationship, were now about to reunite on the battlefield. Whatever happened out there, whoever ended up securing a spot in the semifinals, the divide between them would be resolved here and now. That they would make certain of.
The quarterfinals of the Multiversal Tournament was close to wrapping up, but the fiercest conflicts were yet to come.