To the readers
I appreciate any comments on the story.
Notes
[] are used to indicate stage directions
All dialogue follows a "Speaker: dialogue" format
{} are used for author comments.
CONTINUE
Odd: So if there's no fighting for a while everyone gets a penalty. That's a real cheap trick.
Aelita: Do you really think we're just going to attack each other?
[Smash cut to William and Ulrich charging at each other]
[Techno Virtual world battle music]
[William slices down. Ulrich blocks with a cross guard and the weight of the blade pushes him back. He pushes the blade back and then backflips as William brings the blade back down where Ulrich just was.
Ulrich is smiling. He knows this sequence. William uses super smoke momentum to rise up, fall into a down slash on Ulrich. Ulrich parries and light cuts William.]
William LP: 20 - 10
[William super smokes over Ulrich to blind him with the particles, materializes mid turn, and finishes with a swing into Ulrich's side. Ulrich blocks and loses a sword. But he's in the perfect place to launch a hook kick into William's head. William dodges Ulrich's kick with super smoke, materializes back-to-back and does his signature side kick into Ulrich's back.]
Ulrich LP: 70 - 67
Ulrich: Triplicate
[As the original falls, the clone on William's left sink kicks to William's supporting leg while the other clone slashes at William's back. William blocks with gauntlet as he hits the ground and kicks the blade out of the clone's hand. The original has recovered, rolls over and stabs down with twin blades.]
William LP: 10 - 0
[William starts to dissipate.]
[Jeremy is looking at a video of two red dots on his screen, their pop ups images of the ninjas heads. He sees them move close. One's LP hits zero. Jeremy checks other versions of the fighting arena on the Holomap. He sees the red dots of the ninjas, one stands still and the other walks up and instantly defeats it.]
Jeremy: There's no way around the rule. But it applies to the ninjas as well. They must have put a system in place to determine which member moves forward when they face each other.
Odd: What do we do now?
Jeremy: Well, one of you has to move on to the end of the tournament. Ulrich and William are fighting, no surprise, so we should proceed with our best foot forward.
[Aelita and Odd aim at each other.]
Odd: Wait, who were you talking about?
Aelita: Yeah who do you think is stronger?
Jeremy: Uhhhhh…oh. I made a stat tracker a while back. We can see who statistically based on their actions is better.
Aelita: Nono. Who do YOU think is stronger?
Odd: Just get on with it. The imp wants to watch us fight.
[In IRL Deckard operations center, the two deckhands are watching the Monitor.]
Deck hand 1: Oh no. Please continue. This is far too entertaining.
Deck hand 2: Best drama I've seen.
Jeremy: Well, in this circumstance. Odd has the vehicle so he has the best tactical advantage.
Aelita: You think Odd has the better chance to win?
Odd: Well, yeah. I even had to give up my shield so you should get that shield form with your energy field.
Jeremy: She needed it more than you do.
Odd: [senses Jeremy's romantic relationship tactical blunder] Let's just Rochambeau for it [begins rock paper scissors]
Aelita: I did back then. Want to test how far I've come? If I win, I'm the better fighter.
[Odd looks up at the sky.]
Jeremy: If you really want to do this.
[Aelita fires energy fields. Odd can easily dodge around them with overboard. Aelita activates wings and chases him in a loop around the top of the pagoda's ceiling. Aelita creates more layers of the wooden beams in a crisscross pattern throughout the arena to stop Odd from zooming around on overboard. Odd can shoot the beams to clear a spot, when necessary, but dismounts and starts climbing the pillars and bouncing between them like he's on a jungle gym.]
CRACK CREACRUNCH
[Aelita destroys the supports to a beam with two attacks to try to crush Odd. Odd jumps to and off the beam and lands safely away from the crash. Odd fires laser arrows, Aelita takes one in her wings which scatter. Aelita bounces the rest off her shield, they break more beams above her. The beams fall, Aelita blocks with shield and is pinned or pushed down, unable to safely shut off or move her shield. Odd is hanging upside down on a beam looking down at her. Aelita looks up at him and while she's distracted, the overboard which has floated down and below Aelita from where Odd jumped off it, flares to life and smashes into Aelita.]
Aelita LP: 130 - 125
[He jumps on a plank that's only swinging by a few strands of fiber and holds onto it as it's about to swing into Aelita. Aelita blows it up with Energy field. Now revealed from behind his makeshift shield, he lashes out and double kicks Aelita in the chest and catches his board as it slides in behind her. The overboard thrusters ignite.
She instinctively hits her watch and her three wings flare up. While the flames are hitting her wings, they turn black. The instant the flames stop, they go back to pink.]
Aelita: Huh?
Odd: A glitch?
Sissi: Hey ah, this is cool and all, but when is it going to be over?
Jeremy: Hmm?
Sissi: Like, how do you know when they reach the end?
Jeremy: It's what I said. That one of them just has to win the tournament.
Sissi: But how many rounds is that?
Jeremy: Well, [realization] … oooooh. This isn't a tournament, it's an endless hoard.
[Jeremy traces the connection on the voice chat invitation Tyron sent and sends back his own invitation.]
Tyron: Well well well, have you finally-
Jeremy: There's no end of the number of ninjas you can send. In fact, there's nothing to say that we won't be fighting the same ninjas over and over again. You've already added so many rules and, in this field, they could even be immune to devirtualization. They could just appearing somewhere else in the world, waiting to fight again. The first round could've been a bluff to make us think it was a tournament. You could have had them fight each other from beginning. I really have to say, it's a brilliant plan.
Tyron: It's about time you-
Jeremy: And that's how I know you didn't come up with it. Who is actually the genius there?
Tyron: I am a genius; a mind of a generation and you will do credit to give credit to where it deserves. Especially when you're under my thumb.
[Jeremy cuts off the connection.]
Jeremy: Well that confirms it. Him getting flustered like that. He definitely has someone else we need to be aware of. Listen everyone. Fight your matches, but drag things out as long as possible for me to get a solution up. I'm taking control of the skid and moving it out of range of the trap.
Sissi: What's your solution?
[Jeremy points to Sissi. Sissi points to herself in confusion.]
Jeremy: Sissi, ready for your first virtualization?
Sissi: Do I have a choice?
Jeremy: Well someone needs to go there and get the code otherwise everyone is going to be stuck in limbo.
[Cut to Sissi enters the scanners]
Sissi: Are you sure about this? I just joined.
Jeremy: Sissi you have more training and experience than anyone else before their first virtualization.
Sissi: That's not a good thing!
[Steps into the scanner]
Jeremy: Transfer Sissi, scanner, [hits key] Virtualization.
She's outside another pagoda with the Skid docked to it.
First good look at her avatar. Still same facial features as her regular face except Amber eyes with almond shaped pupils. Long black hair pulled back into a ponytail tied with a gold band and then flared out. Orange strands of hair mixed in. Gold clip earrings. Two on each ear.
Long arm length fingerless gloves, gold on the outside, brown on the inside, that end just before her shoulders that have heart tattoo on them. White tank top with a gold circuit pattern on a brown background decorating the sides. Open yellow vest with "79" on a giant green heart on the back. Wide brown belt with drooping loops around legs. Wears white and gold shorts over tights. Tights were gold on the outside, brown on the inside with the number 79 repeating over and over along the leg. Green Heart shaped knee pads. White Boots with heels.
Oh and she has green skin with a lizard tail.
Sissi: What's that? Somethings got me? Ahah, I got it, I got… me? …WHY DO I HAVE A TAIL?!
Jeremy: Hey, I don't control your unconscious.
Sissi: Why am I a lizard though?
Jeremy: [ignores her] You're going to want to head to the center of the world. That's where the terminal will be.
Sissi: But how do I stop looking like one of those people?
Jeremy: Sissi, we will deal with this later. Look.
[She looks over to see the center of the world in the center of the neon weave, then follows one of the ribbon paths connected to that area back to the plateau she's on.]
Jeremy: Hope Yumi's fine with lending out her ride.
[The overwing spawns on the plateau in front of Sissi.]
Sissi: OOH it's like a Segway.
[She's riding over the glowing ribbon bridge in the rain toward the concentration of buildings and plateaus.]
[Ulrich sheaths a saber and takes out karambit from his belt, clearly distinguishing him from his clones. They have two and one saber respectively.]
William: How are you reading me?
Ulrich: Don't take it too hard. I've fought you at you at your best.
William: That was not my best. That was my worst. I'll never be that thing again. Every day, I'm trying to fix my mistake.
BING
Actualization Synchronization % Increase
Epiphany:
Chosen to improve upon past self.
Unlock:
Carbon Fiber
[William Dunbar Profile updated
William's avatar stops devirtualizing, flashes and regains all of its lost texture. Then as part of the update, a new gauntlet is added to his right arm. This one was made of black metal with curling bands of orange around it and a small orange hole on top of the forearm.]
William: Smoke screen
[William uses smoke screen to blind so clones can't see. A black cord from the cloud wraps around the sword in a clone's hand. He rips the remaining sword out of Ulrich's clone hand with the black whip. Then he throws the zweihander. Other clone blocks,]
TINGZZZRN
[-destroying its swords and gets knocked back out of the fight temporarily.
Ulrich prime charges. William, without his weapon, unleashes whip attacks. Ulrich just dashes around them. William jumps up out of the smoke cloud and onto the braces of the second level.
The three Ulrichs jump on the second story crossbeams with William in center. He calls back his sword, the blade piercing one clone, wraps the fiber around neck of prime and 360 whirls around and smashes him into the clone just about to attack him. As the tether drags him on the walls of the arena, Ulrich manages to spin out a karambit, drops his blade, and uses the two karambits to start to snip into the cord.]
Ulrich LP: 70 - 69 - 68 - 67 - 66 - 65 - 64 - 63 - 62
[Ulrich cuts it off, and springs off the wall.]
SNIKT
[Ulrich's sword hits the ground.]
William: Blade Beam
[William destroys Ulrich's blade with the blast-]
TINGZZZRN
[-before Ulrich can hit the ground. Ulrich falls back to ground level. The air had cleared with only a few low whisps of smoke remaining.]
Ulrich: Triplicate. Super sprint
[Unarmed clones attack while Ulrich looks for one of the dropped swords from clones earlier. William destroys the new bodies with a whirlwind slash.] {see final round for reference}
Ulrich: Super sprint.
Ulrich feints a strike, then side steps and brings the knife in his right hand up and around William's sword arm and clenches it with the karambit, forcing it down away past himself and back down and up behind William. Then takes his left on William's pommel and shifts his right up on William's elbow and forces his arm and blade to lock it behind William's back, elbowing William in the face in the same motion. Then he spartan kicks William while dragging William's wrist forward, leveraging it against William's back and twisting the blade out his grip.]
William LP: 130 - 128 - 125
[He reaches out for the blade, but he's out of smoke to pull it back with. There are no tendrils left on the blade.]
Ulrich: You're empty.
[William grabs the other dropped saber, it turns orange, and blocks. He pin's Ulrich's blade against his own with spiked gauntlet.]
William: So are you. [focus on Ulrich's headbands, now missing their tails]
[matrix music playing-burly brawl]
[Ulrich slashes William's wrist with the karambit he just drew. The fight continues with a series with parries and slashes with gauntlets and blades. William keeps trying to bash Ulrich with the spikes on his bracer, and Ulrich keeps twisting and leaning back to avoid the hit. Until William feints and then backhands Ulrich, scratching his cheek.]
Ulrich LP: 62 - 57
[Stabs William through the arm, drags his arm over so his arms are crossed, then hyperextends William's arm, and knees the blade out his hands.]
William LP: 125 - 120
[Ulrich feints a slash and throws out a kick. William's gauntlet spits out the whip and catches Ulrich's leg. Ulrich dashes to the side and closer to get some slack, ducks underneath the whip and pivots and pulls on the whip to bring William forward. William jumps over Ulrich's swing, then expecting a follow-up, he rolls back again. He spots Ulrich as he catches up to him, then loses sight of him behind a pillar.]
William LP: 120 - 110
[Ulrich spun and curved the tip around the wood post to where William wasn't looking, scoring a jab in on William's leg from behind.]
William: Urgh
[William kicks the false edge of the saber jamming it into the pillar.
Martial arts battle. Ulrich parries William's haymakers. William leans back to avoid Ulrich grabbing him and nervously kicks high.]
William LP: 110 - 105
[Ulrich blocks, catches his leg, stabs his karambit through William's leg to pin it to the pillar, and uses his own saber in the pillar to step up and knee William in the chin.]
Ulrich LP: 57 - 52
[William blocks with gauntlet. Ulrich pulls back with holes in his avatar's texture on his leg. Ulrich grabs the saber in the pillar and yanks it out and up. William uses the still extended whip attached to Ulrich's leg to loop, catch, and parry the sword, then kicks it up out of Ulrich's hand-]
THUNK
[-where it sticks into the ceiling. And if you're keeping track that's both legs so he bangs his head against the ground and is hanging by his pinned leg.]
Ulrich: Super sprint
[Ulrich dashes back around the pillar towards William's dropped saber. William uses the length of the whip laying on the ground, and jerks it up and back, the wave motion traveling down the line toward Ulrich. Ulrich cartwheels so his leg is in the air and grabs the saber just as the motion catches up with him, jerking the leg in the air, but he lands with the other. He cuts at the whip around his leg. William releases the whip before he can cut it and whips back down. Ulrich rolls to dodge and the whip catches on something. Ulrich reposts-super sprints, jumping off the ground and attempting to flying kick William against the pillar and perform a finishing stab…]
KRING
[…Against the zweihander hurdling between them. The end of the whip had just been attached to the handle and William had pulled it toward Ulrich. From the one clash, the smallest bit of headband and tendril appear on Ulrich and William's weapon. William grabs his zweihander. Ulrich avoids the slab of metal. The heavy blade slams and bursts apart the pillar they were fighting by. The shattering loosens the knife and William's leg is free.]
[Beat]
[Beat]
[Beat]
Ulrich: Super sprint!
[Ulrich appears behind William and pivot turns to finish William in the back.]
William: Supersmoke!
[William disappears beneath Ulrich and then reemerges before the chain can hit the ground. And in moving forward out of Supersmoke the chain wraps around Ulrich's legs tripping him up. William brings both hands on the sword and pulls to trip Ulrich over and smash the edge into Ulrich before his back can even hit the ground, splitting him in half.]
Ulrich LP: 52 - 0
[William absorbs the smoke Ulrich left behind.]
William: Since he isn't here to say this to you Tyron, [gestures around him] "Are you not entertained!"
[Jeremy is typing.]
Jeremy: It looks like Tyron has created a field around the tower that allows him to adjust the rules of his virtual world to some degree. That's how he's teleporting everyone into specific layers. Different copies of the same environment.
[Aelita keeps shooting energy fields. They destroy the walls, splintering off to reveal the barrier. Flames appear around one of Odd's eyes. Odd reviews the future flash vision from Aelita's POV of her firing an energy field at him. Odd keeps jumping from wooden stud to stud, then when he's hidden behind a wooden beam for a instant, he uses overboard to approach. Aelita jumps back into a corner of the room and destroys a wall with energy field. She puts up a shield to block barrage of lazer arrows. Odd uses overboard to speed past the shield and take aim at her from behind. She uses wings to jump and glide away. Odd uses a lazer arrow to hit her watch deactivating her wings. Aelita makes and fires an energy field as she falls…
…In the same position as his vision. Odd twists to the side and threads the gap between two wooden braces, smiling.
The energy field bounces off the barrier behind the destroyed walls.
Odd sees Aelita sprawled on the ground. He takes aim.
The energy field hits him in the back.]
Odd LP: 50 - 0
CRRSSH
Aelita: Sorry Odd. But I'm better.
[William sees Naja transfer into his room.]
William: So you're the one who beat Yumi?
Jeremy: She's special. She could pass through anything, not just the walls.
William: Smoke screen!
[The room is obscured. Naja loses sight of William.]
William: Carbon fiber!
[His new gauntlet fires a tether that attaches itself to Naja and he yanks the ninja toward him. He swings his sword through her with his other hand. It passes clearly through. The fiber slumps to the floor as it slips right through the ninja's body.]
Naja: I'm not just special, I'm superior.
William: We'll see. The only reason you're special so far is that you can hold a conversation.
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