CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

WOMBAT VS TITAN

Wombat stood, blood-red flames engulfing his body, casting an eerie glow around him. His eyes burned with rage, matching the intensity of the flames that roared on his skin. Across from him, Titan stood tall, its multiple eyes glowing ominously.

His flames flared as he opened his mouth to speak.

“You’re gonna pay for hurting them.” He was surprised at the sound of his own voice. It came out scary and booming, no doubt an effect of his outpouring power. A warm liquid trickled down his nose and he wiped it with the back of his hand. His hand came away smeared with blood.

A distant conversation with Dante played in his mind…

“You should be able to put out more flames than that,” Dante said, while they were in the middle of training. A couple of weeks ago, he’d asked Dante to spar with him and they’d gone at it the whole day.

Wombat had been on the floor, reeling from one of Dante’s attacks. The Halcyon hero never believed in holding back.

“What are you talking about?” Wombat asked, “That was my max output. I promise I’m not holding back.”

“Your firepower. It feels…incomplete. My guess is, your body is subconsciously limiting your firepower, maybe because you physically can’t handle that much heat yet.”

“So, my body’s fighting against me?”

“It’s not fighting against you, it’s protecting itself.” Dante raised his hand, flames erupted from it. “I can redirect the brunt of my flames inwards, like this.”

Wombat watched as the fire on his hand went out, but the hand still glowed.

“See, the flame went out, but the heat’s still there. I pushed my fire inwards. When you use your powers, yours comes out in waves, almost like your body’s trying to get rid of it.” He noticed the confused look on Wombat’s face and continued, “Think of a boat with holes in it that is gradually filling up with water. Your first choice would be to grab the nearest bucket and start throwing the water out, right? In this case, the water is your fire and the dude using a bucket to dump the water is your body. The boat is inside you, the ocean is outside.”

“Dude, you’re confusing me more.”

Dante laughed. “Alright, look.” He waved his glowing hand around, “Forcing your fire inwards is like…telling your cells to work harder. Produce more adrenaline, tighten the muscles and make them denser…that sort of thing. That way your physical stats all increase like crazy.”

“Using the flames to increase your physical strength? I can do that!”

“But you have to be careful with how much flames you’re redirecting inside. Right now, you’re doing it instinctively. You don’t really know how much you need, so you force it all in. Your body realizes that it's too much, so it shuts down your access to some of it. It reduces your power for you because you don’t know how to do it yourself. You can’t physically handle all your heat.”

“Wait so, what do I need to do?”

“Well, for starters, you need to get physically stronger. Strong enough to handle all of your own heat like I do. But before that, you need to gain absolute control over your output, so get up. We have more work to do.”

Wombat drew a deep breath and steadied himself. A mix of emotions dwelled within him, murking the waters of his mind, and he needed to quiet them. Right now wasn’t the time to feel angry for Tiger, or worried about the twins…right now was the time for him to grow. To get stronger.

He closed his eyes, and the red flames around him flickered and went out.

Almost there but not quite.

What was stopping him?

Titan cocked his head, “Are we not fighting to see who surpasses who in the end? Is this you giving up?”

Wombat’s eyes remained closed as he spoke, his voice no more carrying all that excess emotion from before but instead now a calm tone, “Dante was a beast at using flames. He was so much better at it than I am. It kind of sucks that he’s gone now.”

“Dante? Data File not found.”

“I try to reach his level every day, but the more I train, the clearer the difference in our power levels becomes, but I also realized, he’s been doing this a lot longer than I have. And I’m closer to his current level right now than he was when he just started too.”

Keep your flames on the inside.

Steam began to rise from Wombat’s skin as he poured his flames inwards. He started to glow. But it still wasn’t coming as naturally as he felt it should have been.

C'mon Wombat, he thought to himself. Why can’t I do this?

Garbage in, garbage out.

Dante’s voice rang loudly in his head, reminding him of the conversation that he’d had. All these pieces of advice swirled around in his head but he couldn’t make sense of any of it. The whole puzzle existed in his mind but for some reason, he had trouble solving it.

The purer your intention is, the more firepower you’re putting out.

Were his intentions not pure in this moment? He wanted to protect his best friend, was that not pure enough? Or maybe it was something different? Like, revenge for Tiger instead of a need to save them. That would explain his power not being enough. His ‘reason’ wasn’t clean.

You have to find out what you’re fighting for, personally.

He raised his now-glowing arm and waved it purposely through the air, as if trying to get a feel of something.

“I’m ready whenever you are,” Titan spoke.

“Shut up.” Wombat retorted, “You’re distracting me.”

Dante was right. Every reason he could think of for wanting to get stronger involved other people, but that wasn’t enough. He needed to involve himself. That was the key to solving the puzzle, why his firepower hadn’t reached its maximum potential.

It was being hindered by his intent.

Titan spoke again, “Are you praying? Is that what’s happening right now? That would make sense considering about 80% of humans turn to God when they realize that their lives are in danger. If so, I’m willing to wait.”

“That’s awfully generous of you,” Wombat slowly opened his eyes, still trying to focus on his power.

“Like I’ve said many times, my victory was already assured from the moment of my creation. You are not leaving here alive.”

“You wanna bet on it?” Wombat scoffed, “You’d lose that bet.”

“I won’t.”

“You won’t lose or you won’t bet?”

“Neither.”

“So you don’t trust yourself to win?”

“I never said tha-”

“Then bet on it.”

“ENOUGH.” The eyes on Titan’s body glowed in response to whatever in its CPU resembled anger, “I’m not betting on anything because you’d be dead if I win anyway. Finish up your prayer, and join your friend in death.”

Wombat entered his fighting stance, raising his fists, which glowed in sync with the rest of his body. This was still much more heat than he’d ever managed to put out before, so maybe it would be enough.

He hoped to God it would be enough.

He raised his fists and Titan did the same.

Wombat surged forward and Titan mimicked his actions.

His first punch landed square in Titan’s chest, flames erupting from the contact point and spreading across the robot’s metallic body. The robot staggered but quickly retaliated with a powerful swipe. Wombat almost got caught by it, but raised his arm at the last second, blocking the hit instead.

The two pushed away from each other.

Wombat fell to a knee and grabbed his arm as pain coursed through it, the point of contact hurting the most. The kick had more force behind it than he’d anticipated. He’d taken blows from the robot before but this was different. It was almost like he was fighting a completely different thing.

But he’d managed to throw a punch at least. He felt it; that one punch was stronger than any punch he’d ever thrown. Titan’s frame was still engulfed in fire from the impact of it alone.

Any moment now, the metal should be melting off its body…

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Titan stared down at the flames dancing around on its metal armor. Its red eyes glowed and the fire immediately went out, quenched in an instant. It looked up to find a startled Wombat grabbing his arm in pain.

“I have adapted my body beyond your fire. You cannot hurt me anymore. Give up now and I still might grant you a quick and painless death.”

His healing abilities had kicked in, so the pain in Wombat’s arm lessened gradually, but he knew he couldn’t continue like this. If the fight went on, he’d tap out first. He needed more firepower.

“Body, listen,” he muttered to himself, “I know you’re limiting my fire right now, but I need as much of it as I can get, okay? Or else we’re going to die, and we really can’t afford to die before adulthood.”

He closed his eyes and pushed, mustering as much heat as possible. He glowed brighter and he felt the air around him heat up in response. The pain in his arm was practically non-existent now and he felt as good as he’d ever felt.

He rose.

“Now we’re talking! Let’s get nu-”

SNAP!

A sharp pain coursed through his body and the heat that he’d been building inside of him dissipated into the air. Dark-red liquid came rushing up his throat and he fell to his knees once more, spewing blood. His muscles twitched wildly, and his vision blurred. Every breath was painful, and his heartbeat was a loud drum in his ears. The world around him spun, and he clutched his chest as if trying to tear the pain away.

You overdid it, Dante’s voice rang loudly in his head, your body couldn’t handle it and now your insides are burning up.

Wombat tried to think through the pain, and it took every ounce of strength that he had left. Of course he overdid it, he had no choice. It was either that or lose to the stupid robot, who stood where it was and stared as the whole thing unfolded. There was no other way to win.

You have to find what you’re fighting for, personally.

He cursed his healing factor for choosing not to work at a time like this.

You have to find what you’re fighting for, personally. Dante’s voice, again.

Maybe that was it. The answer he was looking for. What was he fighting for? To defeat Titan? No, that’s too superficial. He wanted to defeat Titan, but for personal reasons, for ego, to prove that he was not so weak that he’d lose to a murderbot.

Then what was it? To surpass Dante? No, that still wasn’t it. He didn’t need to surpass Dante, he just needed to make sure he didn’t hold anyone back…especially himself.

Wombat thought back to his earlier fight with the murderbots earlier in the afternoon, when his flames had turned blue. What were his intentions then?

That’s when it clicked. His reason for fighting.

The need to grow stronger…to surpass his own self. To be stronger than he was two seconds ago.

The need to evolve.

Wombat steadied his breathing, trying to manage the wave of pain that filled his insides, and pushed himself to his feet. He closed his eyes and focused, drawing the warmth of his power back into him. His healing returned, mending whatever had broken inside him.

Titan did nothing but watch, its CPU running a million scenarios and it prepared for all of them.

Wombat took a deep breath and exhaled, all the pain in his body leaving with it. He knew what he had to do now, and more importantly, he knew why.

Steam emanated from the pores of his skin as his firepower gradually increased itself. Soon, flames were sparking to life all over him.

“Let’s try this again…” he said, and on cue, his entire being burst into flames. With his eyes still closed, he drew another breath.

Direct the flame inward, but don’t force it.

He drew his fire inside him and it obeyed. The flames on his skin reduced until he glowed brightly, releasing more heat than ever before.

More, he thought.

He ordered his fire and it obeyed, retreating further into him. The glow on his skin subsided, replaced with an orange outline of aura. He spread his feet apart, centering himself, and crouched a little. The fire inside him burned but in a good way. In a way that let him know how much power he was forcing into himself. It wasn’t too much, or too little.

It was just right.

A wave escaped from him, driving up the temperature of the cave by several degrees. The cave trembled under the pressure of the power that was pouring out from him.

“I’m calling this one…SCALES OF FLAME!”

He raised his fists and Titan did the same.

“One more time…shall we?

Wombat blurred forward – more like flickered - and Titan met his charge head-on, its thrusters flaring to life as it shot forward.

Titan's eyes glowed as it fired a barrage of lasers. Wombat zigzagged through the air, his movements a blur of speed. He closed the distance in an instant and threw another punch. The hit ignited flames upon contact, the heat searing Titan's metallic frame.

He twisted around, landing a powerful roundhouse kick to Titan's side, flames bursting from the impact and sending the robot flying. Titan quickly recovered, its thrusters propelling it back into the fray.

Wombat eyed the part of Titan’s armor that he’d hit and saw that no damage had been done.

Tch, not even a scratch.

As they were about to clash again, a huge gust of wind came out of nowhere. It hit Titan hard, thrusting the robot back through the length of the cave and into a wall, pinning it there. Another strong gust caught Wombat, mid-attack, and pulled him backward. He struggled to stay on his feet as the wind carried him away from Titan.

He was dropped beside his healed-up teammate, now with a hole opened up in their shirt and a scar that was slowly healing itself.

“Tiger!” Wombat smiled as relief spread through him, “You’re okay!”

“Just barely,” Tiger winced, “Those lasers are no joke.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Wombat glanced down at his own body, “I would’ve hugged you, but I don’t know how safe I am right now. See, I went through this whole thing-”

“Yeah, I saw that part. Are you okay?”

He smiled, “I’m better than okay.”

“Good, because we need to find a way to take that robot down.”

They both glanced at the opposite wall at the far end of the room, where Titan was trying – and failing – to claw its way out of the hold that their continuous stream of wind had on it. The eyes on its shiny body began to glow, a sign that both they and Wombat had come to recognize as the robot gearing up to shoot out laser beams.

Wombat spoke, “Its armor is no joke. I’ve thrown punch after punch at it, and it didn’t even so much as dent. Whatever metal that thing’s made of probably isn’t from this planet.”

Tiger thought for a while, the pain that once resided in their body slowly being filtered out. Their mind became clearer and their strength returned, allowing them to reinforce the pressure of the wind they were throwing at Titan.

“Its armor is made of metal you say?” they turned to Wombat, who was throwing anxious glances at the robot.

“Yeah…why? Do you have a plan?”

“Sort of, but it has to be executed perfectly to work. Are you up for it?”

“Let’s do it. I’m literally fired up right now, there’s not much I can’t do.”

“Alright, so here’s the plan…”

The cave trembled as multiple multi-colored lasers shot out from the hole that Titan was buried in, subsequently bringing that section of the wall down. Tiger watched as Titan broke free from the wind's grip, the eyes on its body swimming around as its sensors scanned for targets.

“Now, Daniel! GO!” they screamed.

The duo dashed off to either side.

This was the first phase of her plan. If they could stay in constant motion around the robot, even with its multiple eyes, its attention would still be split.

They knew they had to act fast. Drawing in a deep breath, Tiger focused and summoned a powerful whirlwind around Titan. With a swift motion, they launched the cyclone at the robot, sending it spinning. Dust and debris whirled around the cave, adding to the chaos.

Titan stood his ground, tanking the attack, “Neither of your powers work on me.”

“How about both?” Wombat said, still glowing with his recent powerup. He mustered his energy, flames intensifying around him, and hurled a dense ball of fire at Titan. The fireball struck the robot from behind, sending sparks flying.

A few eyes shifted to behind it and fired lasers at Wombat, who quickly dove out of the way to avoid them.

But Tiger wasn't done.

With a sharp gesture, they rapidly cooled the whirlwind, dropping the temperature around the robot. Frost began to form on Titan's metallic surface, causing it to stumble. The robot staggered, clearly confused by the sudden shift in temperature. However, it quickly refocused and charged directly at Tiger, its movements slower but still threatening.

Unfazed, Tiger created another powerful whirlwind and launched it at Titan, knocking the robot back once more. The force of the wind sent it crashing into the cave wall.

“WOMBAT PARADE!”

Wombat followed up with a wave of flaming wombats, flying through the air or hopping across the walls but each one hitting its intended target.

The cave was illuminated by the fiery onslaught. But in a swift counterattack, Titan surged forward with the aid of his lasers, its strength overcoming the chill. It slammed into Wombat, pinning him against the wall. Rocks tumbled down, burying him under a heavy pile.

Tiger's heart pounded, but they didn't falter. With precise control, they cooled the whirlwind again, further disorienting Titan. The robot's movements became erratic, its sensors struggling to adapt to the extreme conditions.

It cocked its head, “Whatever it is you’re doing, it does not affect me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Tiger scoffed, “Look.” They pointed at its body and Titan followed their gaze.

There it was, smack dab in the middle of their armored torso, a huge gash had formed.

“What? How?”

For the first time, Tiger heard fear and confusion in the robot’s tone.

“You’re the supercomputer here, you’re telling me you can’t figure out what happened?”

Titan regarded her for a minute, thoughts running across his CPU a million miles per second. “I see, the constant cooling and heating.”

“Ding ding ding!” They said, “You put a metal through rapid superheating and rapid supercooling, and it’s breaking, no matter what planet it’s from. That’s a universal physics law. Right now, with all those cracks in your armor, you’re like a walking walnut, waiting to be cracked open. All it’ll take is one strong enough attack and you’re done”

Titan made a whirring noise and all of its eyes glowed, “That was a good plan, but unfortunately, it was futile. You’re far too weak to be the one that lands that blow.”

They smirked. “Who said it would be me?”

Wombat rushed forward from behind the Titan, his fist blazing with fire, and leaped into the air, ready to strike Titan. Just as he was about to make contact, the robot turned, gathering eyes in his palms and fired. The laser shot through the air, and pierced Wombat’s body. He flew across the cave, a new hole in his chest, and Titan made a noise akin to scoffing.

“That was it? That was your entire plan? Too bad, now your friend is dead.”

It watched as Wombat’s body flew through the air but instead of hitting the ground, it evaporated into flames.

Titan paused. Its eyes darted around, scanning for thermal energy, trying to locate its opponent.

Tiger seized the opportunity. They focused, and with a wave of their hand, created an upwards vacuum of air, locking Titan in place. The powerful gusts held the robot steady, preventing any movement.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Titan erupted in a burst of fire. Wombat emerged, having tunneled through the earth, his fists now elongated into fiery claws.

“Hey there! Have fun with the clone?” He joked.

With a swift, powerful motion, he drilled into Titan from below. The intense heat and force shattered the robot into pieces, sending debris flying in all directions.

Tiger quickly gathered the scattered eyes and brains of the robot with a powerful gust of wind, compressing them into a tight bundle. Wombat wasted no time and launched a blazing fireball at the compressed mass, causing a fiery explosion that lit up the cave.

“Hell yeah!” Wombat cheered, and Tiger made to join him, but their body betrayed them. Their knees buckled and they fell, but before they hit the ground, warm hands grabbed her.

“You alright?” Wombat asked, setting her down gently, “Your healing…is it…?”

“I’m fine I’m fine,” Tiger waved him off, “Healing’s working perfectly. I’m just tired is all.”

“Yeah, I hear that,” the glow that enveloped him faded gradually, returning him to his original state, “I’m going to sleep for like a week after all we find the twins and get out of here.”

A second passed before they both realized at the same time.

The twins.

They frantically searched around the cave but luckily didn’t have to search for long as the twins had come out of hiding and were…just standing there…

Their eyes were trained on the duo, still as soulless as before.

Tiger waved, but neither of the twins responded. “What do you think they’re waiting for?”

“No idea.” Wombat shrugged.

One of the twins stepped forward, arm outstretched.

“Ugh, Daniel please. I am so not in the mood for this.”

“Me neither.”

“Like before?”

“Gladly.”

Wombat jumped to his feet, helping Tiger to theirs. Thankfully, the pain was not so much that they couldn’t school a couple of children.

***

A couple of minutes later, they’d captured both twins and had each held one of them under an arm. They ran back through the cave, to look for Dang.

Wombat had been in the middle of telling Tiger how he’d defeated Titan when a familiar voice came in over their comms

“Come in guys, we have a major problem.”

Wombat and Tiger stared at each other.

“Whose voice is that?”

The voice came over their comms again. “Caden’s trying to open a rift to Bellum.”

Before Wombat could radio in and ask what happened to Daedalus, his voice came over the comms too. “Copy. I’m on my way.”

“Let’s hurry, we haven’t got a moment to lose.”