CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

PROTOTYPE: RED-EYE

Wombat stood ready, flames dancing around his fist as he eyed the robot. He surged forward, his fiery fist aimed at the metal figure before him. The heat from his fist grew stronger with each step, his zeal driving him forward. The Prototypes reacted, scattering and taking to the air, leaving only one behind to face him: Red himself.

Tiger took this opportunity to assist Wombat.

“SLIPSTREAM DANCE!”

They outstretched their hand and vortexes of wind erupted around Redeye, obscuring his vision and granting Wombat the perfect cover. He landed a blow on the robot and slipped into the vortex before it could react. Then emerged again, and delivered another blow, ducking just out of reach of the robot’s arms.

Redeye staggered around as it tried to cross into the vortex itself but was rejected, but Wombat had no trouble going in and out of it.

A display of the Tiger’s finesse and precise control of their powers.

The remaining five prototypes saw what was happening and decided to intervene, simultaneously they all dove through the air and headed for them.

Tiger leaped into the air, harnessing the power of the wind to carry them off the ground. The five prototypes zoomed toward them with intent.

They dodged the robots with graceful maneuvers, her movements fluid and evasive. She twisted and turned, riding the currents of air with expert skill, staying just out of their reach as they pursued them.

Meanwhile, their hold was still on the vortex that Wombat was now using to his utmost advantage. Wombat moved in and out of the wind vortex around Redeye, quick as a flash. Each time he came out, he landed a strong, fiery punch, the flames scorching its metal skin. Before the machine could catch him, he slipped back into the swirling winds, getting ready for the next hit.

“Annoying.” Redeye said.

There was a whirring sound as the red in his eyes lit up and Wombat was reminded of the laser beams from when he faced the original prototype.

Instinctively, he dived out of the vortex, just as Redeye exploded outwards with a violent red energy, disrupting the attack. Tiger hissed.

Wombat dashed straight for Redeye, who charged at him in return. They met in a clash, fists flying as they began throwing punches at each other. Wombat dodged and struck back, his fist ablaze to make his punches do more damage. Redeye matched his moves, dodging and swinging with equal intensity.

Above them, Tiger was still flying around, dodging the prototypes chasing her. They kept trying to tackle her, but she dodged them all easily, weaving through the air with effortless grace, and sending them crashing into the cave walls and each other. Her movements were swift and precise, staying one step ahead of her mechanical pursuers.

As the fight between Wombat and Redeye raged on, his reaction speed wavered for just a second and Redeye seized the advantage. With a swift kick to Wombat's gut, it sent him flying backward, the force of the blow knocking the wind out of him. Wombat hit the ground hard, momentarily stunned by the impact.

With wobbling arms, he pushed himself up and turned to his side, coughing up the blood that had pooled together in his throat while the machine loomed over him, ready to press its advantage.

Wombat jumped to his feet, forcing his exhaustion and pain down. Now was not the time to be injured. “Damn, you’re tough to crack.” He croaked, and he shot forward again, this time to deal the damage back.

He pulled his fist.

“Blazing justice punch.”

The orange flames on his fist spread to the rest of his arm, engulfing it in a blazing inferno. He dashed through the air, and drove his fiery arm into Redeye’s metal body. The robot attempted to block the attack, but Wombat's power was too much. The force of the impact knocked the machine back, its metal frame scraping against the ground as it struggled to maintain its footing.

The machine remained standing, its mechanical form showing signs of damage from the intense heat.

Redeye cocked his head to the side.

“Confused?” Wombat said, flexing his wrists, “Yeah, I’ll bet.”

“No, not confused, recalculating.”

“Recalculating what?”

“How much it would take to beat you.” Redeye answered.

Wombat’s pulse quickened as Redeye suddenly surged forward, moving with an unexpected speed. It closed the distance between them in an instant, its movements a blur of motion that caught Wombat off guard, barely giving him any time to react.

Wombat tensed his body, bracing for the blow to his stomach. The impact was sudden and brutal, knocking the wind out of him. He wheezed, the force of the blow causing him to double over in pain. The strength seemed to drain from his legs, and he collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach as waves of agony washed over him.

Memories of the pain he’d felt at the hands of the original Prototype came flooding back.

Tiger saw the scene unfold and made to rush to her partner’s aid, but was blocked by the rest of the Prototypes.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Stay down,” Red-eye said.

Wombat coughed, struggling to force the air back into his lungs. “You…you got faster…” he managed to say in between gasps for air.

“I adapted,” The machine answered, “A feature my predecessor lacked. I have the ability to increase my physical attributes to surpass my opponent’s. You got stronger…so I surpassed you.”

“Is that so…”

Wombat trembled.

“Crying? That is unexpected. My files did not say you were a crybaby, but then again you never fought me. It would be in your best interest to-”

He was cut off by the sound of laughter.

Wombat’s laughter. After he was done, he spoke, his voice emboldened.

“You surpassed me, huh? Well then, I guess I’ll just have to surpass the you who surpassed me.”

Redeye stepped forward, towards the curled-up Wombat. “You should give up before-”

“Pillar…OF FIRE!”

Around wombat, a chain of sparks ignited and the area around him was instantly enveloped in a dazzling pillar of flames. Redeye jumped several feet back to avoid getting caught in the attack.

Wombat pushed himself to his feet.

“LET’S SEE WHO SURPASSES WHO IN THE END!”

His hands came alive with flames, but these flames were different now; they were blue with a hint of gold. Wombat smashed his fists together, and a wave of heat spread outwards. His eyes glowed to match the flames, burning with the same fierce energy.

Redeye put his fists up and assumed a combat stance, matching Wombat’s, “You will not be victorious.”

“HELL’S BARRAGE!” Wombat screamed and large balls of bluish gold fires materialized, hurtling themselves towards Redeye.

Redeye dashed to the side, dodging the first couple of fireballs, and sprinted straight for Wombat, both of its arms morphing into blades. He approached Wombat with relentless speed, his metallic form gleaming in the light of the firefight, but Wombat stood ready.

He hurled the fireballs at him, blazing brightly as they cut through the air and the earth.

Redeye sliced through them with precision, each fireball exploding upon contact. The bursts of flames and heat didn’t do nearly enough to slow the robot's advance. Shards of light and heat scattered, but Redeye pushed on, his glowing eyes fixed on Wombat. The distance between them closed rapidly, each of Wombat's attacks failing to deter the unstoppable machine.

“HELL YEAH! COME ON!” Wombat said and shot forward in response, a grin spread on his face. Every step he took broke earth and sent shockwaves scattering around the room, forcing everyone’s attention on him.

An amazing feeling coursed through him, caused by the power of his fire. It was like he was getting closer to the peak of his abilities.

The heat surged through him, making every movement feel powerful and precise. The fiery energy coursing through his veins seemed to amplify his strength and sharpen his focus, readying him for the bout with Redeye.

BOOM!

Once more, the two clashed and the entire room shook in response. The air crackled with tension as they squared off, their eyes locked in a fierce stare. Wombat's fists roared with flames as he prepared for the onslaught. Redeye’s metallic frame gleamed, his circuits humming with energy.

With bursts of speed, they lunged at each other. Wombat's flaming fist collided with Redeye’s metallic one, the impact sending shockwaves through the cave. The pressure from their clash was so intense that the air seemed to vibrate, making Tiger and the rest of the prototypes momentarily stop fighting to figure out what was going on. Each blow exchanged between them was powerful, their movements a blur of fire and steel.

Wombat ducked under a swipe from Redeye, countering with a flaming uppercut that connected with a crash. The force of the hit sent Redeye skidding backward, his feet dragging along the rocky ground as he struggled to stay upright. But the momentum was too great, and he was propelled across the cave, crashing into the wall with a boom.

Without missing a beat, Wombat surged forward, flames flickering as he chased after the fallen robot. The ground beneath him scorched from the intense heat, leaving a trail of blackened rock in his wake. Wombat closed the distance, ready to continue the fight.

Up above, Tiger watched as the prototypes that had surrounded them, dived for their fallen comrade, leaving them there.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” they waved at the air and arcs of wind manifested, slicing through the air and at the metal bodies that they were now chasing. They couldn’t afford to let them interfere in the battle, now that Wombat was in the zone. It’d be good if he was able to take at least one of them out.

The wind slashes hit the metal bodies, sending them flying in all directions. They had to protect their partner.

“I’m your opponent, not him.”

They rode the currents of wind with expert skill and unleashed a series of wind slashes, each one slicing through the air with dangerous intent. The force of the slashes was enough to lift the airborne prototypes off their course, disrupting their formation and scattering them.

They then made swirling motions with their arms, and a whirlwind began to take shape in the confines of the cave. The prototypes were swept up in it and whisked away from their trajectory.

Tiger took a deep breath and made wider and wider arcs with her arms, sweeping up the entire cave and five of the Prototypes with it. They got tossed around like they were action figures placed inside a washing machine.

They called down to Wombat, “I’ll keep these goons busy! You finish off that one, he seems like their leader!”

Wombat flashed her a thumbs-up and resumed his onslaught.

Redeye emerged from the cave wall and immediately began to get rise in the air, succumbing to the powerful currents that Tiger was generating.

“Adapting. Increasing density.” He made whirring noises and dropped back down onto the ground with a heavy boom. “Your parlor tricks won’t work on m-”

Wombat appeared right in front of him.

“How about this!”

Wombat unloaded his fury onto the machine, in the form of punches. The sound of his fists pounding against metal rang out like music to his ears. He threw punch after punch, barely giving Redeye enough time to react.

When he did, and Redeye tried to counter, he dodged with ease and carried on with his beatdown.

He punched Redeye, sending him flying, and chased after him. Redeye recovered in time to swing his feet, attempting to kick Wombat, but the hero telegraphed it. He caught the leg, spun, and threw him up in the air.

Wombat then got on one knee, drawing back the string of an invisible bow. An arrow materialized out of thin air, completely made of his majestic royal blue flames.

“INCINERATING…ARROW!”

He let the arrow fly and watched as it cut through the air, headed straight for its target. The flame arrow collided with Redeye and exploded in a ball of fire.

Tiger roared as they increased the intensity of their whirlwind, and sent all five Prototypes crashing into the walls. They hovered down to Wombat, whose flames were now fizzing out.

“Oi, you were on fire! Well, literally, but you know what I mean.” They said, landing beside him and slapping his back.

Wombat grinned, “You know that feeling after chugging a soda, and then you let out a really long burp? That’s what I feel right now.”

“Well, I’m not stupid enough to chug a whole soda, but I know how you fee-”

They couldn’t finish their sentence as they were interrupted by a loud BOOM. They both looked up to see what had caused it. From one of the five Prototype-shaped holes in the walls, something had shot out and headed straight for the remnant of Wombat’s explosion; a huge ball of smoke.

The same thing happened with the other four.

“Are they…attacking him?” Wombat asked.

“I don’t think so?” Tiger replied.

In a flash, something descended from the smoke and crashed into the ground, and they both realized what had happened.

Redeye still stood before them, but he was bigger, and now he had more eyes all over his body.

The eyes of the other five Prototypes.

Wombat’s eyes widened as he realized what had happened.

“Did…did they just-”

“Yeah,” Tiger answered Wombat’s question before he finished asking it, “They merged.”