Duel

Bron had decided that what Tom needed was light training rather than something strenuous. He explained to Tom that he didn't want him to hurt himself before a fight and cripple himself in any way. So, after a brief sparring session, where Tom had almost been able to strike Bron once, He had Tom finish the rest of the session doing stretches to make him as limber as possible.

"You are facing someone who rules a guild through her strength of arms and her will to rule over those around her. She will be a formidable opponent. You cannot take anything for granted in this fight. Strike hard, strike true, and show no mercy, as you will be shown none in return." Bron had said to him just before he began stretching.

"Is there anything I should know about the duel? Rules, loopholes, pitfalls?" Tom had asked Bron.

"The rules of a duel, set by the administrators of the System, are ironclad and binding. If you do not show up for the duel, you lose. If you refuse to fight, you lose. If someone tries to interfere, they will suffer extreme consequences. Terms cannot be changed once proposed and both parties accept them. It is a matter of honor to fight in a duel. While there are few limitations on tactics used in the duel by the combatants, it is seen as dishonorable to use underhanded tricks to win." Bron had told him as he sat on the ground to begin stretching his legs.

"So, shoving a grenade in her pants, kicking her to the ground, and hopping back?" Tom had asked in amusement as he imagined it happening.

"Not illegal but frowned upon by the System as well as combatants. Just fight with honor and you will be fine. You have improved greatly since we began." Bron praised him.

"It's all because of your teaching," Tom replied, looking up at him with a smile.

Bron looked away at this, pretending to notice something in the distance. If he had been capable of it, Tom thought Bron would be blushing.

"Just, don't go get yourself killed kid. I've got too much more to teach you." Bron said without looking at him.

Today, Tom stood outside the guild building taking in the morning air as the sun rose. The cascading colors of orange, yellow, and red mixed with the violet, purple, blues, and blacks of the night as the sun began to peek over the city's skyline. Reflecting off of the remaining windows of the building, the sun's rays almost sparkled.

Taking in a deep breath as he closed his eyes, he held it for a moment as he let the warmth of the sun wash over him. Letting his breath out slowly, Tom could feel his heartbeat calm slightly as he thought about everything that had happened so far and what he needed to do today. He felt oddly calm in knowing he didn't have to put other's lives in danger for this confrontation. Everything rested on his shoulders, but that was okay this time.

He imagined the look on Shandra's face when she received the news of the duel invite and saw her opportunity to put him in what she perceived as his place. This would be a fight for the age. A turning point in the city of Dallas' future.

"You ready?" Derek said coming to stand next to Tom.

"I am. I was worried I would be nervous or scared, but I'm oddly at peace." Tom replied still watching the colors of the sunrise as they began to change to the bright light of day.

"Good. You have been training hard. You should feel good about this. Besides, someone's gotta put that bitch in her place." Derek added, attempting to lighten the mood.

Tom smiled as he chuckled lightly at hearing Derek trying to say something James would. He had been fortunate to have his friends with him on this journey. Letting them down wasn't an option.

"Alright, I'm gonna grab some breakfast. Gotta be ready for the fight. Don't want to be caught lacking because I thought I could skip food." Tom said turning to go inside.

"I'll join you," Derek offered.

Grabbing a tray in the cafeteria, Tom was about to tell the server what he wanted, when she held up a hand and stopped him.

"Charlene said you get the special breakfast this morning. Need you at your best." The server said to him.

She then piled his plate high with bacon, sausage, eggs, and two biscuits.

"What about pancakes? I see others with pancakes." Tom asked.

"You had some carb-loading yesterday. If you do that this morning, you'll just be bloated." Charlene called from the kitchen after hearing his protests.

"Fine. You're right." Tom admitted as he turned to go to a table.

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He found a table where Bobby and Kedron sat and talked, and he and Derek joined them.

"Hey, settle an argument for us," Kedron said as they sat down. "If Terry Crews were here right now, he would be a Paladin, right? All that Charisma, those muscles."

Tom thought for a minute before Bobby spoke up.

"Oh, no he wouldn't. He would be a Barbarian. Always taking his shirt off and flexing, high Strength." Bobby said with a look on his face that said he believed Kedron was obviously wrong.

"I think he'd be a bard. You're both right about the qualities, but wrong about the class." Tom said taking his fork and pointing it at each of them, still having a sausage on the end of it. "You're right about high Charisma, and you're right about always taking his clothes off. Both of you forgot he plays the flute and shows that off all the time. So Charisma, good looking, taking clothes off, and playing an instrument equals Bard."

After talking for a while longer, and others joining the table, Derek reminded him they needed to get moving. Returning to the lobby, all the members of the strike force teams were assembling. They would follow along, many staying out of sight, and keeping watch. Jay and Sean's team would scout the area to see if there was anything suspicious to be worried about, and Kiera's snipers would be on the lookout for anyone trying to interfere.

After going over the plan one more time, the teams headed out. Most of them split off to go in different directions, leaving only most of Tom's original team with him. Derek, James, Kevin, Kirsten, Michael, Kedron, Bobby, Austin, Clay, Graham, DeeDee, and Briana walked behind Tom as they entered the abandoned parking lot where the duel would take place. Shandra arrived shortly after with what looked like her entire guild carrying weapons and ready for a fight.

"That's a lot of people for a duel," Tom commented.

"They're just here to make sure you don't try anything," Shandra shot back.

"Really? You've been the one with anger issues and who attacked us, and you are worried about us doing something shady?" Tom asked as he chuckled at the presumption.

"I don't trust you, Tom. You could have been great if you had joined us. But instead, you keep playing leader with this pathetic band of misfits." Shandra almost spat the words in hate as she glared daggers at Tom.

"Alright, let's get this over with. I'm really tired of your attitude." Tom said stepping forward.

"So eager to die. I pity you for that." Shandra said with an evil grin on her face.

They moved until they were about ten yards apart and a gong sounded in the distance signifying the time for the duel had arrived. A blue dome appeared above them and slowly began to lower into place around them. When it settled on the ground, it became invisible but clearly marked where the bounds of the match were with an imprint left on the ground in the shape of the barrier.

Both combatants glared at each other as they stood there waiting for the other to make the first move. Tom equipped his greatsword and as he swung it to the side in a practice swing, Shandra pulled a gun and fired at him. His eyes went wide at the sight, and he tried to dodge out of the way but was hit in the shoulder with a bullet.

Losing sight of his goal as he was hit, Tom landed hard on the ground and rolled to his back as he hissed with pain.

"You're so naive. You thought we were going to come here and have a civil fight." Shandra said as she walked over slowly to where Tom was lying and loomed over him, gun pointed at his head. "For all your talk of being what's best for everyone else, you always fall short of the goal when you continue to be pathetic and weak."

"You really just think killing anyone who doesn't agree with you is the path to power?" Tom growled at her as he clutched his shoulder, his sword lying on the ground beside him. "The problem with that strategy is that you leave yourself completely isolated from anyone that might have your back, and you end up dead in a ditch somewhere because someone decided to murder you in your sleep."

Tom let the skill loose that he had been preparing and a glyph appeared on the ground behind Shandra. One of her men saw it and yelled to her. She turned her head to see what was happening when an abyssal chicken sprang at her and as she moved out of its way, it latched onto her hand with the gun rather than her body. Howling with pain, Shandra began to beat the chicken on the ground to try to make it let go.

Tom quickly cast Dark Restoration on himself and stood up, grabbing his sword. He heard a metallic sound as the bullet was pushed out of his skin and landed on the ground, bouncing a few times before coming to a rest. Shandra had finally gotten the monster off of her hand and stomped on its head. She turned just in time to see Tom launching himself at her.

She pulled a sword out of her bag and raised it with her one good hand to block him. Her Strength stat had to at least match his if not be higher and she pressed hard as she began to push Tom back. Realizing that he was going to have to play dirty as well, Tom raised his left foot, leaning into the push and putting all his weight onto the back right foot as he kicked up and hit Shandra's bloody hand.

Screaming again, she turned and moved away from Tom, breaking the power struggle. They stood staring at each other for a long moment, Shandra's face a mask of rage while Tom seemed confident and collected.

"I've worked my entire life for everything I have. I clawed my way to the top of the pile so I could look down on everyone else and now another man is here to take away what's rightfully mine!" Shandra barked at him through gritted teeth.

"I'm not here to take what you think is yours. And I'm not here to put you in whatever place you seem to think women belong. I'm here to stop a murderhobo tyrant from continuing on a path that will lead to a place no better than that shitbag who enslaved people was seeking to create. You only see yourself as the victim and that means you don't care what happens to anyone on your way to the top. Well, I've got news for you. You'll be standing on the top of a pile of nothing but ash if you do it this way." Tom said to her.

"Shut your filthy cockhole!" Shandra screamed at him as she launched herself at him again. "I will kill you for standing in my way!"