-” So, how many challenges doohickies do you have?”. Angie was asking around, using her foot to gently kick everyone to wake them up. She appeared annoyingly fresh, even though she drank just as much, if not more, than the rest. Marc crawled to some nearby bushes and flowered the plants, then he also became a mint commercial actor. Syna and Chirani helped each other lift and stand up.
Savan was more or less in a state similar to a sleeping coma. Vivar tried to pick them up, but then he had to declare them knocked out.
-” They will probably sleep for a few more hours. And puking…Ugh, I don’t miss this part of drinking”, he added to his report.
Angie kinda thought they would end up like this, so she asked everyone again to show how many devices they had gathered so far- “ 12, huh? Do you remember how many each has used?”, she investigated. “ So far, 7 duds and 3 that activated a trial were used, 1 of which was done by us. That means that there are 7 activators and, uhm..”
- “ 15 possible duds left”, completed Marc noticing that she forgot how many fakes were mentioned at the start.
After they’d finished working out the numbers, they split into two teams to try and find more activators, leaving Savan in Vivar's care while they were still doing their fiesta. Angie and Marc went south, while Syna and Chirani north.
-” We will have a look in the area until you appear at the limit of Sovereign and Azin radar map, alright Vivar? And try to care for our little drunkard over there, it was their first time”. After which Angie waved goodbye and followed the rest.
Vivar waited, unflinching for hours, switching from setting to setting, just watching the world in front of him. He tried to see what it looked like if he combined infrared vision with the gamma-ray one and, just like that, he somehow managed to create an entirely alien realm. The colors were all jumbled together, at least the ones his devices were able to record. Even shapes were bent a little bit, making them appear as if someone smudged the world’s lines.
-” So this is it, huh? How do you want to see”, he added while taking a look at his sleeping partner. “ It is something else, but I guess for someone like you it would be spectacular…Hmmm, what am I saying, it is the same for me.”
He continued to sit there, playing around, and for the first time in a while, he felt somewhat relaxed, detached for a bit. Vivar then switched to his audio scanners, hearing the different vibrations from the wind, the animals underground, and the trepidations that were getting louder and louder. The knight quickly took a defensive position, preparing mentally for the worst.
And the worst appeared in the distance, as a behemoth rose his head from beneath the trees, sprinting at high velocity, heading straight for them. The knight braced himself for what should have been a direct impact, but once he was close enough, Serviceman broke his movement and stopped in front of Vivar. He wasted no time with any pleasantries, going straight to the point:
-” Chose a date for a duel or Samuel will activate the self-destruct on all the C.T.D!”, commanded the giant.
Vivar was taken by surprise at everything the challenger did, but hearing the name of the number one CEO made him realize that he was serious about it. It took him a few moments to compose himself, before giving his response- “ After the fourth round. Any specifications I should know about?”
-” Come alone, no other party is to be involved. If you lose or damage your railgun before it, the duel will be rescinded and everyone will be destroyed.”
-” Alright, but since you and your patient are intertwined, I demand that Savan joins me as well.”
-" You know about Billy?"
Serviceman took a look at his partner, and then to the clopy. He nodded and then, to Vivar's confusion, told him to “ Be sure you don’t miss” then left back the way he came from, leaving only a trail of trampled grass and broken trees in his path.
-----
Before they would notice the approaching tyrant, Angie and Marc manage to find one of the devices but grow tired and bored of their search, so the girl proposes a little something.
-” Hey, so after seeing you in the trials, you're quite skilled, aren’t you? Guessing you and Azin had some training together?”.
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-” Well, yeah. Since she was assigned to act like a sort of caretaker and bodyguard, my lower father and lower mother wanted us to be able to also work together in the field. So, under their guidance, Azin and I learned some tricks on how to deal with any…most situations”, he said, after realizing what Angie was aiming at. ” Are you sure about this? I mean, are you good with sparring under your condition?”
-” It’s because of that that I want to fight you two. If by any chance, anything goes wrong, hear me out, do not interrupt me, I trust you to keep them safe, alright? As I’ve said, you are skilled, smart, and confident when you have to…you would be a great leader for the group Marc.”
The boy didn’t know how to respond and just took a look into Azin's motionless face. Many wouldn't read much into it, but he knew that she actually tried to say something. She trusted his judgment and whatever his choice would be, she would back him up.
Marc started doing some stretches, getting ready and seconds later Angie did the same. He then said- “ I agree but on a few conditions. We’ll try to keep the damage at a minimum, we use the blunt side of any close combat weapons we have and we’ll do three rounds of ring-outs. Ok?”
-” Sure, sounds good to me.”
-” And this is just a workout, alright? You will be fine…while I do appreciate what you said, remember that for me, my mission and family come first. Please, remember that Angie.”
While it disappointed her a bit to hear that, the miner knew that it wouldn’t be correct to force him into a role he didn’t feel comfortable in, but she was pleased that at least the idea was planted in his head.
Angie and Marc unzipped their jumpsuits until they reached their stomach, then tied them around their waist with the sleeves. It was the first time she saw his arms exposed, and for good reason. He already had cybernetic implants installed in them, probably in his legs too. “ Military grade said Savan”, she thought. It was no surprise that he was allowed to reject the contest's “gifts”, seeing how most of them paled in comparison to what he already had.
-” Nice gear”, she shouted to prepare the mood.
-” Thanks. They burn like hell all the time, but I got used to them”, he replied in a playful tone.
When the set timer boomed noisily, Angie made the first move. She held her pickaxe in her right hand, and the chain from it in her left, gunning straight for Marc. When close enough, she threw the chain towards the boy, who moved backwards, near his C.T.D, and then the girl jumped in the air. Angie's bounce threw her way over the Azin, enough to reach the robot’s backhead and smack her over it, making the robot fall straight down. She remembered that Marc could easily dodge her normal strikes with his augmentations, and she didn’t know if her current speed was enough to outpass it, so- “ I’ll get both of you with one shot”, she added pompously.
The boy did dodge in time though, and as if to dismiss her attack, he acted as he brushed off the dust from his shoulder. For the split second, he distracted her, Azin managed to fire the grappling hook with enough force to make Angie lose her balance, while her back shield defended her from the hit. Marc ran at the same time and used different martial strikes to overwhelm the girl, making her step backwards.
All of a sudden, Marc jumped while a giant foot was moving fastly underneath him. He did so at the right enough moment for Angie to fail to switch her guard to the left. Luckily for her, her back shield activated, again, in time to disperse part of the impact from Azin’s foot, which still struck her hard enough to launch the girl to the left and then to roll for another two or three meters before stopping. Right over the boundary is traced as the limit.
Mark and Azin won the first round.
-----
Syna and Chirani, while they did wake up without any headaches, their bodies were still tired and not fully charged. So they kept energy usage to a minimum, leaving the C.T.Ds in charge and only talking in low, silly sentences, making stupid observational jokes from time to time to pass the time.
They giggled at whatever the other said, and spent the time in a sense of blissful peace for now. A few hours of just wasting around was exactly what both of them needed. When they reached the edge of the radar, Sovereign quickly turned around and sounded the alarm.
-“ Something is closing in on Vivar’s position. Finer, go ahead of us if you can and help them out if they need it”.
-----
Five rounds later, the two were tied in the score. Filled with bruises, and their companions with bent armors, Azin was thrown out of the ring, leaving only Angie and Marc to duke it out. A punch to the face cleared everything, and the miner left as the only one inside the arena. She won.
Marc looked at her with envy and almost asked for a rematch until Azin also sounded the alarm.
Both groups reached Vivar, and the now awoke Savan, but only the two. After they regrouped, he told them everything that happened and afterwards proposed that:
-“ If the self-destruct option is real, we can’t waste any more time. I propose for each to go in a different direction, again, search for the devices, and activate each one we find on the spot. We have to reach round four as quickly as possible.”
They agreed that it was the most optimal option, but Angie was still not sure about the other part- “ Are you sure, sorry to say this, but is Savan ready for a fight?”
The clopy looked a bit dishevelled, scared of the thought of having to face Serviceman, but - “ Yes…I can do it. This is exactly what we planned, either way. We will have fewer people, but we”, they then dorn a more determined face “ will hunt for him, and release him from their grasp.”