Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Training Field Septa
Time: 1431
January 31, 2050
Miss, Miss, Miss. And.. Miss. Oh, come on! This was getting frustrating and annoying. Sinder couldn’t help but let out a low growl. She bit it back, feeling the emotion rumble in her throat. Wheeling around, her heels crunching charred dirt, she let off a roar of fire in anger. Her acute, hyper focused eyes squinted and Itsuki was there. He moved like a silver blur. She made out the look on his face, an impenetrable mask of stoicism as he leaned under the licking tongues of fire. God, I wish I could punch him.
Sinder thought he was being smug; she knew he wasn’t but.. He was getting on her last nerves. Itsuki pushed off the ground with his right foot to propel himself into a sideways dash, then kicked the ground to close the distance between them.
Without even the time to blink or react, Sinder felt her left cheek depress from a hooked punch. Merciless as ever, Itsuki had put everything into it. The next hit gut checked her, and she was almost ready to hurl, but she swallowed and swung back. Sleek metal claws cut the air, first a thrust with the right and then a wide horizontal slash with the left.
Itsuki dodged the first, stepping in with his fist poised and lower body tensing, then leaned back as her second set of claws nicked and burned the tips of his hair’s bangs. Seeing an opening, Sinder strained her right arm. She drew it back, muscles squeezing taut. With one focused motion, at a speed that seemed as fast as sound, she threw a following sharp thrust.
Burning red hot, her claw’s tips edged closer to Itsuki’s neck. With him bent back, posture broken, she was sure she would get a hit in. But then the world tilted. She lost feeling with the ground and her forward momentum reversed. Looking down as she began to fall back, she found Itsuki standing on one foot while his other was already hitting her stomach with a forward kick.
What the! No way! He must’ve done it when he leaned back to dodge her second strike. But.. How? The speed at which he moved must’ve been astonishing for her eyes to have missed it.
Beast humans like her had acute senses. For Sinder, she got the full package. Sight, smell, hearing, and touch, all of them were heightened to beyond normal degrees, especially in the midst of combat, when core energy surged through every cell of her body. Nothing should’ve gotten by her, yet she missed this of all things.
A thrum of pain, as if her insides were churning in a way that didn’t feel right. Shoulder’s shuddering, Sinder wanted to clutch the spot Itsuki’s foot was digging into her. She had to take a breath, to get away and recoup.
But there wasn't a chance.
Itsuki wouldn’t let her. The world moved like molasses. She saw every microsecond and each tiny motion he made. Itsuki did a hop with his other foot and was coming around with a following jump kick. Too fast, I can’t block it. Sinder ducked under the whooshing strike, glad that her reflexes weren’t so badly hampered yet. Itsuki immediately flipped forward midair in response, throwing his arms in a hammer strike with both fists hailing down on her. He was off the mark, missed by a lucky inch. The ground under them cratered. Dust and debris flew up in a mess.
Sinder covered her nose in reflex. Her ears twitched to the sound of shifting wind. She shifted her claw and had to parry a barrage of punches that hit as fast as a machine gun. Does he ever stop! Sinder wanted to scream, but she pushed back her thoughts. What she really needed was space and to think on how to get it. Except, no matter how much she tried to get control of the fight, Itsuki would force it back into his favor by keeping on her.
His constant close proximity negated her agility, so instead of her running circles around him, he was running circles around her. Or more like throwing her through a loop at this point. And the throwing was quite literal at times. Itsuki seized her wrist in her attempts to back away, then yanked her off the ground as if she weighed like nothing.
“Oh Shi–!” Her curse fell short as she tumbled and came skidding on her heels across the ground. Coming to a stop while crouched, she shook the daze from her eyes and pressed her palm to the ground. “Come forth!”
Voice filled with energy, three new wolf constructs arose in plumes of fire and smoke besides her. Immediately, they howled out gouts of fire at Itsuki. Sinder then immediately ordered the other wolves in waiting around them to pounce. She didn’t even need to say anything, she had gotten used to communicating with them through thought alone.
Itsuki pulled back, letting the projectiles of fire fly past him as he changed his attention to the wolves closing in behind him. Sinder coordinated one wolf to hold his attention, and then maneuvered 10 others to encircle him. She looked to the right, calling forth more hounds to abate Itsuki’s incoming support. The students were making headway, and she had enough to deal with as it was. With the swing of her arm, she wordlessly commanded the closest trio of wolves to keep letting off shots of fire, adding to the chaotic explosions going up around Itsuki.
This should keep him occupied. Sinder grimaced, rubbing the bruise on her stomach and numbness out of her arms. Itsuki was doing plenty of damage to her, nothing that was fatal, though enough to slow her down and make her need to take a breath. If she pushed her speed now she wasn’t sure if she could move the way she wanted, and a mistake would be something Itsuki would capitalize on. He didn’t miss a thing. He’s good. Really good. But what else was I expecting?
This wasn’t the first time she had fought Itsuki. And there were rumors about him, old ones, the kind that make even the boldest and rash of people turn tail and run. Not many knew all the details. On the surface, he was just a Grunt Type explorer, the most common and run of the mill kind of person. While also a top graduate from Terra Colony Eden, the explorer academy established in the European Bloc, he was, in all, ordinary on the outset. Except Sinder was keener on the details after all these years and realized that she was still coming to know what he could do.
Itsuki was like a weapon. The word just fit Sinder’s take on him every time she saw him fight. He’d fire off attacks without hesitation or pause, and with a calm and calculated measure as if aimed with timing and a deeper purpose. Every move you would make in front of him was like staring down the barrel of a gun, he was trained on you every second. His eyes, usually a blank black, helped to evoke that image. They were a pair of voids, colored like the darkened end of a rifle’s barrel. Holes into which there was an abyss that could seemingly swallow up anything.
But I’ve gotten used to that. Sinder thought. I can do this, and I’m an explorer now. Right? She looked up at Itsuki. Frightened doubt crept in as a shivering trickle of sweat ran down her neck. They’re not the same. His eyes.. They’re.. They’re..
Two silver slits irises, like a predatory animal, shined with an intensity that bordered on madness and insanity. She made eye contact for a second, and it was like looking into a void that had finally opened. She got the uncanny feeling something had crawled out, something that made all of her senses scream at her to run. The crackling sound in her ears made her think her heart was breaking like glass, that the last vestiges of courage within her were giving way. Inhaling a breath, she came back to herself.
Itsuki was getting dogpiled by her hellhounds. It was a struggling mess of bodies. For a moment, he was engulfed, not an inch of him had space to move. Then that familiar sound of glass breaking resounded. Light spilled from the pile; a crackle of energy boomed as a momentary shimmer of silver light poured in all directions.
Arms swinging wide to the left and right, Itsuki threw off dozens of Sinder’s hellhounds. Multiple silver lines of branching cracks ran down his face and arms. Every attack he threw caused them to deepen and extend across the length of his chest. Sinder felt it in the air. The density of his core energy was increasing, getting stronger and stronger.
I have to end this.. Now! But how!? Numbers weren’t working, and her breath attack would only be deflected by those silver gloves of his. They acted like Arielle’s conjured barriers, probably as focal points for pinpoint defense. But if they’re barriers, then.. They must have a limit.
“I got it!” Sinder ignited her hands in fire and pressed them to the ground. She’d need more help to get this right. “Come on! We can do this! Come forth!”
I’m not backing down. Just watch me, Mom.. Dad.. Your little girl is growing up. It’s time for me to take a stand, to make my way in this world, and to get some payback.
***
“Amanda! 6 more on our right and 4 on the left.” Richard called out. He slashed out with his thin sword, its edge arcing toward a pair of sharp canines. The hound snarled at him and clashed as they strained against each other. “Do you see them?”
Amanda twirled her sword, a frosty mist emanating off of its golden hilt. “Yeah. I’m on it.”
Particles of ice quickly collected in the air, shaping into long lances of ice. With a flick of her wrist, they were off. The four hounds on the left went down in a tumble as the icy projectiles stuck into their sides. The six on the right were hit the same, except one of them was so persistent that it attempted to ram one of the two upperclassmen.
Amanda was about to call out. “Watch ou..” She was cut short, there wasn’t a need for the warning. One of the upperclassmen took the beast out with a blast of energy without a second’s pause. They immediately got back into the flow of things, hacking and blasting the packs of hounds. “Whoa.”
It was amazing how situationally aware they were. The rush and messy state of the battle was hard to keep up with. Amanda sure as hell wasn’t able to keep track, not when Itsuki and Sinder were flashing around, creating literal fields of devastation in their wake. Yet her upperclassmen didn’t even flinch. They weren’t even scared or tense in face of these overwhelming forces.
Will I be able to do that? Amanda asked herself that. These senior classmates had been in the academy longer than her, so there was no doubt that they ran into the same trouble as she was at the moment. But how? How do they get used to this? They were so focused, fighting without fear, and they didn’t seem much different from her. They can’t be that much older than me.. We’re about the same age.
[Hey!] One of the upperclassmen shouted over the comm. His voice was rough, but he had a youthful tone that only verified Amanda’s guess. [Stop gawking and keep firing off those ice things of yours. We got more incoming!]
Amanda bit back the reflex to snap at him for how rude he was being, the guy looked only a couple years older, yet he was bossing her around. Her buildup of stress was verging on the edge of exploding and her fatigue was coming back. She reluctantly nodded, letting loose a barrage of ice arrows to lay into an approaching pack of hounds. The upperclassmen got stuck in, getting a number of Sinder’s constructs to peel off.
But it’s not enough. Amanda could see that Itsuki was steadily getting surrounded. Sinder had switched her strategy from an up-close engagement into a ranged one. She summoned more of her hounds, arraying them into a formation of firing lines that pelted Itsuki from all sides. At the same time, other hounds coordinated and navigated the scramble of flying flames to come biting at Itsuki.
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[Incoming!]
A shout from one of the upperclassmen was followed by a shockwave that rumbled the ground. Amanda braced herself, almost tripping on nothing.
“Holy shit,” She swore silently to herself, both in shock and dread of the escalating situation. Richard wasn’t doing so good himself either. His face was pale. “Richard, you good?”
He shook himself. “Y-yeah, I-I’m fine. Is Itsuki going to be alright?”
Richard jerked his head to direct her attention ahead. Amanda followed the trail of smoking destruction, finding Itsuki standing in a jagged ring of fire. In one hand, he had a wrestling hound snapping at him while the other was up in a guard. His silver fingerless gloves emanated a barrier of white energy. A scattered shot of flames suddenly came at him from all sides. He raised the still snarling hound and used it as a shield to take the sizzling hits.
Amanda gulped, shuddering at all the brutality. The hound slowly began to stop squirming as its side was burned with searing holes, then it stilled, and finally dissipated into particles of red light. The onslaught of flaming shots didn’t stop there. Itsuki sprinted ahead, weaving between them in an attempt to break through. He was stopped dead as a blanket of flames cut him off. The second he staggered back, Sinder made her move and let off one of those roars of fire. This time though, it wasn’t a stream or a directed torrent.
The heat in the air gathered and red streaks slipped from Sinder’s lips in tiny ebbs. She held it, straining herself, then, like the sound of multiple sonic booms, multiple shot of flames raced out with her roar. In a knee jerk reaction, Itsuki raised his arms up to guard, deflecting the condensed projectiles of searing hot energy off his gloves. Metal screeched as the deflection soared off, exploding the ground behind him into a spray of burning dirt.
The hounds threw their weight in, and Itsuki got a taste of what it was like to be on the receiving end of a barrage. Amanda felt oddly vindicated, though, as she expected, Itsuki took it all on without even batting an eye. Like a trained boxer, he hunched himself low and got into a compact stance. He threw punches, dodged, jumped, spun, and kicked the projectiles down.
Amanda let out a small and derisive laugh. “Heh, I think he’ll be just fine. But he’s going to get pushed back if we don’t get those hounds off him. Sinder will probably keep increasing the pressure until he breaks.”
“What should we do then?” Richard asked. “We’re already stretched pretty thin.”
“No kidding.” Amanda agreed. “But there’s no one else.”
Alpha 1 was already tied up just covering their asses, the other squad of students were at their breaking point, and the last of the trainees must be running low on ammo. And Sinder can keep summoning more of those hounds. What the hell are we supposed to do now?! Amanda let off another wave of ice arrows, doing little but delaying some of the hounds from attacking Itsuki.
Sinder turned in their direction. Amanda felt her gut immediately clench. She tackled Richard to the ground the next second as a barrage of flames exploded around them. The pair of upperclassmen in their squad went flying to the side.
Richard coughed through the dust. “Ugh.. my head.” He helped Amanda up. “Thanks, are the other’s, okay?” Looking around for the other two, he called out over the comm.
“We’re good.” Said one of the upperclassmen. “Banged up, but we can still fight.”
Richard let out a despondent sigh. [Relieved as I am to hear that, I think we should pull back.]
[What!] The upperclassman sounded outraged. [You want to turn tail, at the decisive moment?]
The other upperclassmen scoffed. [Talk about a coward.]
Richard’s face scrunched in discomfort; he obviously took offense. Before he could say anything, Amanda cut in.
[Richard’s right. What else are we supposed to do?]
[We fight, of course. That's what this training exercise is about.]
The upperclassmen picked themselves up, already training their attention on a new pack of Sinder’s hounds closing in. With one last look of disgust, they went off without another word. The message was loud and clear to Amanda. Either follow them or get lost. She was about ready to give up, there was no clear path to win, and she saw this fight as nothing more than over the top training. Why do we have to do this? Haven’t we gone through enough? It’s been over half a day, and we have to keep going!
Then Itsuki’s words came back to her. It had been after their duel on the first day they met. He had said, I’m here to break the veiled idea that you both have about explorers. I’ve seen your kind before, people who think becoming an explorer is easy as long as you have a good enough rank or enough skill. I’ve read your files a bit and while they are impressive, they're far from explorer material. I may be wrong since I don’t know either of your values or your goals that drove you to come here to this academy, but even still, that doesn’t matter. You came here to be explorers and that’s final. If you expect to continue, then take a good look at me.
Itsuki had indicated his injuries. Over half his body was in a cast or wrapped in bleeding bandages. It was gruesome, and that was from only one battle.
This is the bare minimum you will have to suffer if you want to really become explorers that will have the strength and will to achieve your goals. Because, as explorers, everything is stacked against us. Inside and outside the star depths.
Amanda felt her brow furrow on its own. Damnit.. He was right. This was what explorers went through, it was hell, it was a battle, a war, a fight against all odds. And here she was, cowering in the face of it, in the face of this fight that determined the outcome of not only herself, but other trainees and students. If she was going to be an explorer, she would have to go through fights like this over and over. There would be the fear of death, injury, and defeat beside her at every moment.
[Attention, User Amanda.] Said a voice in her ear. [If you are not participating, shall I expel you from the exercise. The option to forfeit participation is allowed, but you will be graded poorly.]
Amanda shrugged as she dusted herself off. The plain tone of 00’s voice snapped her back to herself. [No, I’m not giving up now.] She stood up on her own, letting go of Richard’s shoulder and giving him a look, asking.. How about you?
Richard grinned a small smile. It was the only answer he needed to give.
[I see.] Said 00. [If I may, I have a proposal as to how you may be able to win.]
[Well, go ahead and tell us.] Richard said. [I’m game if there’s something I can do.]
[Same here.] Amanda added. [What do you suppose?]
00 paused for a second, likely formulating a response through that smart AI head it had. Then it said, [I suggest you split the squad. Your cooperative ability with your fellow upperclassmen is abysmal. Instead of targeting the hounds, you should provide User Itsuki with direct, instead of indirect, support. Sending data to you now.]
An icon took shape in their HUDs. Richard and Amanda studied the plan as 00 spoke. Richard blinked in surprise while Amanda was flabbergasted by the daringness 00 proposed.
[This seems.. Kinda dangerous.. Don’t you think?] Amanda asked.
Richard nodded. [Agreed, I said I’d do it if I can, but.. This?]
[Your apprehension is noted.] 00 said blankly. [But I predict a 60% chance of success. If not, there will be.. Consequences.]
[What, explain.] Amanda demanded. [The heck do you mean by consequences?]
There were a few seconds of tense silence. It seemed like 00 was piecing together the right wording, as if to not displease them. It then explained. Amanda’s and Richard’s eyes then went wide, and they sighed with heavy resignation.
[Should I take that as an agreement?] 00 asked.
This freaking AI. Can’t it take a hint. Amanda was starting to learn that this artificial intelligence wasn’t all that intelligent from a human perspective. It needed some more.. emotional tuning, per say.
***
It burns. It’s too hot.. I.. I can’t feel my arms. He couldn’t blink, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t do anything. All Itsuki could do was feel every mote of pain run through like a lance in his brain. He watched himself rip the hounds apart, deflect and weave past tongues of flame. All the while, he had no actual choice or control. Flashes of memory filled his head, delusions he knew, but the only inputs he could force into his subconscious.
10 more from the right. 8 head on. 4 around Sinder. And.. she’s getting stronger.
He felt proud of her. She’s doing what she was taught. She’s pushing herself.. And so am I.
Flashes of fire thundered around him. His arms weighed like lead in water. Still, he moved, swinging, kicking, punching, and parrying. Every one of his bones ached, every moment dragged on in his brain. Agony, pure agony, except all of it familiar. He let it all swallow him, the emotions threatening to bury him six feet under.
Kill, Kill, Kill. Avenge them. Kill them all! Complete the Mission! Make them pay!
Voices not his own echoed off the invisible confines of his mind. They clawed at him, raking lines that crept down every length of his body. Shut up. He growled silently, wordlessly, all of it in his head. Keep in control, keep to the mission, keep to the goal. Win.. Win.. Win.. And Kill. A beep rang from his earpiece as the top right of his HUD opened a chat line.
[Communication Uplink Established: From User 00]
From User 00: User Itsuki. Current readings of your biometrics show signs of multiple health complications. Continued combat will endanger long term life expectancy. I advise that you break from engagement.
Itsuki had no way to respond, not verbally that is. He had partial control of the HUD and accessed the minor functions. With his intent, he sent bioelectric signals to the earpiece's wireless connection that read his cerebral cortex for inputs. His unconscious mind, the current driver, was allocating messaged orders on the official comm to Alpha 1. It had designated User 00’s new line as unnecessary and unnoteworthy for a reply, so Itsuki answered on its behalf.
From User Itsuki: Denied. I will not back down. My goal is clear. Support Group Alpha.
From User 00: You will die. Is that your goal?
From User Itsuki: It does not matter. I have chosen. The target will be eliminated
From User 00: ..Then I will choose as well.. Sending proposed ideas.
From User Itsuki: Rejected.
Sending. Rejected. Sending. Rejected. Sending. Rejected.
Over and over, the back and forth went on and on. It seemed like minutes passed, except only a microsecond had gone by. In this slowed down perception of time, Itsuki felt himself age further moment to moment.
From User 00: Sending.. I will not stop.
Itsuki would sigh if he could. I should’ve never let you out. He was buckling on letting 00 have his ear, more so because this persistent artificial intelligence showed such adamant will. He’s never done that, not before today. Were my modifications a success?
From User 00: Will you listen?
Itsuki paused, letting the first lines of data of the message run across the HUD.
From User Itsuki: ..Continue.. Your.. idea has merit.
From User 00: Understood. Users Richard and Amanda are unable to keep up with their veteran counterparts. Suggesting reallocation as direct fire support. User Richard has shown to be quite durable and User Amanda’s ability to conjure and shape ice is noteworthy.
Itsuki read the proposed data packet further. It took him only half a second before he replied.
From User Itsuki: I do not agree. Direct support is not advised. They will be susceptible to injury, or worse. They are not ready.
From User 00: Agreed, but this is the best chance for victory. I will provide personal support to minimize injury. Do you agree?
I do not! Itsuki's rejection came instantly and firmly, so much so that 00 was caught off guard. A second's stall in real time was an AI’s equivalent of days of conjecture. 00 then responded with an audible message, now with a petulant tone as though he was fed up.
[You have no choice. Your ability has been activated; your body will react as needed. You have no direct control. As such, you cannot stop me.]
From User Itsuki: Then why do you wish to talk to me?
Another silent second.
From User 00: Because I wish too.
If Itsuki could laugh, he would, and he’d smile too. It wasn’t often he met people who could bring short moments of hope and cheerfulness to his life. He cherished the second, logging the moment in his brain so that he could recall it later on.
From User Itsuki: Do what you must.
From User 00: Affirmative.. Sending Data packets. Beginning dialogue with Users Richard and Amanda.
From User Itsuki: Good luck.
[End of Communications]