Prologue: The promised battle below those stars II.
Both Chuminas started running towards each other and then launched the same attack *Aero Blast*, a powerful and quick beam made of strong wind. It was as if both attacks had been released at the same time and yet the one that connected was the one launched by the older Rick’s Chumina.
Rick Jr. & Chumina:
HP: 85%
SP: 340%
“Whaaaat!? Why did yours hit while mine missed!?”
“Guess you just need to get better, son!” In less than a split second Rick Sr. and his Chumina were preparing to continue their winning streak, “Y’know what to do next!”
“I-It’s coming for you!! Quick! More *Aero Blasts*!” Rick Jr. screamed.
Chumina complied, using a barrage of *Aero Blasts* one after the other. Rick Jr. didn’t want to lose yet again, he planned to somehow continue this battle mid-range where he was a bit better, “If we allow dad and his Chumina to get close to us we are done for, they are just too good in close combat!”
“Oh Rick, Rick, Rick.. Let’s just end this already, Chumina..” Rapidly and precisely the red-cloaked Chumina approached its opponent, dodging all of its ranged attacks, and finally got to a short distance of the other Chumina.
“A-Aero Blast!” Rick quickly ordered, “No way it will dodge it at this distance.” Rick Jr. would soon eat his own words as dodge he did, and then proceeded to land some blows.
Rick Jr. & Chumina:
HP: 18%
SP: 55%
After the string of attacks Rick Sr. announced what would be the last command in the battle “*Aero Blast*”, both Chuminas were extremely close, escaping was impossible so this beam of wind hit an already weakened Chumina with a critical hit.
Rick Jr. & Chumina:
HP: 0%
SP: 55%
“Well son, it was a good fi-” Rick Sr. Was about to brag to his son about a perfect win -as he usually did- when he noticed something.
WINNER: Rick Sr. & Chumina:
HP: 70%
SP: 440%
[S-Seventy percent!? W-When did I get hit?!] Rick Sr. was surprised as he saw no explanation, [Unless.. Rick, did you..], “I got hit! How did it happen?! Was it a glitch?! Or did you attack at the last second, son?!”
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“Yes, I attacked when you got super close, but in the end, it didn’t even matter... I lost!” Rick Jr. said with an angry tone.
Rick Sr. caressed his son, “You have definitively improved, Rick! You really surprised me!”
“You really think so?!” Rick Jr. was full of happiness.
“Yes, you sure did! But now, let’s go back, remember you promised this would be the last battle, ok?”
“Yes, dad... But before we go I wanted to ask you a question” Rick turned his head to the sky, “Do you know how many stars there are in the sky? I tried to count but I ran out of numbers!”
“You ran out of numbers?! I find that hard to believe, son!”
“Well, I just got a little tired after a while.. The stars.. There were just too many!”
“There are… Umm…” Rick Sr. Was hesitant, but at the same time he didn’t want to look uncool, of course, he had no idea of how many stars there were in the sky, but he had to say something, anything, “So, I don’t know how many stars there are in the sky, but I do know this cool fact!” Rick Sr. took his son in his arms and put him in his back giving him a piggyback, “Look at the sky son, every star you are looking at right now, it’s not really there anymore.”
“What do you mean it’s not really there anymore, dad?”
“They are reflections of the past, umm… They are like save states in the S.elf Network… In a sense… Kinda.” Rick Sr. didn’t really know how to explain the concept of the speed of light.
“You just got confused, right dad?”
“Haha, you got me!”
Son and father kept silent for a couple of seconds, in awe of the beautiful spectacle they were beholding.
Rick Jr. broke the silence, “Dad, you always leave and… When you go out I don’t have anyone to play S.elf with! Mom doesn’t even want to let me play online S.elf battles and… I dunno, I just don’t like when you go… And that’s almost always!”
“Well son, I… I just have to go to work, and I can’t work from home hahaha.” Rick Sr. took something out of his shirt, a pendant he was wearing, “But you showed me today just how much you have improved, so I think I’m gonna give you this, also as a gift for your seven birthday, and compensation for your seventeenth lost today!”
“Very funny!” Said Rick Jr. after lightly knocking his dad’s head, after that he accepted his dad’s gift, “What’s this thing, dad? It looks like a necklace or something?”
The gift was a chain with a pendant shaped like a cross between the sun and the moon, it was kind of weird, “I… I had seen you wear this for a long time dad, are you sure you wanna give it to me?”
“Yeah, it’s not only a pendant, with it you can actually S.elf battle with me whenever you want, kinda, you won’t actually battle with me but with a “saved state” of my battles, like an A.I. made of my battle records, so basically me haha, isn’t it cool?”
Rick Jr. had no idea what his dad was talking about, “Ok dad, let’s go sleep, it’s getting late and I’m sleepy!”
“Okie dokie, son, let’s go!”
[https://i.imgur.com/S7izdR7.jpg]