Season 1, Episode 5 - The Boxtops XXXVI - "Audrey vs Mackenzie"
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Audrey took a moment to rest, sitting at the base of a large tree. Nearby, Clayton hoisted the unconscious Lynn over his shoulder, gave her a nod so Audrey gave him a wave, then with a gust of wind, he flew off, dashing away into the treetops.
Once he left, Audrey allowed herself to let out a huge sigh. Her head felt hot, her stomach felt sensitive to touch, she had cuts and bruises all over, and she could really, really use some ice cream (preferably mint chocolate chip).
“Captain’s log,” Audrey mumbled, taking deep breaths to regain her strength. “Next time, bring those little herb things you can chew and put on your wounds.”
And speaking of bringing things - Audrey felt through her uniform pockets for seeds, only to come up with disappointing results. Dummy Audrey - now resting in peace, dust to dust and ash to ash as its flattened corpse rejoined mother earth - and all the other attacks took up the majority of the seeds she brought. Only a few vine seeds remained on hand.
But, fortunately, seeds were a renewable energy source. Right there in front of her, Audrey spotted several acorns and whirly-birds that could provide ammunition for her. She scooped them up, of course, but that didn’t solve the whole issue - mainly, she was running low on the strength necessary to actually grow the cells of these bad boys.
She held an acorn in her palm; tiny red sparks flashed across her hand, as if calling out in their dying breaths, and when she finished her work, she could only make a somewhat menacing branch.
That did give her a few ideas, but first she decided to sense if anybody else was still around. One look through the Rddhi left her frowning - she couldn’t sense a single soul nearby from either team. Rddhi signatures relied on heartbeats, so either they had no heart (like that mean Babs!) or they had been knocked unconscious and taken to Ms. Mogami’s medical tent.
Or they were just somewhere else in the arena. Either way, Audrey was by herself, and her fight with Lynn took her away from Team’s Red flag. She couldn’t sense it anymore, which also meant she would have to find her way back to it.
But Audrey was no slouch when it came to navigation. She once sailed on a steamboat down the Connecticut River, after all! She rode the rails hobo-style all over northern New England! She could make a two minute burrito in one minute (after some trial and error, but she could do it now)!
“I’m Audrey!” she declared, then looked up at the sky. Though the sun was high up, it hadn’t finished its arc across the heavens yet, so that meant east would be that way. And considering the sun had been in the direction of Team Blue’s flag at the start-
“That-a-way!” Audrey concluded, and bounded off toward her home flag, music in her steps. She felt good, all things considered. Even with the physical injuries, the fact that her body could take this much and could still keep going must mean it’s a strong body. Hard work paid off! She didn’t immediately get pulverized by Demetrius, and she won against Lynn. Lynn! She could move at dangerous levels of superspeed! Lynn plus Demetrius equals a victory and a tie! One and a half victories!
She hoped her teammates were doing just as good. She remained on the forest floor, not enough vine seeds or Rddhi energy left in her to swing herself around like a monkey (assuming they do swing). Tethered to the earth, the girl who once conquered flight now had to conquer loneliness, something she always defeated with constant movement. But when she moved around New England, she would always end up in a village or city, an inn or tavern. But out here in the arena, despite covering some distance, everybody remained out of contact.
There we go!
Audrey breathed out a sigh of relief. Someone’s coming this way!
But then she remembered to act tactically. Users like Reed were strong enough to tell who was who based on their Rddhi signatures. Reed even had some skill at hiding her own. That would be Audrey’s next step after the match, along with those chewable herbs. She had no idea who this heartbeat could be, so she slipped into a bush and debated her options.
It could be Reed, since the person’s coming from the direction of our flag. But why would Reed leave our flag? Wait…that is our flag!
The flag gave off a particular signature. Now, maybe Team Blue’s flag had the same signature - Audrey wasn’t sure - but why would Team Blue’s flag be moving back toward their side of the arena? That meant someone on Team Blue was carrying their own flag to safety, or they were in the process of kidnapping Audrey’s flag!
Audrey wouldn’t stand by and let a flagnapper walk free. But what was the best way to confront such a fiend?
Said fiend provided the answer. They must’ve noticed Audrey’s presence, since they stopped in place all of a sudden, presumably spooked like a deer in headlights. Audrey herself remained still in the bush and waited; the enemy started moving at an angle that would take them around Audrey.
Audrey slipped out of the bushes and started walking towards the person. The person adjusted their angle. Audrey adjusted her angle. The person started moving faster, as if they were jogging. Audrey started running.
I can move faster than this person!
Every time the person tried to adjust their route, Audrey made the same adjustment, closing the gap each time. She remained on the forest floor, bounding over fallen logs, shoes crunching fallen leaves and twigs, gaining on her opponent. When they doubled back and started retreating at an angle, Audrey knew she had them.
She nodded at herself, hyping herself up, then broke out into a quick sprint. The gap between them closed in an instance - her opponent was clearly not expecting this sort of speed, and Audrey was on…him!
“Dan Turner!” Audrey called out, seeing that one of his hands held a tight grip on a pole with a red flag - her red flag! “Get back here!”
“That’s alright, but thank you for offering!” Dan wheezed out, looking already winded. He picked up into a sprint, but Audrey dug deeper into herself and found the inner strength to keep up her pace. They moved past trees and bushes, Audrey gaining with each step. She was almost there… a few more steps and he would be close enough to touch-
Dan slid to a halt, kicking up dirt and debris, and swung his arm around rapidly in Audrey’s direction, hoping to clothesline her. Having just fought a person who moved at superspeed, Audrey was aware of the weaknesses of moving fast - it would be tough for her to change direction and get out of the way, so she needed to keep her head on a swivel.
That’s why, when Dan moved to attack her, Audrey not only registered his new attack in time, but she even made movements to counter it - she simply shifted her direction into Dan himself. His arm missed her neck, but her body didn’t miss his. With a resounding thud, the sprinting Audrey, who expected the collision, smacked into Dan, who certainly did not expect it.
The two landed in a heap, but Audrey collected herself first and straddled him, her arm raised, weapon in hand. Audrey’s head pounded, her cheeks were flush, but as Dan reached up towards her, Audrey clocked him in the face with her somewhat menacing branch. And then a second time for good measure.
Dan’s arms collapsed to the ground, releasing the flag. He lay there, below Audrey, eyes closed, a bruise on his face, but that usual laidback look still remained on it.
The adrenaline subsided out of Audrey as she caught her breath. She slowly got off the poor kid, then reached down for the flag. With the flag now in her possession, she raised her somewhat menacing stick in triumph, the magnificent sun in the blue sky above providing a background for its somewhat slick form.
Two and a half victories!
A gust of wind blew by her, and Clayton arrived once more. He took a look at the unconscious Dan, then looked back at Audrey. “You’re unstoppable,” he supposed, smiling.
Audrey shrugged, playfully playing it off. “It was either me or him.”
Clayton chuckled, then hoisted Dan over his shoulder. “We ought to stop meeting like this,” he joked, then flew off once more.
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Giddiness rising inside her, Audrey started shadowboxing the air around her.
“I’m unstoppable!” she exclaimed. The compliment was nice, sure, and she would have to incorporate it into a future song lyric, but that wasn’t the only reason for giddiness. Three months ago, she was shaking in place down in a sewer, worrying she’d never come back, feeling like her powers ought to belong to someone else.
But now look at me!
Even the air seemed unstoppable, providing no resistance for the unrelenting force of Audrey’s shadow punches.
I hope Isaac and Reed are feeling the same way about themselves right now!
Audrey punched the air and giggled one last time, then resumed her super serious mode.
I still need to find my team. And I should return this bad boy home.
Audrey knew she had entered into what they called the runner’s high - that sensation when you’re knee-deep in a run and you feel like you could run forever. Audrey felt like she could do this combat simulation forever.
Two and a half victories!
But then she remembered an important lesson from Hanai.
Pride goeth before the fall!
And then remembered what he said when she asked for it in simpler English.
Don’t get too cocky!
Audrey remained on alert the whole time, and that’s why she didn’t hesitate to slip behind a tree when that familiar wave-vortex-sphere thing blasted towards her from deeper in the woods.
Mackenzie’s here!
When the blast subsided, Audrey took a peek from behind the tree and saw the menacing approach of Mackenzie, who was a sight for sore eyes.
“Eww,” Audrey involuntarily said upon the sight of her class rep. Looking beyond the cuts and scrapes in her uniform, her skin looked like an uncomfortable reddish-purple color, angry and sensitive, a bad rash on her face. And her eyes were an even angrier red! She needed some aloe, stat!
“It’s just you and me now,” Mackenzie called out. “I’m here to finish things.”
Audrey yelped when they made eye contact; she moved back behind the tree, but the expected blast didn’t arrive. Audrey waited for a few more moments, but nothing happened. Gathering her courage, she peered from behind the tree again.
Mackenzie had only moved just a little closer to her. Move was a strong word - it was more like a shamble. She took long, pained breaths with each step.
I see, she must’ve used all her strength finding me here.
Wait, just you and me! That means…
Audrey gasped.
I outlasted Isaac and Reed! I have to make fun of them for that!
But then she gasped again.
That means I’m by myself! It’s like I’m the last alive in dodgeball! That’s a lot of pressure and responsibility, Audrey. Dodgeball’s serious, and so is this. Ever since the semester started, I always needed them. And now, they really need me.
But conversely, that also meant that Team Blue really needed Mackenzie. She seemed to recognize this responsibility, since Audrey felt another incoming blast and the tree trunk above her shook, nearly uprooted.
She must be closer now. I only have a few seeds, but I have everything the forest can give me.
And when she put it that way, Audrey realized that her line of thinking had room for improvement. But first, she needed to test something.
Taking a risk, Audrey dashed out from behind the tree, her somewhat menacing stick in her hand. She simply charged at Mackenzie, yelling and whooping, and the expected result arrived - Mackenzie immediately sent her Rddhi sphere at her.
Audrey took the blast full-force. It made her skid aways backwards, and also made her feel a little sleepy, but as soon as it subsided, Audrey dashed forward again. Mackenzie frowned and back-pedaled away from Audrey until another blast came out of her.
This blast felt stronger. Audrey skidded all the way back again and involuntarily started her nightly ritual of counting sheep to fall asleep. But she remained in place and tried one more time once it subsided. The same thing occurred - Mackenzie back-pedaled, the blast came, and Audrey rubbed her eyes and blinked herself awake again. But she found what she was looking for.
There’s a cooldown period! And each time, it’s getting longer. She must be close to the end of her rope!
With that confirmed, Audrey moved to her next tactic. Rather than charge at Mackenzie, she disappeared back into the woods, circling around Mackenzie like a shark in deep water. To continue charging at her would be a war of attrition, and despite how battered Mackenzie looked, Audrey suspected that she herself would fall asleep first before the cooldown periods became long enough for her to reach Mackenzie.
As she circled Mackenzie, Audrey saw hrt catching her breath, slowly spinning around, keeping track of Audrey. But that was alright - Audrey’s next plan actually called for Mackenzie to notice her. After gathering some friendly items from the forest, Audrey made her move.
She advanced on Mackenzie, charging in seemingly the same way as before. She timed it so she ran towards Mackenzie's side as she burst through the trees. Mackenzie’s head shot in Audrey's direction and the sphere immediately appeared. Audrey bit her lip, the pain keeping her awake as Mackenzie’s waves lashed at her. But she kept her grip tight on the object in her hand until the waves finally subsided and the way to Mackenzie was clear.
Rather than charge again, Audrey took aim and fired!
The rock in her hand flew across the gap between them and smacked Mackenzie dead in the forehead. Mackenzie stumbled backwards, surprised, then brought a weary hand to the new pool of blood on her face. Another rock struck her in the elbow, while a third one missed.
“Audrey, what the hell!” Mackenzie cried out. Enraged and to put it simply, done with this shit (Audrey could tell Mackenize really wanted mint chocolate chip ice cream by this point, too) Mackenzie sent another sphere. But Audrey had already moved behind a tree, and then resumed her guerrilla tactics once the sphere subsided.
The next broadside of rocks hit Mackenzie in the stomach and another in the arm. Acting out of pure anger, Mackenzie kept sending out the sphere even though Audrey already adjusted to its timing. The next batch had a particularly mean-looking rock that struck Mackenzie in the shoulder.
Audrey slid behind a tree when the next wave went out. She stretched her arm out, then grabbed more rocks.
Next time, I’ll go for her legs. If I can imm…im…make her unable to move, I should be able to win!
When the blast ended, Audrey immediately stepped out from behind the tree per the usual - and found Mackenzie bearing down on her.
Oh no! Since I was behind the tree, I couldn’t see that she moved!
Audrey tried to bash her with a rock, but Mackenzie tackled her. The collision knocked the rocks out of Audrey’s hands as they fell to the ground. The two squirmed around, but Mackenzie got the upper hand and got on top of her. To her dismay, Audrey realized that, since she discarded the somewhat menacing branch in favor of the rocks, she no longer had a weapon in hand.
But that was alright, since Audrey herself was the weapon! Her spectacular aerial sit-out arm bar on Roman back in the convenience store provided proof that the Academy’s self-defense classes paid off!
Audrey struggled with Mackenzie, but her hands soon found their usual holds, and she was just about to toss Mackenzie off of her and pin her in a sick-ass kesa-gatame when Mackenzie unleashed another blast.
Audrey saw stars, thought of her old bed back in Salem Slot, but she bit down her lip and the pain shot away the sleepiness. Well, it kept her conscious enough to decide to cheat a little and make a desperate move - she poked Mackenzie in the eyes.
“Goddamnit, Audrey, stop doing weird things to me!” Mackenzie exclaimed as Audrey knocked her off. Audrey moved to get on top of her, but another blast came. This one was far weaker, but the accumulated fatigue from all the physical and mental exertion, along with the earlier blasts, meant that Audrey just collapsed face-down.
Mackenzie slowly rose to her knees, but so did Audrey, who slammed a right hook into her jaw. Mackenzie answered by simply slamming a right hook into her jaw. The two girls then punched each other at the same time, knocking both of them away from each other. But Mackenzie could follow her punches with a blast, forcing Audrey to collapse again.
This is no good. I can’t win like this. She’s got some witchcraft spooky super endurance thing going on. I have to make a decisive blow!
Now, part of Audrey did hope that Mackenize was lying earlier about the them two being the two last survivors. But deep down in her gut, Audrey believed Mackenzie told the truth. And it hurt a little, because for all her bluster and runner’s high, in the right here and right now, Audrey only had one move left. The result of the current showdown would be up to her and her alone.
But then she steeled herself. Mackenzie got to her feet, but before could send another blast at her, Audrey’s hand slid across the ground and tossed a pile of soil at Mackenzie’s face.
“Damnit Audrey!” Mackenzie groaned as she stumbled backwards, rubbing her eyes. Audrey stood up and, with everything riding on it, palmed a seed and sent out her last vine. The Rddhi currents appeared weaker, their usual red lights not as flashy, but the girls were close enough to each other that Audrey got the job done.
The vine circled around Mackenzie’s neck and then tightened around her throat. Mackenzie had overcome the pocket sand, but now struggled with the bindings around her neck. She tried to tear apart the vine, but Audrey put everything into it, keeping the vine strong, too strong for Mackenzie to tear through.
Mackenzie took her eyes off the vine and focused them on Audrey, sending out a sphere of waves. Audrey took it at full force, collapsing to her knees. But her vine remained strong, and Mackenzie’s face was turning blue.
It became a game of endurance then - who could last longer, Audrey’s chokehold or Mackenize’s blast? Each blast made Audrey think of winter nights back in Salem Slot, the warm bed waiting for her, the promise of a full night of dreaming.
Perhaps that’s a better way of putting it, Audrey realized with a sigh, her eye-lids half-closed from another blast. Pure Rddhi doesn’t entirely make you sleepy. It just makes you want to dream, and there’s only one way to dream…
Audrey’s grip on the vine loosened. Black streaks appeared in her vision, and that familiar feeling of falling embraced her. And then she was actually falling, down to the ground, the vine slipping out of her hands.