CHAPTER 11 - TO THE DEATH…
The blinding light created by the clash of the borg tyrant and the lone warrior subsided quickly. Replaced by a spout of dirt and mud three hundred feet high as the two crashed to the ground in heated combat.
“ATE YOUR WHEATIES WHILE I WAS DISTRACTED WITH THE MUDLICKERS, DIDN’T YA? GOOD! THIS IS THE POWER I WANTED TO SEE FROM YOU!”
“All you’re going to see is the hell I bring down on you.”
CAL’s body lit up like a christmas, engulfed in his now blackened Hardlight mode. He dashed towards Negas, summoning a maul to match his battleaxe; he narrowly missed slicing the Borg’s face off. Taking several steps back, Negas revved his vice claw, spinning it at hyper speed and using it as a mace against CAL.
Vaporizing the ground with every missed blow, CAL deftly avoided every devastating strike negas threw at him. Not wanting to test the beastail power of the vice claw, he cautiously waited for the perfect opening. The perfect moment to unleash hell upon the borg, and his patience was well rewarded.
“SHOW ME MORE POWER DROID! I’VE BEATEN YOU AT YOUR WEAKEST NOW I WANT YOU AT YOUR STRONGEST.”
Slamming his vice claw into the hull of a ship, CAL’s opportunity arrived as Negas jammed it deep within the plates of the hull. Running forward, CAL slammed his maul into the borg’s ribs, knocking him back and freeing his claw. Negas slammed the spinning claw into CAL’s axe as he blocked the blow, shattering it. Unfazed, the warrior discarded the hilt, gripping the maul with both hands and slamming it full force into the side of the tyrant’s knee cap.
Negas howled in pain as his joint exploded into a vulgar display of blood, pus, and white fluids. Enraged, he clenched his hulking flesh fist, causing a spike to emerge from his wrist. Impaling CAL as he punched him in the chest. Unable to move, CAL faced the full might of the vice claw as the borg punched him nearly halfway across the arena.
Knocked flat on his back, CAL was granted no respite. Negas rocketed high into the air thanks to his jet packs. Coming down like a meteor, CAL armed his wrists and hands with plated gauntlets, blocking the unrelenting force of the blow.
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The dust encompassed the arena like a sandstorm, still heavy and blinding in the air, yet Negas’ static filled wheezing laughter filled the entire village. Rising to his feet, several of his armor plates were damaged, others were completely vaporized from the ferocity of the clash.
“YES! THIS IS THE COMBAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! GIVE ME MORE DROID! GIVE ME SOME FUCKING MORE.”
“You wanted me at my strongest? Well now you have it.
“YES! NOW LET ME MATCH IT! OVERCHARGE!!!”
Jets of steam, smoke and fire bellowed from his back. The cracks of his armor began glowing with an orange hue as he laughed, propelling him forward at breakneck speed, ready to crush CAL.
Negas struck hard and fast with his clawed appendage. Every slam of his claw was met with a stern block from CAL, every thrust with a deflection, every slash and swipe, a calculated dodge. Forty-seven times did Negas strike at his radiant foe, and forty-seven times did CAL evade his brutal onslaught. The cyborg tyrant struck once more, anticipating another slam, CAL prepared to block it. It never came, instead Negas halted his claw just above his head. Striking CAL’s face with his bare fist, cracking his faceplate. Left stunned by the surprising blow, CAL’s momentary lapse in defense granted ample time for the borg to land a devastating uppercut. Completely shattering the lower part of his faceplate, the blow sent CAL flying back.
Not to be out done by the brute, CAL caught himself in the air. Landing with renewed fury, he ran forward, spiked gauntlets and boots adorning his damaged frame. It was his turn to go on the offensive, unleashing a hailstorm of explosive blows across the tyrant’s body. The tirade of blows seemingly slowed the beast as the damage slowly accumulated. A shattered plate here, a broke rib there, CAL was as brutal as he was decisive with each and every one of his strikes. Nevertheless, no one can dodge forever, and the pristine battle between agility and strength ended abruptly as Negas grabbed CAL’s next strike. Crushing his hand, and backhanding him with the spinning vice claw. Tearing the bionic flesh of his right rib cage, CAL was left with a grievously bloody wound and thrown back several more feet.
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Black smoke billowed once more from Negas. Leaping upon CAL like a panther, he brought his claw down with explosive power. Catching the full brunt of the claw and stopping it from spinning, Cal’s forearms cracked under the force of the blow. Though this did little to halt him as he flipkicked Negas’ face. Coming back down with a double hammerfist to his cybernetic eye cracking it. Negas howled in pain, grasping his eye, before laughing. Shoving the palm of his hand in CAL’s face and blasting him with a flash bang at pointblank. Grabbing his stunned foe by the waist with his vice claw, Negas’ eye turned red. The visor opened, unleashing a massive laser and blasting CAL point blank with it.
Struggling to block the beam, CAL reached forward, taking the full force of the searing beam. He grabbed the sides of the opened visor and his head, and with all of his strength, ripped the sides of his head off. Negas immediately screamed, throwing CAL away.
Catching himself with a backflip, he staggered for a moment. Though he endured the full power of the laser, it scarred him greatly. Not only burning through the reinforced skin of his Hardlight form but completely disintegrating entire chunks of his body. His shoulders and torso in particular, felt like swiss cheese as dozens of small holes were scattered about and bled rather profusely.
“AHHHHHHH! FUCK THIS FAIR FIGHT SHIT!”
Negas roared, the side of his head and shattered eye lens sparked, oozing orange and white fluids along side chunks of brain matter..
“I’M HERE TO KILL YOU AND HAVE FUN DOING IT! BRUZZ’S LANCE, IT’S TIME TO END THIS!”
Like the ominous shadow of a raven rising fom the corpse of a fresh kill, the monolithic Terran class* ship rose from the cliffs in the distance. It’s thunderous engines shook the ground even nearly a mile away. A swarm of Vespids rose with it, like flies stalking a carrion bird. CAL saw, with grim realization, the ship’s ShatterFire cannon warm up in the distance, its orange light akin to the late evening sun. Negas smiled, holding his arm up for a mark.
“That–That’s not fair at all!”
“OF COURSE NOT, I’M FUCKING EVIL! NOW DIE, DROID! FIRE!”
CAL braced for the onslaught of bullets and searing heat of the cannon. Negas grinned in eager anticipation for the slaughter. Neither were prepared for the entire squadron to erupt into a cacophony of flames and explosions. Bruuzz’s lancer split in half, the sudden eruption of it’s engines engulfing theentire ship in flames and slag.
“HOW?!” Negas starred in utter bewildered shock, watching as his attack squadron fell to the earth like pitiful hot air balloons.
“WHO DARES DESTROY MY SHIPS? WHO DARES CHALLENGE ME?”
Answering his question with the fury of raging tempest, a miasmic cloud, darker than the night sky tore across the arena. Enveloping Negas in its viscous darkness, he found little comfort in the consuming void. Strikes as hard as bullets, fast as lightning and plentiful as hail, assaulted him from all sides. Not a moment passed without pain, each hit cracking or breaking Negas’ fortified frame.
CAL stood wary and confused, the cloak of darkness was all consuming, and the horrid howls of pain from his foe left him uneasy. A brief moment of terror washed over him as Negas came flying out of the cloud. Crashing hard into the ground, he laid there moaning in pain. Thus, Cal’s attention shifted to the cloud slowly approaching him. Taking a step back, he prepared to fight the intangible mass, until he heard a familiar laugh.
“Is Warrior CAL afraid of the Huntress?”
Tilting his head, CAL watched in amazement as the black cloak engulfing the area slowly dissipated. Revealing a blackened, slender, and beautifully feminine form. A warm smile met his eyes, casting away the remainder of the shadowy cloak and allowing him to see her fully.
“Anaya!”
*Atmosphere Class Ships, (i.e. ships which can enter and exit a planet’s atmosphere without damaging the surroundings and are capable of aerial dogfighting) Sizes are as follows from smallest to largest:
Rider Class - 3 Meters in length, Max Capacity: 1
Hybrid Class - Vespids - 16 Meters in length, Max Capacity: 4
Fighter Class- 21-25 Meters in length, Max Capacity: 4
Crew Ships - CAL’s Ship - 30-45 Meters in length, Max Capacity: 12
Tormentor Class- 60+ Meters in length, Max Capacity: 20
Sawtooth Class- Exactly 120 Meters in length, Max Capacity: 35
WarMonger Class- 200 Meters in length, Max Capacity: 65
Terran Class- 350 Meters in length, Max Capacity: 150