They’d made it to the ashlands again before they caught trouble, but when they did, it was as if trouble had been saving up for them.

Five different fighters—two women and three men—had all converged on a point along the path, just at the edge of where the desert met the ashlands. That didn’t count Rick or R3D_Button, who, as they approached, took the number up to seven.

R3D_Button spoke first. “Tense situation. Long odds.”

They’d discussed their skills. R3D_Button had a few Rick would have liked to get, including a wicked block-trip-hold. Rick didn’t let himself forget the move, in case it come down to him and R3D_Button going against one another at the end.

“If they’re divided, we have better odds than they do.”

R3D_Button smiled. “I had a good feeling about you.”

None of the combatants had gotten close enough to fight, but it would happen at any second. Nearly as soon as Rick had acknowledged that possibility, it broke out.

A blonde woman charged one of the men, a mountainously overbuilt, boxer-looking fighter with short black hair who wore nothing but boxer’s trunks and a dark look on his face.

The other woman, a tall, skinny dark skinned woman with short hair charged in from the other side toward the same bulky man. A different man, one wearing what looked like a baseball player’s striped pants, heavy work boots, and an incongruous karate gi top intercepted the tall woman before she could get to the large boxer. She tried to dodge around him, but Baseball Pants cut her off with a wild flurry of punches.

R3D_Button headed toward the melee at a pace and Rick followed. Before they got there, the last of the fighters, a medium height man with a slight, lean build, joined the fray, squaring up against Boxer who’d eliminated the blonde woman.

R3D_Button charged toward the two. The leaner man in gym clothes danced back and away, but Boxer stood his ground and R3D_Button slowed rather than run into the brick wall Boxer represented.

Rick focused on the yellow light again as he slipped into empty mind. He came up behind R3D_Button, then spread out to the side and kept going toward the big man. Boxer smiled and Rick jumped. The bigger man prepared for Rick’s impact, looking ready to strike. As soon as the muscles on the man’s shoulders and chest tightened, Rick dispatched Double Jump.

Boxer went under Rick who landed, spun, and deployed Shoulder Hammer as Boxer was turning. The timing was perfect as Rick’s leading shoulder arrested the other man’s turn, followed by his spinning elbow that clipped the man’s jaw, turning Boxer’s head. He dragged his extended arm back through in a hammer motion that clobbered Boxer’s nose as Rick whipped his arm back around.

Boxer staggered. In the corner of Rick’s vision, the lean man, who Rick had dubbed ‘Skinny,’ threatened to steal Rick’s victory. Rick got between Skinny and Boxer, firing off the Outta Here skill, trapping Skinny’s arm in a lock and throwing him to the ground.

The sound of shuffling feet came from behind and Rick rolled away, but it had been the sound of R3D_Button approaching Boxer with a flying kick that knocked the bigger man to the ground. Rick leapt atop the man, cracked his neck, then quickly rolled away at the sight of a looming shadow.

Victory!

The shadow had been the tall, short-haired woman. Her heel came down and went through Boxer’s fading body, having struck exactly where Rick had been not a half-second before.

Rick stood and got into Ga Family Style stance, quickly checking his peripheral vision for threats before locking back on to Short Hair. He should have checked his periphery better.

Skinny’s leg flashed over Rick’s shoulder, making Rick think he’d missed, but the man hooked his leg back, slamming Rick’s face, then dragging him backward with his calf and heel. Rick stumbled and his neck fell into the crook between Skinny’s calf and hamstrings. Skinny trapped him there before hopping up to get a better grip with his hands on Rick’s hair and dragging him to the ground.

He landed hard against a rock, but was lucky it wasn’t his hip or his rib. Rick struggled as Skinny consolidated his grip. His vision narrowed, a sure sign he’d pass out.

Skinny’s arms jerked away, then went limp. Rick caught a flash of color, the follow-through of R3D_Button’s kick, which had broken Skinny’s neck. The body faded and Rick jumped back as Short Hair charged at him.

R3D_Button saved him again, getting between her and Rick. The dark-haired man threw a flurry of punches as Rick backed away further. The man with the striped baseball pants was gone, though whether he’d fled or been defeated was hard to determine. Now it was just him, R3D_Button, and Short Hair.

It wasn’t a fair fight, but after being on the wrong side of so many of those in the last ten years, Rick was done with fair fights. A grim scowl on her face, Short Hair’s head clicked back and forth, insect-like, looking for movement from him or R3D_Button.

Rick tried Wake Up! She was ready for him, so after she blocked the initial left jab, he reset with Roamin’ Cancel, then tried Swan Lake. Again, she was ready, and now he’d ended up one-hundred-eighty degrees on the other side. R3D_Button tried a high hard right straight, but Short Hair did a split, dropping her head three feet in an instant. She spun both legs to trap R3D_Button’s as he teetered over her, then pulled her legs in, as if grabbing them with her legs the way Skinny had with Rick. It brought R3D_Button down, and as soon as it did, she leapt away from Rick’s kick, rolling in a ball over the supine R3D_Button, who groaned as she did.

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In an instant, Short Hair was on her feet facing Rick. She let fly a leaping kick, but Rick dodged. She reset. She has Roamin’ Cancel! Rick backpedaled from where she’d materialized right before him, but her hard right kick tagged the side of his leg, creating enormous pain and making him stumble and sink to one knee. She followed him down with a downward punch. He tried to roll, and it was likely only Slippery Dodges that saved him.

R3D_Button launched a spinning kick at her, but she must have sensed the movement, as again, she reset, materializing right up against his chest. Before he could grab her, she dropped and performed backward spinning kick, sending him to the ground again.

Rick marveled at her use of Roamin’ Cancel, as it was quite spectacular to watch from the other side of the technique. He jumped at her and she dodged. He used Roamin’ Cancel, but as soon as she charged his location with a shoulder, he broke out Toe Slapping Driver. The spinning high kick caught her across her chest, disturbing her sports bra, but not obscenely, as the kick half-turned her to her right. He came down on her with his own downward punch that comprised the second half of Toe Slapping Driver. It crushed her left trapezius which caused her to cry out.

R3D_Button was on his feet. Rick hesitated. He was absolutely in love with Short Hair’s technique. The fight had been so fast and so packed, he hadn’t noted any of the player characters’ game handles, but he was desperate to remember hers: “Zoni4+15.”

R3D_Button didn’t hesitate. He kneed her hard in the back, which flattened her. The explosive force of the hit woke Rick up, and he jumped. In twenty seconds, he choked her out.

Victory!

Rick stood, then hunched over, catching his breath. Two blues and an orange rose from Short Hair’s defeated body.

R3D_Button came over and slapped him on the back. “That was…” He shook his head.

“She’s good.” Rick straightened. “Maybe better than you. Shit, maybe better than me.”

R3D_Button narrowed his eyes, as if assessing Rick. “Maybe, but this game requires more than skill. Take those.” He pointed toward the center where the ashlands rose into low hills. “They aren’t always here. Sometimes it’s an ash storm into the center. Sometimes it’s that.” He frowned. “Been times I’ve gotten close where it was clear skies with the sun beating down on grey earth, which is weird as fuck.”

Rick nodded. “I’ve noticed that.”

R3D_Button shook his head. “Not just that, though. Ever start out and it’s just a mess of bots right at the beginning? Or three really tough Wild Ones in a row?”

Rick nodded slowly. I need to talk to Ditto about that. “You think it’s intentional?”

The other player laughed. “I’m not that paranoid—or that important. I think the game simply likes throwing weird shit our way now and again.”

Rick sighed and approached the icons. “I got two, you got one. How do we do this?”

R3D_Button frowned. “You wanna be legalistic about it?” He glanced back where the lightning of the ring out crackled in the distance.

There was no point in being stingy. If he lost a partner who could have helped him before they got to the top ten, what good would more skills or boosts do? He needed to qualify, needed to draw interest. “Let’s go half and half.” He counted up the icons. “There are nine, though.”

R3D_Button laughed. “You can have five, then. Three are yellows, though.”

Rick laughed. “You know I got those demon’s horns early on and sold them for a lot of money.”

The other player narrowed his eyes. “Are you cheating or something? Those things are incredibly rare. Just getting oneis lucky as hell.”

Rick shrugged. Ditto was helping him. Is that cheating? If the house tilts the odds in one player’s favor, wouldn’t the other players consider it cheating? He cleared his throat. “Let’s cut the yellows out. You can have two this time—after all, you gave me all of them from the scorpion.”

The other player nodded and took two yellows. “A tattoo and… another tattoo. Yay!”

The yellow Rick collected was a pair of shorts cut in zig-zags at the bottom, which made them look ridiculous. He put them on immediately, then switched to combat boots. He kept the torn suit jacket and shirt.

“That’s definitely a look,” R3D_Button said.

“I need to get attention. It’s…”

Working. Ditto’s voice startled Rick when it appeared from nowhere. You and your ally are getting a great deal of attention. Connected chats between major players are discussing you.

“That look will certainly get you attention, but I could never do it,” R3D_Button.

Rick smiled. “You look like an anime villain, Red. I wouldn’t throw stones.”

R3D_Button laughed. “Point taken.” He nodded. “Your handle—Ricku5bun—your name ‘Rick’?”

He nodded. “Ah shit, yeah. Sorry, man. Is your name really ‘Red’?”

R3D_Button shook his head. “It’s Curtis, but please don’t tell anyone. I don’t like my name that much.”

“Fine with me, Red.” He shrugged and pointed. “Four oranges and two blues. You got a preference?”

“If I tell you something, you gonna be mad?” Rick asked.

R3D_Button gave him a cautious look. “Probably.”

“Except for stamina, my stats are already high. I found a Halo boost early in the match.” No need to tell R3D_Button about the Ga Family Style bonus, at least not for now.

The other player’s eyes widened and he smiled. “That’s awesome!” He nodded slowly. “So I’ll take three oranges? You need both skills?”

Rick shrugged. “Don’t need ’em, but I’ll take ’em. It’s a shame I only get to take one with me.” He collected his icons.

Boost Points +2

Active Skill Acquired!

Jumping Hook Kick to Grapple: A vertical jumping kick past the opponent’s head, followed by a hook of their head with your calf that converts to a leg choke.

Rick went into his menu and selected the “X” on one of the boosts.

Relinquish?

Delete?

Cancel?

Rick selected relinquish and without a delay, the orange icon again floated in the air.

R3D_Button did the same with his single blue icon, and Rick collected it.

Active Skill Acquired!

Cross-body Slam: A punch of either side, followed by a cross-body slap with the opposite hand, followed by a double-handed swing.

Rick shrugged at that. He mentally thought the words Cross-body Slam, and an image came to him that detailed the move. Ah, I get it. Handy.

Ditto’s voice broke into his thoughts. Was that a pun?

Rick laughed. I thought about an army joke.

Now you don’t get credit, then, Ditto said. Because now I’ve heard it. Please don’t do that again.

Rick laughed again. I can’t promise that.

“You okay? What are you cracking up about?” R3D_Button asked.

“Nothing. Sorry. Just nerves.”

R2D_Button nodded. “Nerves. Okay.” He sighed. “You ready?”

“One sec. Gotta place my boost point.” He shrugged and placed a point into stamina, since it was so far behind.

Strength: 4+4 (Ga Style Permanent Bonus)

Speed: 6+4 (Ga Style Permanent Bonus)

Stamina: 4

“Done now.” Rick nodded and headed back down the path, kicking up the light ash as he did. R3D_Button was right behind him.