They climbed the low hills, where rising thin towers of rock cast dull shadows over the muted landscape.
There were no more bots, but as they crested the low hills, then descended to the heart of the ashlands, the player count stood at an even twenty.
“Only gotta get past the next ten,” R3D_Button called.
Rick said nothing. Though visibility was low, it appeared at least on player had already gotten to the cache in the middle of the map. The image of the player resolved the closer they got, his silhouette hazy against the backdrop of dust, his feet moving as if in response to something. Next, another player, then another still became distinguishable from the dust. He glanced at R3D_Button who picked up his pace. Rick followed suit.
More players joined from all sides as Rick and R3D_Button strode the length of four football fields toward the center. None of the incoming players altered course. The player count dropped.
21…
19…
18/17…
The number stabilized as they got closer. Adding to the chaos was an insanely large stone creature like the one Rick had face in the temple. It appeared from the dust, its origin unknowable from their distance, as if dislocated from time.
“Oh shit, you ever seen this before?” R3D_Button asked.
Rick grunted and shook his head, panting hard from the running. What did it mean?
This is only your fourth qualifier, Ditto said inside Rick’s head. Now and again, there are bots in the ashlands. One of the other players must have drawn it to the center.
Rick slipped into empty mind and charged at the rock beast. It had its back turned to him, but its moves were erratic. It crushed another fighter, causing her body to fade and the number count to drop.
16…
Rick leapt on its back and delivered a double handed swinging punch to the top of its head.
It reached for him, but he rolled off, landing on his feet before rolling again to avoid the punch of another player—a red-haired woman in a purple leotard and kneepads.
The rock monster ignored the other players and pursued Rick, who again dodged back, thankful for Stamina Camel and the extra point he’d just put into stamina. The creature charged him, and he performed Swan Lake, stepping to the side and delivering a chop that felt like hitting a brick wall. It didn’t seem to faze the creature, who rounded and began charging back.
Rick had other problems, however. He dashed sideways, away from a bulky, leather jacket wearing male avatar who looked like a popular professional wrestler from the before-times. The wrestler—Jacket, as Rick dubbed him—adjusted his path and again tried to grab Rick, who leapt, then employed Double Jump to get out of his range. Jacket, who’d lost track of the other players and enemies on the field, got clobbered by an unguarded punch from the woman in the leotard before dropping to the ash.
15…
The rock beast struck out with an enormous hand, but before the punch was halfway to Rick’s meager block, something caused the punch to veer off course as its entire body stumbled toward Rick. He rolled out of the way, over the unexpecting feet of an anonymous player who’d also tried to hit him.
When Rick got to his feet, he understood what had happened. R3D_Button, who Rick had lost track of in the melee, had delivered a blow to the beast’s unprotected back.
Though Rick had gotten out of the way, many of the other players pounced on the rock monster as it tumbled to the ashy ground, and despite its strength and size, within the span of a few seconds, the creature had been dispatched.
Rick centered himself and chose a target, a short woman with a black ponytail who wore leggings and a sweatshirt. He slipped behind her, and as he choked her out, he caught the smile of R3D_Button, who watched him as he did it.
Victory!
15..
14..
12..
One of the other fighters pulled away from her victory; the body of the fighter she’d dispatched faded as he fell toward the dust. She focused her gaze on Rick, who readied himself.
The other fighter held her arms out in front of her in a strange stance Rick had never seen before. Was she keeping her arms up to bait him?
He employed Outta Here, dashing in and ducking low. She was ready for him, and her leg muscles tensed, indicating a kick was coming. Rick used Roamin’ Cancel to reset, placing himself back where he’d started, well out of range of the low kick the woman had swung at his previous location. Rick stepped forward to get into Ga Family Style before employing another Wake up! His jab got her in the jaw, knocking her back perfectly into the range of the following jumping forward kick.
The female character stumbled back, landing butt-first in the ash before R3D_Button arrived, seemingly from nowhere, to smash a hard foot down on the woman’s neck. In a matter of moments, the woman’s body faded.
11…
Rick landed in still in Ga Family Style just in time. A tall man with a ponytail and facial tattoos rushed him from off-center. He positioned himself with his right foot still leading, then employed Try Harder, a right power jab followed by a right hook and a left front kick, though he didn’t jump this time.
Ponytail took the jab and the hook, but he dodged out of the way of the kick, shuffling off Rick’s center, then delivering two body hooks in rapid succession, knocking Rick around like a weighted punching doll. He ducked and came up, but Ponytail had a knee ready for his face. Slippery Dodges must have kicked in to prevent what might have been a knockout knee to his face. He wobbled off center to his left, then rolled directly into the dark boots of another player.
Caught between the two, Rick was certain he was about to be eliminated. So close!
“Stay down!”
Rick glanced up. The black boots were those of R3D_Button, who, instead of punching him, used Rick’s broad back as a launch pad, stepping on, then leaping from him.
The sound of a crash came from behind Rick as he stood and pivoted in time to see that Ponytail had performed a jumping kick than knocked R3D_Button out of the air. He crashed into the ashen ground a pace or two to the side. Ponytail was turning to face Rick as he launched Spinning Wake Up, knocking her legs out wide, which meant the following uppercuts slammed her chin hard enough to lift her off the ground. The announcement came before she landed.
Victory!
10…
They’d made it! Rick’s relief didn’t diminish his awareness of the scene. A skinny Asian woman charged him and he jumped, as if hurdling in place. The standing leap hadn’t been enough to clear the woman’s head, but before she crashed into him, he deployed Double Jump, which launched him another two feet in the air.
The Asian woman had clearly expected to hit Rick, so when he wasn’t there, she stumbled forward. R3D_Button had recovered and he delivered what looked like a punter’s kick directly to the woman’s head.
9…
The area around him became congested with the final seven other players, not counting himself or R3D_Button. When one of the other players went after yet another combatant, Rick launched himself through the space to get out of the closing ring of people.
It would have been a sage move, but a large combatant waited for him outside the ring of fighting players. As soon as the man saw Rick, he closed the distance.
Rick hastened away counter-clockwise, trying to put the crowd between the raging bull of a man himself. Bull was quick, but he seemed to tire quickly. Rick got directly across from him, then tried to slow his movements to let his stamina rebuild, as even with Stamina Camel and a stamina stat of 4, he’d gotten dangerously close to banging the bottom of the meter.
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Every few steps, he needed to add faster movements that halted and incrementally ate into his stamina, but after two full turns, his stamina bar had gotten over halfway to full.
He searched for R3D_Button as he circled. So far, the dark-haired player was holding his own. That changed in an instant. R3D_Button slipped on the dropped jacket of one of the other players, which threw him into the arms of a grappler who, although the female wrestler hadn’t expected him, nonetheless grabbed him in a chokehold and quickly defeated his attempts to break it.
Fuck! Rick leapt over a crouching fighter who didn’t notice he was there, then landed and launched Shoulder Hammer at wrestler choking R3D_Button. Neither R3D_Button nor the female wrestler noticed Rick as he charged into the wrestler’s side. The twist of Rick’s turning shoulder opened a space between R3D_Button and the wrestler, which allowed the dark-haired fighter to pull free just in time to get out of the way of Rick’s oncoming spinning elbow. The wrestler reached for his arm and he deployed Roamin’ Cancel as soon as she touched him. He reset, and she pulled violently backward on nothing, stumbling back as Rick jumped atop her, adding the mass of his avatar’s body to hers as they hit the ground at the same time. Rick raised both arms in a bat-like double fist and hammered the woman’s head once, then again, bloodying her face before the sound of an incoming attacker goaded him into rolling away from both the attacker and the wrestler.
The wind from the anonymous attacker’s kick whooshed along the sweat on Rick’s body, cooling him, giving him goosebumps. The ash clung to his moist skin as he rolled, though he ignored how it had caked his skin, oblivious to all but the music of the fight. An angry white man’s fist approached Rick’s face as he stood, but he employed Swan Lake again, stepping sideways and chopping the man’s neck. Then Rick turned to address a short Black woman’s incoming high kick, blocking it hard enough to knock her back before employing Wake Up! The skill’s left jab knocked her back further. Rick stepped forward into the space it created to avoid a right hook coming from another attacker behind him. The man’s punch disturbed the hair on the back of Rick’s neck, but again, he ignored it, jumping forward with a kick to complete the Wake Up! skill, which knocked the short Black woman to the ground. He raised his leg high and dropped his heel on her throat, removing her from the fight.
Victory!
8…
Without looking, Rick kicked backward like a horse, slamming his foot against the chest of an as-yet-unseen attacker from behind before he turned to assess the state of the fight.
A few paces away, R3D_Button cracked the neck of another player.
7…
Rick turned to locate whomever he’d kicked, but the fight had become so chaotic, it was impossible to tell. He searched for the large man who’d circled the ring with him, then caught sight of the man’s blond hair on the ground, barely visible through the cloud of ash. A moment later, the man’s body faded.
6…
R3D_Button had stepped back on the other side of the recently diminished crowd. Another fighter fell.
5…
Only two other fighters remained, and it appeared they understood Rick and R3D_Button were working together. Rick glanced at his partner, then at the two others. They were approximately the same height and similar builds, but otherwise had totally different looks. The man on the left wore modern athletic clothing, right down to the technical climbing shoes. His skintight shorts and shirt would make it harder for anyone to grab him. The other remaining player wore a strange feather-trimmed babydoll dress that glittered blue. She wore shorts beneath the dress, a concession to modesty, since the dress was so short. A shaved head and knee pads completed the look.
Rick adjusted his mohawk and sighed. He closed ranks with R3D_Button, who similarly moved closer to Rick, then advanced. So far, R3D_Button had trustworthy—a pleasant surprise.
Skintight rushed R3D_Button from the side, likely to separate him from Rick. Baldy approached more cautiously, but she engaged quickly enough that Rick couldn’t help R3D_Button with his fight.
Baldy feinted a jab, then kicked low. Rick jumped back and Baldy reset to her starting position rapidly enough it must have been Roamin’ Cancel. Popular skill, I guess.
Rick jabbed and she swatted it away. He followed up with Cross-body Slam. Baldy blocked the first punch, but the slap got through, which seemed to shock her, though she again blocked the double-handed swing that completed the Cross-body Slam skill. Her block knocked both his hands away, leaving him defenseless long enough for her to come down with a hammer fist on the area between his neck and shoulder that put a stinger down his left arm. It went weak and tingled, and contrary to instinct, Rick moved to the left, attempting to get his good arm back into a position where he could hit.
She slammed the weak shoulder again, putting another jolt of pinched nerve through it, but also knocking Rick’s left side back, putting him into Ga Family Style.
His hard right straight was fast enough and powerful enough that her blocking arm was no match. The strange, Ga Family Style tightening of his muscles powered his fist into her nose, knocking her head back. Rick danced away, keeping Ga Family Style switch stance as he did, hoping to let his numbed arm recover before Baldy attacked again.
Movement on Rick’s left caused him to dodge right, and after he was out of the way, he saw Skintight had pushed R3D_Button into Rick’s lane. A half-muttered “Sorry,” was all R3D_Button said before dancing back out of range again.
Baldy took advantage of Rick’s need to reposition, lashing out toward his shoulder again, but this time, Rick pulled the shoulder back and side-stepped, using Swan Lake to chop the other player’s neck as punishment, then using Jammin’ to string a Jumping Hook Kick to Grapple.
The jumping kick took Baldy by surprise, as did the way Rick pulled up his legs, letting his hooked leg drag her by her neck all the way to the ground.
Baldy punched Rick’s groin once they landed, but Slippery Dodges mercifully caused the punch to not connect. He repositioned to make sure she didn’t get another chance, then punched her in the face, which knocked the woman out before the leg choke could.
Victory!
When Rick stood and assessed the situation, only he and R3D_Button remained.
*********************
Neither fighter took the time to collect his icons.
“Whoo!” R3D_Button shouted. “Not only top ten, but maybe first of a hundred!”
Rick nodded. “Maybe.” Out of respect, he gave R3D_Button another moment to celebrate.
R3D_Button smiled and faced him, then raised his arms in a fighting stance. “Glad it came down to us, man.”
Rick closed the distance and jabbed, but R3D_Button blocked it easily, then countered with a spinning elbow Rick blocked hard enough to change R3D_Button’s direction. He danced back before Rick’s next strike—a left uppercut—could hit.
“You really know your shit, like you’ve done this before.” R3D_Button smiled.
The comment stood Rick’s hair on end, but he said nothing before he flew in with a knee feint, bringing his knee only partly up, allowing R3D_Button’s block to miss. Rick then let his foot down, putting him in Ga Family Style as R3D_Button backed away again.
“Seen you do that”—R3D_Button glanced at Rick’s feet—“a few times.”
Rick said nothing.
R3D_Button pushed. “That reverse stance? Where’d you—”
Rick blasted a front kick. R3D_Button blocked it, but only barely, then delivered a low kick, though Rick blocked it with a hard kick of his own.
R3D_Button followed up a hard left that Rick blocked, but as he blocked it, he also delivered a hard right straight that caught R3D_Button off guard. It smashed his nose and face back, which made R3D_Button bring both arms up to his face.
This guy’s never been a real fighter. Rick punished R3D_Button for leaving his abdomen open, delivering first a left hook, then a hard right uppercut to his opponent’s solar plexus and ribcage.
R3D_Button hustled backward and Rick advanced, but R3D_Button delivered a surprise hard palm to Rick’s chest that stunned him. Must be a skill effect. R3D_Button used the stun to get distance between himself and Rick.
“You’re a fuckin’ beast, man.” R3D_Button shook his head, as if psyching himself up.
Rick nodded, then feinted a jab R3D_Button dashed away from. Rick followed him back, and R3D_Button dodged, but as soon as Rick committed to following him again, R3D_Button unleashed a high jump—much higher than even a gymnast could do in the real world. The dark-haired fighter dashed in mid-air and came down behind Rick, then performed a hard leg sweep before Rick could react.
He fell hard and awkwardly on his right hip, but when R3D_Button followed up with a low front kick, Rick trapped his leg and pulled.
R3D_Button jumped forward, staying on his feet, but bringing himself closer Rick’s effective striking range. The dark-haired player seemed to realize his mistake as he rushed to block his groin, but Rick had already struck.
Rick’s erstwhile partner hunched over and hustled backward, giving Rick the room to get to his feet unharried. He nodded. “That air dash is brilliant. Funny I didn’t see you use it before now.”
R3D_Button smiled and shrugged. “Kinda figured it might come down to you and me. Had to leave something in tank.”
Ditto butted in. You have many viewers focused on this particular qualifier. More are coming in every moment. Make it count.
Rick dashed forward and R3D_Button moved to block, but didn’t strike. Rick leapt back in an exaggerated way, assuming his opponent would follow. As soon as the dark-haired fighter started to step forward, Rick deployed Roamin’ Cancel from the air, resetting him so he materialized directly in front of the already moving R3D_Button. Rick ducked, grabbing his opponent’s legs as R3D_Button’s momentum carried his upper body over Rick. The fighter toppled, and Rick launched himself upward into his opponent’s abdomen. R3D_Button attempted to grab onto Rick, probably to pull him to the ground along with him, but since Rick hadn’t fully stood, Slippery Dodges made the dark-haired fighter’s fingers slip away from him. So far, that skill had come in handy, and since it was a passive skill, he didn’t have to manage cooldowns or remember to employ it. May have to take Slippery Dodges over Double Jump. Nah.
R3D_Button flopped to the ground, but when Rick tried to leap atop him, he’d already rolled to his feet.
Only the shadow of R3D_Button’s body gave Rick any warning something was coming. He glanced up. R3D_Button had leapt high in the air and was coming down feet first. A strike of that magnitude would certainly break his back. He panicked. He’d never make it out in time.
At the last possible second, he remembered the Saint Luck skill he’d gotten from his first ranking match. Milliseconds before R3D_Button made contact, he deployed it.
A golden light rose to envelop Rick’s body, absorbing the blow. R3D_Button bounced off, but because he hadn’t landed the move, he came away off-balance. Rick rose to his feet in one jump, ignoring the huge swath of stamina the move took as he used Jammin’ to launch directly into Iron Fist before R3D_Button had landed.
The speed boosts had helped, but winding up for the move depleted Rick’s stamina to dangerously low levels. He wouldn’t have anything in the tank to get away if he missed, and though he’d launched the skill, time seemed to move in slow motion as he worried he’d made a mistake.