by Logan Jacobs
“Hey, PoLarr. Fancy meeting you here.” I smiled at her.
“What are the odds, eh, Havak?” She smiled back. And, I swear a moment started to happen between us. “Um--”
“Are you ready for some mayhem!” Chi-cheshire mewled, his cat bastard face forty feet high in the sky above us. “Hope our champions can stand the heat!”
Then the middle of the arena burst open and lava began to spew into the air.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me. A motherfucking volcano?” I cried as another name was crossed out of the list of champions. Cause? Horrible, horrible burning death. Or at least that’s what the message under his picture said.
Still, that meant we just had to get past four more champions before the match was over, and judging by the overhead, they were all on the same alliance.
I was just happy that, for the moment, we were far enough away that I wasn’t immediately worried about horrible fiery death. Still, I had played more than enough video games to know that we probably had limited time before this place filled with lava… which was probably why there were these huge granite blocks.
“On the plus side, it does seem to have destroyed all the sandworms and the rest of the spiders,” the Val’Keerye stated before her eyes widened as the realization of a shared memory flooded through her. “Fuck a duck.”
“What?” I asked as I glanced over my shoulder at the lava-spewing volcano.
“This reminds me of something from your memories. The Nefarian.”
“Yeah, that thought crossed my mind too.” I said. “Which is probably why you had it. Soul Gaze strikes again.”
“What is Nefarian?” Aurora asked from her perch behind me.
“Yes, what is Nefarian?” Nova added as she finished reloading her gun and came over to join us.
“Nefarian is a boss in World of Warcraft, an Earth video game that I played a little, okay a lot, okay, I may have ended a relationship over, and basically, he’s a giant fucking dragon who fills the arena up with lava, and you have to avoid it by climbing on giant blocks situated around a giant circular arena.” I gestured at our circumstances.
“Then it is fine.” Nova nodded. “Because I don’t see a dragon--”
She was cut off by a horrific scream as a giant mechanical serpent that vaguely resembled a Chinese dragon with tons of teeth and claws leapt from the center of the volcano and unfurled its massive metal wings. Lava splattered across the arena and even into the stands as the mechanical monster continued to unwind itself, and while it wasn’t a dragon in the traditional sense because it was made of metal, it was goddamn gigantic. When all was said and done it was nearly as big as the entire arena.
“You had to go and say something, didn’t you?” Aurora said as she shook her head.
“Okay, let’s just all be calm.” I swallowed hard.
“Calm? Sugar, that is the biggest damn snake I’ve ever seen. You going to bring it down with this?” Aurora smacked the side of my robodactyl like it wasn’t an awesome robotic, eye-laser-shooting dinosaur. “I’m not normally a size queen, but this thing sure isn’t going to get the job done.”
“Right, but you’re forgetting one thing.” I settled my gaze on each of them in turn. “We don’t have to kill the dragon. We just have to make sure the dragon kills everyone else first. Or they kill each other. Or we kill them. See? Simple.”
“That is an excellent plan,” Nova said with a nod. “Let’s kill our enemies and leave this place before the arena fills with lava. It should be easy to do since they are all in the same alliance and very likely together.”
“I estimate we have about four minutes before the arena is completely filled with lava,” PoLarr said with a frown. “Which would be more than enough time if the rest of the champions weren’t hiding like a bunch of scared noobs who realized they don’t have enough mana.”
“God, I love that you share my memories.” I gushed. At this moment, it kinda felt like PoLarr was the only one who really got me.
“Ah, ya’ll are sweet, but if I could remind you that we are in a giant arena quickly filling with molten rock,” Aurora said.
“Okay, on that note.” I swallowed hard. “Let’s do this. PoLarr, can you take to the skies and help me suss out those guys? We can drive them toward Nova and Aurora who can ambush them at the edge of those blocks.”
“No. My jetpack was damaged by a robodactyl. I can’t fly, only glide.” PoLarr flushed slightly. “I know that’s not their name, but that’s what they seemed like they’d be called.” She tapped her head. “They looked like something from one of your memories.”
“That’s what I said,” Aurora said excitedly. “We’ve been calling this thing a robodactyl too.”
“High five,” PoLarr semi-shouted as she held up her hand.
“Okay, this memory sharing thing is weird,” Aurora hesitantly obliged. “You sounded exactly like Marc just then.”
“Okay then,” I said in an effort to get everyone back on track before we were all burned alive. “I’ll flush them out, and the three of you ambush them.”
“Sounds good,” Nova replied as she patted her machine gun lovingly. “Bring them here, and I will lay waste to them all and let the gods sort them out.”
“No. We’ll lay waste to them,” PoLarr said as she moved to help Aurora off the robodactyl. “The gods be damned.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be much help,” Aurora said as she got off the robotic dinosaur, and yes, I know pterodactyls technically weren’t dinosaurs, but meh. “I’m a close range fighter and am low on energy.”
Only, as she spoke, I had an even better idea spring into my little head.
“Change of plans.” I grinned. “Because I just had a great idea.”
“I don’t really like that look in your eye,” PoLarr said as I eyed her up and down. “What is this plan, Q?”
“Oh, you should.” I smiled brightly. “Because I’m gonna pick Nova up and drop her in the middle of our enemies, whereupon she’ll go, well, all super Nova, and kill everyone ending the match.” I paused to let my idea sink in. “Also, after I drop her, you and Aurora will leap off the back of the dactyl to take down any survivors and grab Nova, while I provide air support.”
“That is the most insane idea I have ever heard. ” PoLarr said as she looked between us. “Is he serious? Because I think he’s serious.”
“Unfortunately, he’s deadly serious,” Aurora said with a shake of her head. “But, on the plus side, he’s also usually right. Oh, and I’ll be able to devour anyone unfortunate to survive the initial onslaught, and they’ll be far too weak to escape.”
“Right, so on that cheery note, team Havak go!” With that, we all loaded up onto Charlie, which is what I had just dubbed my trusty robodactyl, and bounded into the air.
Charlie, strained under the additional weight, and I didn’t even need my tech fusion mod to let me know it was seriously draining his fuel reserves. Hopefully that wouldn’t matter because everyone else would be dead soon, and we would all be comfy back at the Hall of Champions.
And, that’s when I heard the mech-dragon scream in rage and make a beeline toward us. I’d expected it to give chase, and our speed was more than enough to keep out of its range. The only problem was that I had no idea where the other team was holed up.
“Marc, the dragon is gaining on us,” Nova said from her perch in Charlie’s talons. “So-- A rocket! Look out!”
I veered to the left as the rocket zipped by us and exploded with enough force to send us spiraling sideways. I pulled sharply on Charlie as I kicked the boosters up to maximum in an effort to stabilize us, which was when another rocket came flying up from behind one of the pillars.
“I see them!” PoLarr said from her spot behind Aurora on Charlie’s back. “You want us to go down there and handle this? I can probably glide in with my pack’s reserves.”
“You won’t have the maneuverability for that with just the glider function,” I said as I turned sharply to avoi
d another rocket. Memories of training with the pack flooded into my brain as I saw PoLarr as a teen practice power loss drills.
“And you can’t turn around and create more distance with a dragon chasing us,” PoLarr replied, and I hated to admit she had a point.
“That just means we need more speed!” I cried right before I pushed Charlie into a dive at maximum thrust. We careened through the air like a shot, and as we approached, I glanced down at Nova. “Ready?”
“Yeah!” she replied with grim determination while she gripped her MG tightly. She hadn't let loose one of her blasts in a while and it was more than likely going to make a very big boom. Due to a weird fuel core accident Nova’s cells could collect just about any form of radiation, even the trace amounts emitted by stuff like televisions and PDAs, and convert it to kinetic energy that she could release at will. Imagine a small nuclear blast without the downside of radiation sickness.
“Nova go! PoLarr, give it a three count and follow!” I cried right before I pulled Charlie up while simultaneously releasing his hold on the orange-skinned warrior to maximize momentum. The move sent her flying through the air like a bullet while she screamed manically and fired her machine gun. Which not only looked fucking badass, but had the bonus of making the baddies stop shooting rockets at us. Which was nice.
Nova hit the ground in one of those superhero poses that shattered the earth and detonated her kinetic explosion right at that moment which sent the huge granite blocks flying across the arena like massive stone toothpicks. Some pummeled the shielded dome of the arena, sending lightning cracks of electricity arcing through the air, while others smashed into the volcano, blowing the top off it and sending lava going every which way.
I heard the crowd roar and couldn't tell if it was in awe or terror. Part of me hoped terror. See how they liked the threat of burning alive with molten hot rock.
Immediately PoLarr and Aurora leapt from Charlie’s back which caused the robodactyl to surge upward because it was still operating at full power but now had way less weight on it.
As I skirted the underside of the dome, I watched Nova collapse in the center of the huge bowl-shaped indentation in the ground, I realized I’d made a horrible miscalculation. Not only was lava going to flood into that bowl and burn her to a crisp as soon as it reached the edge, but our targets had somehow shielded themselves from the whole thing.
Their one small, pathetic outcropping of dirt was completely wrapped in a translucent sphere of blue energy that sizzled, crackled, and popped, and as I watched it dissipate her blast, I remembered one of the boosts I’d seen on the list of boosts Irrus had planned on giving out that Fallon had tried to show us before the match.
Irrus had given them a boost that could envelop an entire team in an energy shield that would block virtually any attack. Sure, it would work only once, but clearly the rat had thought we might try this very tactic, and that pissed me right the jolly fuck off.
Then again, that’s why, even though I’d sent PoLarr and Aurora down there to recover Nova and deal with stragglers, I’d secretly come up with one more plan.
“Come on, Charlie ol’ buddy, ol’ pal,” I said in a mock British accent like the “Charlie Bit My Finger” Youtube video, as I finished my arc and came down right on top of the dragon. Then I leapt from the robodactyl as I released my tech-meld with the bucket of gears just as the mecha-dragon grasped ol’ Charlie in its terrifying jaws.
I had the brief sensation of falling because I was, in fact, falling, right before I slammed onto the back of the giant Chinese mecha-dragon. As the bone-jarring force rang through my body, I extended my techno-booster into the dragon’s “mind.”
If I’d thought Charlie was intense, well, I simply wasn’t prepared for this. The world came alive with full sensory overload as I experienced the mecha-dragon’s wings, limbs, and sheer size in one brain-bending pulse of overstimulation that set my teeth on edge and nearly broke my mind. Thankfully it didn’t go full Scanners and blow my head clean off, but damn it was close.
I had half a second to catch my breath and wipe the blood from my nose with the back of my hand when I noticed several very interesting commands. And I was more than happy to try as many as I could on those rocket shooting bastards below.
“Looks like none of you bitches ever watched Avatar!” I cried as I rode my dragon down toward the team of no good, rat-serving bastards. Then even though there wasn’t actually a giant button to press, I slammed my fist down on the dragon’s back and activated a very interesting ability called Lava Spew.
The mecha-dragon screamed so loudly the whole world felt like it would burn. And then it did because boiling hot molten rock erupted from its jaws and splattered over the sphere of energy, which shattered like a drinking glass under a sledge hammer.
As I swooped down on them to stomp a mudhole in their asses, just in case they had somehow squeaked by, their pictures on the screen overhead flashed red.
The mecha-dragon reared back its head and roared in victory and as the mighty mechanical beast bellowed, I roared as well.
And just like that, it was over.
Chapter Ten
I was still in mid-victory roar when my molecules rematerialized in my mat-trans tube in the relative safety of our training gym at the Hall of Champions and only stopped when I saw Artemis’ eager face just outside the tube. The cling wrap like substance of the tube seemed to melt into an exit, and I stepped out as Artie wrapped me in a huge hug and planted a monster kiss on me.
“Your ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, this time quite literally, human, is staggering,” Grizz’s voice boomed as he appeared behind Artemis.
“It’s a talent,” I quipped back as I felt the now familiar rush of endorphins hit my bloodstream. Post match high was a very real thing, and all that adrenaline that had been coursing through my veins like a bat out of hell turned into a surge of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin as my brain went “We’re alive. Thank you, oh lord, we are alive!”
Aurora emerged from her tube next and sauntered over to us. I could tell she was tired as hell, but her brain chemistry must have been similar to humans because she had a somewhat goofy grin on her face, and as soon as Artemis broke her kiss, she slid in and laid one on me as well. It was slower and more sensual than Artemis’ kiss. Not that Artie wasn’t sensual, but Aurora was well versed in her own body and its raging hormones whereas Artemis was still figuring hers out.
Once again, she tasted of sweet cream and strawberries and she smelled of sweat, excitement, and champagne for some reason, all of which made my hormones rage.
“Marc, sugar,” she said into my ear which sent tendrils of electricity through my nervous system. “You are one of kind.”
I was going to say something sexy or witty, but then Nova’s tube opened and she collapsed onto the ground. I rushed over, put my arm under her’s, and helped her to her feet. She was completely spent and dangerously close to passing out. As she got her balance, she reached up with her other hand, grabbed my by the back of the neck and kissed me as well.
If Artemis was cherries, and Aurora was sweet cream strawberries, Nova was a mulled, spiced mead that dripped with honey and blackberries. Her tongue darted in fast, like a full frontal assault on mine, and my heart, as well as something else, surged.
“Marc Havak, when my strength returns, I am going to wreck you,” she said into my ear as the kiss broke and the exhaustion overtook her which caused her to pass out in my arms.
Artemis was there in a flash.
“Get her to the med bay,” she said all business in Artie-medic mode. “Poor thing is totally spent after that blast. We’ll get some Blue Betty into her stat, and she’ll be good as new.”
A pair of robotic arms descended from the ceiling and cradled Nova’s body gently as they carried her off to the med bay.
“Wow,” I looked around with a satisfied sigh, “that was something, huh?”
Grizz and Aurora smiled and just shook
their heads. Grizz opened his mouth to say something somewhat demeaning I was sure when the gym doors slid open, and PoLarr strode in.
“Hey, PoLarr--” I started with a good-natured smile as she cut me off by planting a huge kiss on me. Whoever said good things come in threes had clearly never had four.
Before I knew it, my hands were in her short spiky hair, and her hands had grabbed the front of my armor vest to pull me closer. She tasted of strong coffee, tobacco, and gunpowder, and it was hot as fuck.
“Ahem,” Aurora said as she over exaggeratedly cleared her throat. “May I suggest that you two get a room, ideally someplace where I could watch?”
PoLarr and I broke our long overdue kiss, and both of us giggled. A moment later, Nova grabbed PoLarr from behind to gave her a huge hug.
“PoLarr,” she said almost giddily. “It was an incredible honor to have fought with you so valiantly today. I hope it is only the first of many chances we get to smite our enemies together.”
“Well, someone just got a boost of Blue Betty I see,” PoLarr chuckled as she removed herself from Nova’s hug. “Agreed, Nova Quark. It was indeed an honor. As it was an honor to fight with all of you, and I include the mighty Grizz and Artemis in that. I could see the discipline of your training in the way your champions fought today.”
It looked like Grizz was about to burst out of his holographic breeches with pride and Artemis, who had walked in behind Nova, blushed brightly.
“Sorry I wasn’t able to warn everybody about Nova,” Artemis said. “Apparently she’s never had Blue Betty before and ran back in before I could stop her. She is pebbled out of her everloving consciousness.”
“Stoned out of her mind,” PoLarr and I said in unison. Artemis stared at us for a second.
“Okay, that made my private parts surge with blood flow, and I have no idea why,” Artemis blurted before she went back over to her command chair and sat down quickly.
