by Vee Bosse
“Are you saying that I now have even more reason to despise the sun? You...you DESPOT!” Laran allowed a mocking smile to come on his face, amused at Julius’ astounding repertoire of words. Before he could take time to laugh, however, he realized that Julius had already plugged into Sabrina manually, and had begun the process of taking control of her. “I see you’ve suddenly gotten serious, fool. Yes, I have wasted no time in making Sabrina my own.” Laran suddenly stepped backwards, away from Sabrina who remained motionless while Julius hovered above, allowing himself some distance. The rebel pointed his sword confidently at the nerd who allowed a smile to come on his face at the sight of Laran’s antics. “This is my game, you,”
“Shut it. You think you are the only one that exists nowadays who can be called a ‘Genius of Modern Technology’? Let me ask you something, Julius...why do you think I was the one that chose to come here? The place where it was reported that some astounding technology had completely drove this city’s citizens away?” Julius let his smile disappear, becoming annoyed at how much intel his foes had captured on him. “Of all people, why would Sabrina be the one who came with me? Because I am the one that is able to truly protect her mechanisms. As for Milli? Because she supports me...in everything.”
Laran’s assertion hit Julius like a ton of bricks, as his opponent continued to defiantly point his sword directly at him. “Wow! Prodigious...simply dumbfounding. You slay my dim-witted trash-class pawn Jerome, and have the gall to declare your master plan to me so boldly?! Enough! Protect her mechanisms while she slices you to bits! You fool!!” Laran suddenly snapped into defense as he noticed Sabrina turn around to look his way. He gazed right at her, trying to see if there was any recollection of him to be spotted in her eyes.
“Laran, identified. Processes overridden...new orders received. Execution will now commence.” Laran gritted his teeth upon hearing Sabrina announce her new directive.
“You work quickly! I admit that I’m impressed.” Sabrina’s hands once again formed themselves into two metallic swords, as Laran steeled himself for a truly intense sword battle.
“I can’t directly take on Sabrina without killing her, but I won’t need to do that. In fact, it’s almost ready. Took a while, but I need just another minute or two.”
Julius suddenly cackled without reprieve. “Gya ha!! Your time is up. Your slaughter begins!” Julius’ jaw suddenly dropped as he witnessed an electric arrow pierce directly into Sabrina’s android neck before he could use his tablet to engage Laran in the weapon battle. “What...is that? An electric arrow? Surely, your wife is dead by now, considering you had the nerve to leave her alone with my other pawns,” Laran smiled satisfactorily as he looked up at the severed skyscraper to see Milli poised with her bow and arrow. Blue Misty and their fallen comrades can be seen behind her, sparking uncontrollably on the ground.
“But those are simply electric arrows! They...it is impossible for mere electricity alone to conquer my chess pieces!” Laran and Julius watched as Sabrina likewise began to spark uncontrollably, completely losing the ability to move as she fell limply to the ground below.
“This isn’t ‘mere electricity’, it’s a special variant of EMP that I fashioned for my wife’s arrows that is adapted for our modern technologies. It does more than simply shock an android or a drone’s mechanisms, and even more than fry an android’s mechanisms like an old-fashioned EMP would do. I have actually created a function for how the EMP waves absorb into an android’s mechanisms that is able to override and shut down any control someone has over a device, and indefinitely reset their functionality for me to reprogram. But if there is any humanity residing inside of their functions, my theory is that the humanity in them will take over, and bring them back to their old selves. Shall we see if it works??”
Julius began to tremble uncontrollably, completely infuriated at how two people could completely force him into a corner. “This...this game is far from over. When I say ‘checkmate’, you’ll know this is OVER!!!!” Julius suddenly slammed his hand through his tablet device, his exosuit easily going through its hardened structure. It’s sparked into pieces, falling to the ground below, while Julius’ exosuit grew to cover his face with a menacing black visor and helmet. “This missile attack will suffice.” Suddenly, Milli and Laran’s eyes grew wide as they witnessed twenty or so large rockets launch directly at them at once from the back of their opponent’s exosuit. They managed to dodge them just in time with their gravity steps, leaping into the air as several more heat-seeking missiles continued to chase them down throughout the city.
“Damn, we’re on the defensive here! He is flying too high for me to teleport to his shadow effectively. He’s tactful, I’ll definitely admit that much,” Laran said, gravity leaping between the tall buildings while Milli raced through the air to catch up with her husband.
“Laran!! Let’s circle around so I can launch my special arrow at him!” Laran looked back and nodded at Milli’s instructions, while they carefully attempted to leap around the buildings, trying to send the missiles into the skyscrapers instead of them.
“I imagine you would both love to have one of my glorious exosuits, right about now!” Julius said via an announcing system on his exosuit. But just as he finished, he felt two arrows smash against his suit. They were not able to penetrate it, yet they both exploded ferociously, sending the nerd hurling through the air violently. “Damn, you witch!” Yet, Julius was able to activate rocket boosters under his feet and on his shoulders, effective stopping the momentum with ease. “It will take much more effort than that!”
“Milli...Laran,” Just as Milli was reloading more arrows to launch at Julius, she and Laran looked down below in dismay. “Sabrina!!!” They watched in horror as Blue Misty stood above Sabrina, who had remained lifeless. She held in her hands several vital components to her functionality that Laran immediately recognized, as he suddenly took hold of his wife by her shoulders as they landed on a skyscraper nearby.
“Laran! Help her!!” Milli screamed as Laran was overtaken with desperation.
“Milli, I thought you killed her!?” The missiles enclosed on both of them when Laran was able to shadow teleport both of them away in an instant.
Julius became completely enraged at the sight as well, realizing that his new pawn had just been scrapped by a lesser piece. “Blue Misty, the one that I had defeated...has betrayed me!? YOU WILL N,” Julius suddenly found himself speechless as Laran had teleported directly in front of him, realizing that the missiles were sent off into the distance to randomly explode as their target’s heat signatures disappeared.
“You didn’t notice that a skyscraper’s miniscule shadow was slowly creeping over you in the last few seconds,” Laran declared with confidence.
“What?” Julius didn’t have time to react, as Laran mercilessly plunged Shibiki through his exosuit’s orange helmet visor, seemingly taking out one of the nerd’s eyes.
“Gyaaa!! You bastards!! NOOO!!” Laran pulled the sword back, and slung off some of the blood that now found its way from Julius’ exosuit to the ground below. In a wild frenzy, he activated his rocket boots and sloppily flew away to hide in a distant building nearby.
Laran felt confident enough to let Julius tumble away from the scene of the fight, turning his somber attention to the sight below. Milli was poised over Blue Misty now, as she had delivered her own coup de grace to Sabrina. Milli had taken one of her ordinary metallic arrows, and plunged it bitterly through the top of Blue Misty’s robotic head.
“Do you feel my hate? Milli Russet, Laran Espartos,” Milli fiercely kicked Misty’s hands away from Sabrina at the sound of her words, in an attempt to prevent any further damage being done. Misty seemed unable to resist Milli, although it was perplexing that the android seemed to have no will to put up resistance. “My retribution is complete. Sabrina Phillipi, the one who shattered my world, will not be able to recover without the mechanisms that I have ripped from her.”
Laran gritted
his teeth in fury, having leapt back to the ground below. He dropped his sword to the ground and turned his back to the sight, all while Milli turned her head to look at him, suddenly lost for words. Sabrina was motionless as Milli gripped her arrow, ripping it out of Blue Misty’s head in a regretful rage. The result was Blue Misty malfunctioning severely, as the life in her eyes slowly faded away. “Professor Hubris, please look at me...now.”
It was now just Laran, Milli, and Sabrina in the heavily damaged city grove that they were all standing in. The frustration and despair in both of their minds gave way for just a moment as they saw a smile creep on Sabrina’s face. Laran turned to see Sabrina, while the tears began to flow from Milli’s face at the sight of the android they had become such good friends with slowly fading away.
“You’ve been waiting for that EMP since we set out from Old Mexico. Seriously, I’m done waiting, Laran. Please tell me that it’s ready.” Without delay, Milli’s husband pulled out a small spherical diode, black and grey with many small blinking lights around it.
“It’s got about three minutes remaining.” Upon hearing this, Milli suddenly pulled out another arrow, the largest in all her inventory.
“Laran, I’m not going to wait any longer to take him out. Activate the Final EMP after I run him through.”
“Okay.” With Laran’s token of approval, Milli stood firm. She pointed the large, silver metallic arrow with an attached cord in the direction that Julius disappeared to. “Keep your eyes open for another minute or two, Sabrina.IRON MAIDEN ARROW.” Sabrina was still aware of her surroundings as she stood still, with a robotic smile still frozen on her face as a few tears graced her cheeks.
“Tell me,” she muttered under her breath faintly.
“Heat seeking, activated,” Milli mercilessly launched the menacing arrow up into the sky, as she gripped the black cord that seemed to expand out of thin air as the self-propelling arrow twisted towards its target with frightening speed.
Meanwhile, Julius had hidden inside of a random skyscraper, only a mile or so away from where the battle had erupted. He ripped off his broken visor helmet in frustration, putting a small electronic patch on his massacred eye that seemed to have medicinal properties. “Was I, through everything, flawed? No, those devilish curds! Those...insufferable plebeians! I will retreat for now. Surely, someone of my caliber can fashion a synthetic optical device to replace the one that the shadow samurai destroyed. I will have my revenge, but after I regroup.”
Sabrina’s voice continued on from somewhere unknown: “Even in the end,”
Julius activated his jet boots and kicked the skyscraper window into pieces, flying into the sky through the deserted city as fast as he could manage. He allowed a confident grin to come on his face, as he gained considerable distance between himself and the two invaders.
“Was I...still human?”
“You can’t run, you bastard!!” Milli declared, as her aura pulsated through the Iron Maiden Arrow. She guided it towards its target, allowing the cord attached to infinitely expand. Julius turned his head with a devilish grin, laughing at the arrow that was now poised to catch up to him in very little time. “Enough, you ridiculous girl gamer!” Julius suddenly put on the brakes, and his rocket boots ceased their speedy drive into the horizon as he hovered in mid-air, now waiting for the arrow to attempt to drive through him. He raised both of his hands to his sides as he cackled defiantly.
“One last show of strength before I make my temporary retreat! This miniscule arrow will shatter against my,” it was a gasp of surprise and confusion from Julius as he suddenly found himself coughing up blood. “What? This?!” His exosuit had been pierced clean through with ease as Milli’s trump card of an arrow hit its mark with utter magnificence. It was a crushing blow to the nerd in Texas as he lost his equilibrium, slowly beginning to fall to the ground far below.
“No! NO!! I’m not done yet! I’m completely wiping away your fucking existence!!” Milli screamed in fury as Sabrina and Laran gazed above at the archer who ripped backwards on the cord with all her might. It broke away from its bow base, activating Milli’s special aura. The result of her aura pouring through the arrow’s cord was a surprising sight: the black cord disappeared before their eyes at an alarming speed. Like an old-world bomb, the brilliant fuse wound up through the disappearing cord to deliver a massive blow to the enemy.
“It...It appears as though I have truly been defeated. What a ridiculous fluke.” He had already held something in his hand, and Julius suddenly poised his thumb over a small red button on his exosuit for some sort of activation. “This ends...ugh...with a draw.” Just as he was about to activate his fearsome self-destruct sequence, he saw the black cord fizzling his way. “So, that cord?” He didn’t have time to finish his postulation. It was a fearsome explosion when the cord’s fizzling spark reached him. Julius Lengstein had been utterly eradicated.
“It took me awhile to master that explosive cord technique. I combined it with my most destructive arrow...there are no defenses against it.” Milli took a moment to feel accomplished. They had done a marvelous job saving the city of San Antonio. She turned to Laran, who was now kneeling down next to Sabrina; the android was barely able to remain sentient.
“I’ve inspected the damage that Blue Misty inflicted, and it’s as she had said. I can’t salvage Sabrina, even if I can repair the robotic components.” At this point, sorrow had completely overcome both of them once more, but suddenly, they heard a robotic voice erupt over the course of the entire city.
“Code Neon, activated. Destruction of Julius’ city of gaming will come forth in 5 minutes. Good-bye.” Milli and Laran looked at each other as any time they had to say good bye to their android friend had disappeared in an instant.
“Shit! He must have triggered something right before my explosion. Damn!!” Milli said in a panic, while Laran’s frustration had hit its peak.
“This whole thing. Fuck, this is so fucked!! So, I guess our job is to sacrifice ourselves to save everyone else? Laran, fuck this. Seriously, I’m so fucking done.” It was Laran who stepped forward, and without a word, he pressed against the love of his life to embrace her with a deep kiss that lasted for several seconds. Milli could only stare at the one that she knew completed her; he was the one that was always able to take her anxiety away. The city’s impending death could only inflame the passion that she held for him in her heart.
“Love, we have to get out of here. My Final EMP is very powerful, but I don’t know what kind of technology Julius’ bomb is built on. It might be something that I’m just not prepared for right now.” Milli nodded at her husband, as they stopped themselves from moving on without saying good-bye to Sabrina. The sullen archer somehow found the right words to say at that moment. “I’m sorry. You were the one to saved us many times through all this shit, and now, here we are. We couldn’t do the same for you. Can you forgive us, Sabrina?”
It was that same smile that she always wore. Upon first glance, it would seem to be devoid of all emotion. Yet upon looking closer, you would see the person that once was Sabrina Phillipi. She nodded at Laran and Milli with that smile that they had both loved, and in turn, they couldn’t help but smile back at her. They couldn’t stop their tears, and the two of them let them flow before regretfully gravity leaping away from the tragic scene.
They took another moment in mid-air to look back at the remnants of Julius’ lair, and the lifeless of body of Jerome. Yet Dane, Dee, and Kasper had disappeared from their last whereabouts, which caused a feeling of perplexity to emerge inside of them. They looked at each other in confusion, when the thought of Sabrina entered the forefront of their minds again. They gazed at her as she confidently nodded at them, perhaps trying to give them the strength to carry on without her. Laran and Milli faded from sight, as Sabrina’s eyes gently closed. Her smile would not fade.
*****
The scene shifts to a time in the past, as three rebels are standing aloft in the desert sun. “Are
you comfortable with this, Sabrina? Are you sure?” Laran, Milli, and Sabrina had stopped near the deserted town of Glendale, Arizona. They were about halfway in between where they landed in Mexico and their destination in Texas. Sabrina’s emotionless face didn’t waiver for even a second, as they stared at her to see if there was even an ounce of hesitation in her demeanor. There never was, but they still always made sure. “Just tell us if you aren’t,” Milli demanded.
Sabrina suddenly let her usual confident and emotionless smile appear once more. “The mission directive has been set. I will fulfill my duties against the unknown assailant who employs powerful technology. There will be no faltering...Milli, Laran. I am your ally.” Laran and Milli were shocked to hear Sabrina refer to them as her allies.
“No, Sabrina.” Laran stepped forward, both of them returning her smile with genuine resolve. “You’re also our friend now.” Laran took Milli’s hand as she nodded at Sabrina, ushering for her to join them as they leapt forward in their hasty advance towards San Antonio. Like the android that she was, she leapt forward with astounding fury and led the way while her two human friends followed behind.
************
“Yes, I was human in the end.”
Final Round
BEGIN
Milli and Laran were successful in reaching the edge of the city, with only less than a minute to spare; their gravity leap had become extremely fast and powerful. “Are we far enough away to activate it now, Laran?” Milli stood by her guy, ready to see the effects of his EMP invention as she wondered if his genius would be enough to truly save San Antonio.
“We should be fine. I planted the main EMP charge next to where our battle was. I’ll finally press the button to set it off. Cross your fingers that this will work.”
