by Matt Doyle
“Yeah, it’s a full charge level card, y'know? It needs all ten lined up. I think Connor used it in almost every tournament match that he played back in the day.”
“And what about Lana, any guesses on her Data Fragment Sam?”
“Hmm … it’s a Boost style card so, if she’s smart it’ll be one of the electric style ones. If I’m right about Connor’s card, then it may be that she’s planning to use it to counter Blood Lust.”
“Would that work?”
“Yes an’ no. She’d still need a good hand to pull off the counters, but that extra power could really help her there. I mean, Jariah would need to be low on health to activate Blood Lust anyway, so it could be the turning point.”
“And if Connor’s not using Blood Lust?”
“Then it’ll still give her a temporary advantage on any blows she can land.”
The Sky Control System screens now show that the decks have been shuffled and the arena lights above the Competitor Areas have begun lowering.
“Looks like Lana and Connor are ready to get things started. Any last minute predictions Sam?”
Sam pauses for a moment before replying, “Y'know what Dirk, I’m gonna say that Connor Ford takes it. There’s the chance that he’ll fall, but ya listen to the fans here an’ I gotta say, I’m just like them. I’m hoping for a miracle return.”
“Well, then I guess we’re about to find out if miracles really do happen.”
Song: Battle Music 17
Band: Emblem Productions
Genre: Instrumental Orchestral Rock
The heavy riffing of overly distorted guitars kicks in and the electronic announcer states, “It is time to … Light. It. Up. Competitors … Begin!”
And with that, the orchestra kicks in and the music hits in earnest. Having been selected to go first, Connor Ford hits his first card and Jariah dashes forward.
“Jariah starts us off, claws slashing at The Ashen, but The Ashen slips by and dives in, clamping his teeth down on Jariah’s arm. Jariah pushes him away and he dives in again, teeth bared, but Jariah summons a row of ice spikes, knocking him back.”
“You saw the way they were looking at each other Dirk, these two got issues man, an’ they’re showing it with this early aggression.”
“And a lunge grounds The Ashen, Jariah trying to tear away at his face, but The Ashen is getting his face just out of the way. I think you’re right Sam, there’s some real animosity in the way they’re playing. Static Charge by The Ashen throws Jariah off and he’s back in control with a tail smash, but Jariah blocks.”
“She didn’t block that one though! Lana’s building her hand up quickly now, an’ with a forty five card deck, that’s crucial. The Ashen now with a diving tackle, Jariah slips past, tail whip, Jariah weaves under, The Ashen throws himself forward, mouth open wide for a bite an’ Jariah counters with a hard swipe to the face.”
“The Ashen’s face hit the ground hard but he’s straight back up, mouth bleeding heavily as he ducks another swipe, but taking a hard knee.”
“Connor’s Burst bar is half way up now too Dirk, he’s dropping cards every chance he gets.”
“Lana too though Sam, and Jariah sinks her teeth into The Ashen’s shoulder.”
“A big ol’ throw to the ground an’ Jariah has The Ashen’s arm locked. Here comes the claw swipe, but The Ashen blocks, another swipe an’ this time The Ashen’s tail takes Jariah’s legs, forcing her to release the lock. That’s another card down on Lana’s Boost bar an’ she’s keeping on top with a static charge, but Jariah dives through with another lunge.”
“And again she snaps away at The Ashen’s face, this time nailing the first bite, and the second, but The Ashen snaps back and Jariah stumbles. The Ashen grabs hold of his opponent and leaps, turns in the air, and comes down hard on top of her. Jariah roars in pain, and now it’s her turn to spit up blood.”
“That’s boosted Lana’s health bar back up too Dirk, an’ there goes another tail whip, Jariah dodging past, leaving a bloody trail behind her. A dive by the Ashen an’ Jariah ducks under, another dive, an’ Jariah rolls past.”
“She’s not striking back though Sam.”
“No, she ain’t, an’ I think I know why. Connor’s down there with a big ol’ smile on his face - Jariah slips past again - an’ Lana’s lookin’ frustrated.”
“He’s trying to get under her skin, isn’t he? Jariah blocks a diving bite, redirecting The Ashen past her.”
“He ain’t jus’ trying Dirk, he’s doing it. Look at her getting pissed down there.”
“Jariah leaps back to avoid a tail swipe at her legs. Connor surely must have had the chance to go on the offensive after one or two of those dodges.”
“That’s what I mean, he’s just winding her up, he’s …”
“DATA FRAGMENT ACTIVATE: THE THUNDER GOD’S BLESSING,” cuts in the electronic announcer.
“An’ Connor’s smile just got a whole lot bigger.”
“He wanted to get her Data Fragment out of the way before she could build it up. He must have what, twelve cards in his hand now too?”
“The Ashen’s all charged up, electric surging around his body as he dives in an’ Jariah dives past again. Something like that Dirk an’ … static burst from The Ashen an’ Jariah gets hit hard!”
“But Connor’s not activating his Data Fragment Sam, do you think maybe he’s got something other than Blood Lust under there?”
“Jariah weaves under a claw swipe once, twice, then rolls past a close range dive. I don’t know. I really don’t know. You look though, he’s got his health back up a little an’ dropped his hand down. I think he kept some cards up there on purpose so he could recharge quickly. The Ashen sinks an electrically charged bite down into Jariah’s shoulder!”
“DATA FRAGMENT ACTIVATE: BLOOD LUST.”
“And The Ashen gets thrown across the field. Connor’s leaving it a little late though Sam, maybe he’s lost some of his old skill in the downtime?”
“Aw, Hell no. Look at Lana’s Boost bar. He didn’t even try to counter that last bite Dirk, he knew it was the last one of her Boost charged moves, he just wanted to make sure that she didn’t have anything heavy left in the tank. Will you look at that!”
“Jariah is ripping away at The Ashen’s health points with reckless abandon!”
“The Ashen’s on the back foot an’ I don’t think there’s gonna be any coming back now. Another vicious snap by Jariah an’ now a lunge grounds The Ashen.”
“Which means that the snapping’s gonna continue until Lana draws a counter.”
“Jariah is tearing The Ashen to shreds down there Dirk! An’ look at the desperation on Lana’s face as she flips card after card.”
“You know what? I think this may be worse than the opener Sam. Look at the pool forming underneath them …”
The second the last, strained screech comes out of The Ashen, the crowd explode into a chorus of cheers, the noise rising along with the arena lights. Jariah stands up, blood dripping from her teeth and claws as she surveys the carnage, then throws her head back and lets out a maddened roar, Connor Ford raising his hand in unison with the battle cry. By this point, the electronic announcer is barely audible as it confirms, “Ladies and Gentlemen, your winner, Connor Ford.”
“Wow! Just wow!”
“Me an’ everyone else here got our miracle Dirk. Connor’s back an’ he’s better than ever!”
“Connor Ford has well and truly stated his intentions here tonight. Sam, can you explain how the match was won?”
“Blood Lust man, all the way. The moment that thing activates, both Spark Formers’ hands go back to the deck an’ get shuffled, then they both play cards blind, no data charges, for ten turns. The attacker remains on the attack for the whole thing, their stats get boosted by one, an’ the defender can’t dodge or block, only counter. Since the attack an’ counter effects all still take place too, the defender needs a helluva lotta luck to survive it. Tonight, Lana was
all outta that.”
“The producers are telling me wrap this one up, so we’re gonna have to leave that one there. Don’t forget, still to come is tonight’s main event, Finn McCourt versus the defending champion John Forrester, and you can bet that they were both watching this one closely. Until then, I’m Dirk Wylder.”
“I’m Sam North.”
“And you’ve been watching the forty third annual Spark Form World Championships.”
“Laters.”
The screen fades to black.
FAHRN - 16:25
Maria was right, focusing on work always gets me back on track. If she hadn’t talked me into it, I probably wouldn’t have gotten around to reading Sean’s e-mail. Not before tomorrow morning anyway.
It’s risky, but it’s not a bad idea. It all hinges on Dorian though. I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on the forums to see what sort of reaction he’s getting.
I drop my face into my hands with a groan, rub my eyes and scroll back to the start of the e-mail. Running through it all helps, but I’m really struggling to keep my mind on it, which is really bad because it could change a lot of things for me. Maria too. We both need to be certain before making a decision, so I need to run it all past her, but I can’t because she’s not here right now, she’s out trying to find out what she can about Laqueta. No matter how many times I reread Sean’s idea, the barrage of emotions about knowing what Maria’s doing keeps jumping back into my head before I can settle on what I think about it all. Damn it.
I put the tablet down and sink back into the chair exhausted, letting my head roll back and my eyes drift to lights above. I feels like I’m about to drift off when I hear the door open and close gently. I wait in silence for a moment then turn my head to see Maria leaning back against the wall, her eyes locked on me.
“You OK?” I ask.
Uncertainty flashes across her eyes but quickly disappears as she nods and walks over to the fridge. She starts to open it but stops. “I didn’t get her changing room number,” she says pushing the door shut and turning back to me. “I just … I didn’t speak to any of the arena staff.”
I can feel my brow furrow as I ask, “How come?”
“I bumped into Hong Chan,” she replies, her voice wavering. “You were right. It’s her.”
Now that I know, I’m not sure how to respond. I barely manage a blink before she continues, “She wants to meet with you. He said she wants to understand what happened on The Wandering Halo.”
My throat goes dry. “But,” I manage, trying to force a swallow, “we spent weeks going over that.”
“According to Hong Chan, she’s not seen you since …” She trails off, then says quietly, “She doesn’t remember a thing Fahrn. Everything we did. It’s all gone. She’s um, she’s been living with Hong Chan for a little while apparently. He adopted her, that’s how she managed to qualify in Cothurn rather than the Offland tournament.”
Both our gazes drop to our feet and we remain in silence for what feels like an eternity. I half expected adoption to come up. Or I did if it was Meera anyway. There wouldn’t be any other way she’d be allowed to enter a non-Offland qualifier otherwise, the barcode makes sure of that. “I need to speak to her,” I whisper, absently scratching my own tattoo.
“They’re heading back to the hotel soon,” Maria replies, walking over to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. She puts her free hand in her pocket and pulls out a piece of paper with a roughly scribbled ‘64’ on it. “We should head back to Fenrir and get some rest. Hong Chan said we can drop by their room later, once he’s had the chance to let her know what’s happening.”
“OK,” I say, resting my head against her hand.
LANA DE LA CRUZ - 16:30
“Ah, you’re back,” Finn begins as I walk through the door. “You played well …”
“It’s fine,” I say, cutting him off. “I’m not upset about losing.”
“Are you certain?” he asks, watching my slump across the room. “You seem, I believe the phrase is, off. If it is of any consolation, I am certainly capable of advising as to how you could alter your strategy in order to achieve more favourable results in any future matches.”
“My tactics were fine,” I reply from the ‘comfier’ chair. “He got under my skin and I used The Thunder God’s Blessing too soon, that’s all.”
Realising that the silence in the room became awkward the moment it started, I glance back towards Finn and find that he’s still staring at me with those soulless eyes of his. “What?” I ask.
He leans back and casually crosses his arms, his head inclining slightly in a near perfect imitation of human life. I’m about to give myself an internal congratulatory cheer for that, but he ruins it by further proving the quality of his design and launching into a near perfect imitation of one of humanities more annoying aspects: not knowing when to drop it.
”Miss De La Cruz, with all due respect, you are clearly not fine. It is an integral part of my programming to observe your behaviour and offer assistance and advice as and when the necessity arises. As your bout with Connor Ford has clearly …”
“Damn it Finn,” I yell over him, “I don’t care about losing the match. It was fun. I enjoyed myself. End of.”
“Then you are under stress perhaps?”
“You know what? You’re right. I am under stress. I’m being harassed if you must know.”
“Harassed, Miss De La Cruz?”
“Yes Finn, harassed. There’s this really pushy guy that doesn’t seem to be getting the point when I keep telling him to back off.”
“Would it be of assistance if I were to speak to him on your behalf perhaps? It is often the case that human males will pay more attention to the views of other males than they will of women.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I moan. “Think it through Finn. You’re beginning to make me doubt my work again.”
Finn pauses for a moment then simply replies, “Ah.”
“And there we go,” I reply, then grunt myself deeper into the chair as I stare off in the opposite direction of my companion.
Stupid Finn. Now the awkward silence has come back with a vengeance. My head is suddenly beginning to clear too. “He’s dead,” I finally say.
“Excuse me?”
“Connor Ford. I think he’s dead anyway. He walked straight back through the entrance curtain and collapsed right in front me just as the medical people were about to take me off for a check-up. He’s probably not dead actually. They were all over him the moment he dropped. Oh, and all this,” I say, waving my hand in the air, “it’s probably just the Surge. I think it’s wearing off now.”
“I see,” he replies evenly.
“Sorry Finn,” I say, looking over to him.
He nods in response then pushes himself to his feet. “Drink?”
“Sure,” I say with a smile, then notice something large and shiny leaning up against the back wall. “Hey, is that an Office Glider?”
“Yes. Mr Church delivered it shortly before you arrived. Apparently, it was deemed a necessary addition to my entrance routine.”
“Mind if I have a look?” I ask, leaning out of my chair with enthusiastic anticipation.
“If you so desire,” he replies, carefully measuring a scoop of coffee.
“They’ve done a really good job with the plating,” I say, running my fingers over the safety guard. “Even new ones don’t normally shine this much. Still …” I let the word elongate as I drop to my knees and start prodding the underneath of the machine. “I hope the work doesn’t just extend to the aesthetics. If they haven’t calibrated the base properly, it won’t automatically compensate for the natural bumps and divots in the ground.”
“I am sure they have done a satisfactory job,” Finn says, handing me my coffee.
“Yeah, probably,” I concede, taking a tentative sip from the steaming mug before placing it down on the table and returning my attention to the pretty machine on the floor. “I always wanted to get one of
these for work, but they wouldn’t let me.”
“Given the nature of your employment Miss De La Cruz, I cannot imagine that an Office Glider would be overly convenient.”
“Nah, not with all the equipment around. Shame though, they look fun.”
Finn turns his head and looks over his shoulder at the ‘comfier’ and ‘oh hell no’ chairs.
“What is it?” I ask.
“It occurred to me that it would be beneficial to test the Office Glider prior to my match. I had intended to simply ride it to the entrance area, but I do believe that if I were to move the chairs back against the wall, it would create sufficient space to test it in here. Perhaps you would like to carry out the initial flight?”
Like he even needs to ask. “Let’s do it,” I say with an involuntary squeak of excitement.
CONNOR FORD - 16:38
I found it intolerable when there was nothing, and this isn’t much better. My whole bloody body aches and my nose appears to have been rubbed in something that was either bleeding or burning.
“… All of that?” someone asks off to one side before dissolving back into the damnable prattle going on around me. You’d think that the world would come to an end if everyone were to shut up for one second. “… not been well for a long …” says someone else near the last one. I’d turn to look at the bastards but my neck feels like it’s locked in place. Quite aside from that, I can’t see a damn thing anyway. I could be looking right at them already for all I know.
“… Breathing,” says another voice, far too close for my liking. Behind him, some woman is murmuring something about the press. And what was that? Dead? Is that what this is supposed to be is it? Eternal bloody darkness and a bunch of morons standing around talking? No, when death comes for me, he can bring the hounds of war and send me off in a blaze of glory, I will not have this piss poor imitation of damnation.
“Damn it all to Hell,” I growl, forcing my eyes open. And all of a sudden the world is white and the shadows are moving and panicking among themselves. My eyes feel like they’re on fire. And why aren’t I sitting up? My body may be old, but it knows damn well how to move itself.
