Grow Up

by Craig Anderson

  A call came over the viewer. Frag thought, It is the Teacher.

  “Answer it.”

  He did, and the Teacher’s face filled the screen. His mandibles clicked together. “You have fought valiantly, but this is the end. Lay down your weapons and die with dignity, or we will open fire and shred you with plasma.”

  “Dignity is overrated. I’d rather die fighting.”

  “So be it.”

  Both mechs prepared to fire, and Josh closed his eyes.

  The explosion rattled his teeth, and shook several things loose in the cockpit. Before he could even think about what that meant, Frag took control. Josh felt an unbelievable surge of emotion, years and years of pent-up rage. Frag flung the shield in a perfectly timed throw. It sailed through the air as the Teacher opened fire, rooting it to the spot and preventing the dodge. The shield blocked every shot and crashed into the purple mech, embedding deep into its chest. The Ticket Buster tried to grab it, to pull it out, but Frag turned off the shield, then turned it on again, doing double the damage.

  Josh regained control of his limbs. He strolled over, as fast as his non-boosted legs could go, only his sword remaining. He said, “Call the Teacher back.”

  Frag obliged, and the screen was filled with the Teacher’s shocked face. He was shaking with anger. Josh said, “Frag tells me you're not a big fan of forgiveness or honour.”

  He held the sword in place over the smoking purple mech, pausing just long enough to get the Teacher’s hopes up. Then he said, “Thanks for the lesson.” He drove the energy sword straight through the purple Ticket Buster’s head, ending the battle, and winning the trial.

  Level 18: Forgive & Forget

  Gargle woke up to the sounds of voices downstairs. He rolled out of bed, feeling a little groggy. He still wasn’t entirely used to sleeping, it felt like a waste of time, but he had to admit it made every day feel like a brand-new start. Today was the day he would solve all his problems.

  As soon as he opened his door the small predator was waiting, but instead of biting at him it nuzzled his feet. He bent down and picked it up, and as soon as Pickle was in range she licked his face. It did not seem to be an attempt to taste him, more a means of showing affection.

  He carried her down the stairs and found the Dad and the Mum together in the living room. They did not appear to have slept at all; both looked exhausted. Caitlin said, “I’m surprised ye are awake this early, I used to have to hit ye with a pillow until ye got up.”

  “I did not wish to waste the day,” he said, meaning every word. He regarded the Dad. “Did you just get back from work?”

  “Nah, I took the night off. Your mum and I had some catching up to do.”

  That earned a giggle from Caitlin. Whatever they had talked about had clearly been enjoyable. She said, “Let me cook ye both some breakfast. It’s the least I can do to say thanks for saving our bacon.”

  As soon as she left the room the Dad gave Gargle a stern look. “Don’t think I have forgotten about your punishment, young man. I don’t know what happened yesterday, all I know is I had a missed call from the police station and then your mum showed up telling me you’d been caught gambling at the casino. That’s not like you at all. I thought we were past this rebellious phase.”

  “Apologies, Father, I overindulged.”

  “Sorry isn’t good enough. Consider yourself grounded until after your exams. I want to see some studying going on, and a lot of it. We haven’t gotten you this far for it all to fall apart at the last minute.”

  “I understand.”

  His gaze broke for a second and he smiled. “I’m glad you’re ok.”

  “Thank you for helping. I do however have a question.”

  “Go on.”

  “You appear to be a very competent fighter. How is that?”

  The Dad chuckled. “I guess you’ve never really seen that side of me. Dating your mum gave me more than one opportunity to practice my fighting skills, she had a knack for getting us into trouble. After a while I got tired of getting beaten up and I took a few boxing lessons. I guess I was pretty good at it, as soon as I was winning every scrap. I considered going pro for a while, but then you came along and suddenly I had too much to lose. That’s when I went and got the job at the factory.”

  “Perhaps you could teach me?” Gargle asked.

  “One day, lad, maybe when school is done. If fighting taught me anything, it’s that physical violence rarely solves anything. The better you get at it, the more people want to fight you. It’s a vicious circle.”

  “Please, Father, it would help improve my ability to defend myself. I will only use it as a last resort.”

  “Alright fine, a few quick pointers, but this is purely for self-defence. I don’t want to hear about you beating kids up in the playground.”

  The Dad jumped to his feet and held up his fists, blocking his face. Gargle mirrored him. The Dad laughed. “Not bad. Now the secret is to punch with your hips. Everyone tries swinging their arms, but you get a lot more power if you put your hips into it, like this.”

  He demonstrated, and his fist moved so fast Gargle almost missed it. Gargle studied the Dad’s movements carefully, making a mental note of each one. Then he attempted to replicate it. It didn’t go quite as smoothly, but he got the general gist.

  “Not bad,” he said approvingly. “Now you know how to hit someone, you need to know where to hit them. If you need to end a fight quickly, the best spot is right here.” He pointed at a spot on his jaw. “One decent punch there will knock even the biggest bloke flat on his backside.”

  Gargle tried a few more times, until he was confident he had the motion perfected. The Dad nodded and said, “I think that’s enough for today. When your exams are done maybe we can go to the boxing gym together and I’ll teach you a few more moves. Purely for self-defence of course.”

  “Of course,” Gargle said. “I shall look forward to that.” He didn’t have to pretend; he really was looking forward to it. Was this what being part of a human family was like? Spending time together and bonding over mutual activities? He liked it.

  “Ok, Rocky, go see if your mum needs any help.”

  Gargle did, walking through to the kitchen. The moment Caitlin saw Gargle she started to cry. She hugged him a little too tightly. “I didn’t get a chance to say sorry last night. I never should have put ye in that position. Ye could have been really hurt.”

  “It is alright, Mother, I was not physically harmed.” He hadn’t yet dealt with such an outpouring of emotion and he had no idea what to do. He patted her gently on the back until she let go.

  “I’ve heard horror stories about what happens in those back rooms. I still don’t get how ye escaped.”

  “I improvised.” Gargle grinned. He really had. No-one had told him what to do, no tasks, no tutorial, he’d figured it all out on his own. It was a proud moment. Perhaps he was spy material after all.

  “It’s not just that. I’m sorry for everything I put ye through. I wasn’t thinking straight, but I am now. I’m going to get some help.”

  He nodded. “That is why Father sent me in here. What can I help with?”

  She laughed between sobs, wiping at her eyes. “No, I have it under control, go get ready for school and I’ll shout ye when it is ready.”

  Gargle went back upstairs and changed into a spare school uniform. He caught himself in the mirror and wasn’t shocked at who was looking back at him. He looked normal. This was who he was now. He was still grinning when he heard Caitlin shouting from downstairs. “Josh, breakfast.”

  As he skipped back down the stairs, taking them two at a time, he found both of his parents sat at a table, with a large plate of warm food in front of them. They were smiling. He hadn’t seen the Dad smile much since he had been here. It was nice.

  He sat down and ate breakfast in huge bites, not realizing how hungry he was until he was mopping the plate clean with a piece of toast. Caitlin said, “Still eating like a teenager I
see.”

  She picked up his plate and took it back into the kitchen. The Dad glanced at his watch and said, “We’d better get you to school, we wouldn’t want you to be late, seeing as you were sick yesterday.”

  “Is Mother coming too?” Gargle asked.

  “No, she’s got a few things to do this morning, but I’ve asked her over for dinner tonight, if that is ok with you.”

  “Yes, I would like that,” Gargle said.

  “I’ll just go and say goodbye to her. Go wait in the car, and don’t forget your backpack.”

  “Yes, Father.”

  Gargle went and sat in the creaky, rusty deathtrap that was parked next to Caitlin’s sleek red sports car. On this planet, it was obvious who had money and who didn’t, and it was seemingly all anyone cared about. Like it or not, he was going to have to solve the money problem if he was going to establish himself here. What he needed was a better way to earn money, that wasn’t flipping burgers or counting cards. There had to be something that existed between those two extremes.

  The Dad was still grinning when he got into the car. He was humming a tune, something Gargle had never seen him do before. It was as if he was a different person.

  Gargle froze. What if he was? Could the Galactic Corp be on to him? What if they had spies of their own? He’d almost forgotten they were up there, watching, waiting for anything unusual. What he needed was a test.

  “That was funny when I fell down the stairs the other day. I think I bumped my head, I can’t even remember what I was wearing.”

  “When you were naked?” the Dad said, clearly puzzled.

  It wasn’t much, but it was enough. That was such an incidental detail, only the real Dad would know that.

  “Oh yes, haha, that is correct, I wasn’t wearing clothes.”

  “Are you feeling ok? Are you sure they didn’t hurt you at that casino?”

  “I am certain, Father.”

  The Dad risked a sideways glance. “I could have killed your Mum when she showed up last night begging for my help. I’d been calling you all day, but she said she had your phone and was ignoring the calls. I was so angry at her for putting you in that situation.”

  “You do not appear angry?” Gargle said. He thought he was getting to grips with the range of human emotions, but perhaps there were still some gaps.

  “Well yeah, we had a chance to talk about it last night. It was the first time I’ve ever heard her admit she has a gambling problem. I think this whole thing really brought that home. She realizes how close we came to serious consequences. She has promised me she’s going to get help, and I think this time she really means it. She also promised she will never set foot in that casino ever again.”

  “That sounds like a positive change.”

  “I have to say, you’re taking this better than I expected. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that you wouldn’t even talk to her.”

  Uh oh. Gargle audibly gulped. Was he failing his mission by being civil to Josh’s Mum? It was too late to change now; he would just have to improvise. He was getting the hang of that now.

  “Yes, I have given it much thought, and I agree with your assessment that it is time for me to grow up. I can hardly remember why I was upset at her.”

  That earned another look. “Wow, you’re serious. I thought for sure you’d still be a little bit mad about her selling your top-of-the-line gaming P.C. to enter that Blackjack tournament. You cried about that for weeks.”

  “Yes, well, it is only a material possession. I am no longer so enamoured with those, although I do intend to solve our financial situation.”

  The Dad nodded. “Happy to hear you taking on some responsibility, but don’t worry about money right now, you have more important things to focus on. You pass your exams and then we will talk about next steps.”

  They pulled up to the school and the Dad said, “Try to stay out of trouble, and remember, you were sick yesterday.” He winked, and then drove off.

  Gargle watched him go and strolled into the school, full of ideas for how to improve himself. That was when he bumped straight into someone much larger than him.

  ***

  Josh climbed out of the Ticket Buster feeling a little dazed. The crowd was roaring his name. Several guards ran over, spears raised, but they were unclear what it was that they were supposed to do. Teacher scurried over from a nearby tunnel and yelled, “Arrest him!”

  The head guard said, “On what charge?”

  “He was operating a mech without a license!”

  “Actually, I have a license,” said Josh with a smug grin.

  The head guard pulled out a scanner and flashed it over Josh. It beeped and turned green. “Looks ok to me. Fully qualified for a Level 1 Ticket Buster, which is what he was piloting.”

  “It’s a trick! His A.I. must have hacked the system. Josh has not been here long enough to pass the bar. I would know if he had!”

  “Josh? Says here the licensed lawyer is called Frag?”

  The Teacher snatched the data pad from the guard’s hand and stared at it. “A clever trick, but I am not done. The law states that the defending mech cannot be armed, and yet his mech clearly had an energy shield. His defence was therefore null and void, and a retrial must take place immediately, this time without his hitchhiker.”

  “Actually, I think you will find that the law specifies that the defending mech may not have any weaponry. Last time I checked, the energy shield was classified as equipment. I can show you the law if you would like?” Josh held out his hand for the data pad.

  The Teacher threw the data pad on the ground and rushed at Josh.

  Josh pointed up at the huge viewer, which currently showed a live feed of them both. “You wouldn’t assault a guy in front of all these witnesses would you? That doesn’t seem like conduct befitting an educator such as yourself.”

  The Teacher leaned in close, his mandibles brushing against Josh’s ear. “You think you’re so clever. You’ll regret the day you crossed me. Your reckoning is coming.”

  Now it was Josh’s turn. “You’ve got this all wrong. You’re in no position to threaten me. You’ve pissed me off, and you haven’t seen me angry yet. If you want to fight me, you bring your best mech, and we’ll see who walks away.”

  The Teacher’s limbs twitched, and he scurried away before he did something he would regret in front of a stadium full of people.

  Josh exhaled, or more accurately, Frag did. That was amazing! You really told him.

  “Yeah well, he had it coming. Come on, let’s get out of here and get you back into your shell.”

  Josh pushed past the guards, who let him go. The crowd continued to holler, and he was glad when they made it into the small room where Frag’s shell was still face-down on the table.

  “Ok, out you get.”

  Frag attempted to leave, but found himself thoroughly stuck. As he tried to pull away, Josh felt a physical sensation in his head like a sharp migraine. He yelled, “Stop!”

  The moment Frag stopped trying to leave, the headache abated.

  “What was that?”

  I believe we have become slightly tangled. I am not able to simply eject myself like I usually can.

  “Oh bollocks! That’s a problem, a big problem. No-one said anything about this being permanent. We need to talk to Ali, right now.”

  Josh stormed out of the room, crashing into Shift. She looked relieved to see him, but he had more important matters to attend to. “I need Ali back, now.”

  “Who is Ali?”

  “My A.I. It is imperative I speak with her immediately.”

  “An A.I. is not permitted to have a name.”

  “Yeah, well mine does,” he said.

  “It is not your A.I., it is the property of the High Command, as are all A.I. They are still examining the program for flaws.”

  “What? That isn’t what we agreed. They said they would give her back if I won.”

  Shift squirmed. “The High Command do not t
ake orders from you, they never have. They have come to the conclusion that with the appropriate motivation you may be turned against Blurgon by the G.C., and they wish me to remind you that a betrayal such as this will result in the deletion of the A.I.”

  Josh could barely contain his anger. “They are threatening me?”

  “May I remind you that you did the exact same thing to them?”

  He wanted to scream and shout, but he suddenly lost control of his mouth. Instead his voice said, “We respect the decision of the High Command and will of course remain loyal to Blurgon, but we are unclear in what capacity they wish us to serve?”

  Shift held out a familiar bracelet. Josh wanted to refuse it, but his arm raised of its own accord and she slipped it back on. A few seconds later it vibrated.

  I don’t want to be their slave! I’m sick of everyone telling me what to do, like I’m a stupid kid, Josh yelled in his own head.

  I know, but now is not the time for emotion. The High Command clearly have a plan for us, if we are to free Ali then we must understand what it is they want from us.

  The response caught Josh entirely by surprise. Wait, you’re willing to go against the High Command if we need to?

  There was silence, and then, Honestly, it is getting harder to tell which thoughts are yours and which are mine. I do not wish to betray the High Command, but I do not believe we can undo our current predicament without Ali’s help. I also know what she means to you and can feel how upset you will be if you cannot get her back. I cannot live that way. I will do whatever is required to return her to us.

  Josh realized he hadn’t spoken in a while. Shift was staring at him. He flipped up his wrist and saw the task:

  New Task available.

  - Win the war: Defeat the Galactic Corp and make sure that Blurgon is safe.

  Josh couldn’t help but laugh when he read it. “That’s all? Just defeat the largest corporation in the galaxy? Anything else? Are you sure they don’t want me to travel back in time and grab a dinosaur while I’m at it?”