The Three Part Tournament - III

The air cracked as the pilot thrusters ignited. He launched forth, causing a Y-shaped crater from sheer speed alone. A maelstrom of red orbs shot from his cannons, converging on Jenn in twin, guided arcs.

She charged. As the orbs came close to meeting and intersected on Jenn, she leapt into the air. The red balls of mana clashed against each other and exploded.

“Take this!” Jenn yelled.

Her leg came in a downward arc. Anselm raised a cannon arm in defence. She hit the large-calibre tube. The impact sounded like a pebble against hard concrete, and the sound of cracking bone came in reply.

The result was plain to see. A small crack along the wooden cannon. A pained smile on her face.

Jenn had done more damage to her foot than the mech itself.

At the same time, Numarei fought against Mr. Planet. Keeping his distance, he plucked gas giant after gas giant from his head and threw it.

“CLOUD.”

A gas giant hit the floor near Numarei’s feet. As it did, it imploded into a bright, white cloud.

She dashed back. The cloud had grazed her shin, leaving burns on the surface, rendering it red and patchy. Numarei’s left eye twitched, her expression pained.

Mr. Planet took a few steps forward. “DO YOU KNOW WHY JUPITER IS WHITE?”

Numarei did not reply.

“FROZEN AMMONIA CRYSTALS.”

Mr. Planet readied two more balls, spinning them in each hand. He threw one forward and detonated it in a ten-metre sphere of white. Numarei bit her lip and ran through it. She came out, coughing. Eyes irritated. Body, red, blue, and purple in other places.

Her arm was raised to punch, her body stopped, for a quick rotation of the hip.

“INCORRECT.”

His other planet detonated. The ammonia cloud submerged Mr. Planet in a protective veil, forcing Numarei to step back. There was nothing she could do. Either run in and burn, or stay back and burn.

The choice was hers.

Numarei looked over to her teammate. She was pushed to her own corner. Dodging orb after orb of exploding red, a dozen deadly pellets at once.

“Jenn!” Her voice came out strained and hoarse. Like a 68-year-old after a lifetime of smoking.

Jenn turned her head abruptly. The two exchanged a quick, meaningful look. A careful assessment of each other’s predicament, and a would-be solution.

“CLOUD.”

Another miniaturised gas giant curved their way. Jenn moved past Numarei, raising her arm out to catch it mid-air. Her arm flared red, lines and patterns, shifting and crawling like living, worming scars.

—Second Reversion: Marked Object Return

The planet halted mid-air. Then, it flew back whence it came, slamming into Mr. Planet who had stepped forward.

The robot rose to one knee, an expulsion of gas escaping from his shoulder vents. He had no expressions to speak of. Though his gas-giant head did swirl ever so faster.

“Good luck,” said Jenn, without looking back once, and with a tone that said all there needed to be said.

She darted into Mr. Planet’s general direction. He was quick on the uptake. Running back, he threw two more planets in Jenn’s direction. She swatted them like flies, returning each and every one.

They were easier than Anselm’s orbs. Slower, despite their large area of effect. After all, what use was a nuke that could not detonate?

Mr. Planet stopped at an unfortunate mound, foot caught in a pile of misshapen grass.

“IMPPRESSIVE.”

He detonated one planet on himself. It was no use. Jenn’s hand gripped that amorphous cloud of white, condensing it, reverting it back into a ball-shaped planet that formed and fell.

Mr. Planet could run no further. He raised his arms into an amateur’s imitation of a boxer. Jenn started with a wild haymaker. She caught the robot straight in the head, parting his two raised arms like Moses did the Red Sea.

“PAIN.”

He sidestepped another wild punch, and threw out two jabs of his own. One caught Jenn in the chin, forcing out a glob of blood. The next, didn’t.

It was Jenn who got the upper hand now. Slipping his jab, she returned with three of her own. One to a planet’s approximation of a human temple. One to the liver. One to the chest.

Taking all three, stumbling back with a static wince, Mr. Planet could fight no further. Unfortunately for him, Jenn wanted to guarantee this.

Three steps to build up momentum. One more to launch herself. Jumping with a twist, incorporating her torque, Jenn raised both feet mid-air and drop-kicked Mr. Planet.

“CONCLUSION!” yelled Jenn.

He flew through the air, turning and spinning, gas pouring from the cracks on his head and body. Mr. Planet made one last sound, not dissimilar to that of an air conditioner shutting off.

The fatigue hit Jenn at once. She dropped to one knee, catching her breath, face covered in a layer of thick, sticky sweat.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Ball after ball advanced on Numarei. She dashed in a low stance, punching whichever ones came on her, and swatting them like flies. The pilot could not keep up. He was fast, sure, but by no means that much so.

By five seconds, Numarei had closed the gap. From there, she fell into an in-step and a straight right hook. The fist was beyond speed. It’d surpassed well over 471 m/s and hit with the force of a tank’s main gun.

As it came into contact with the exoskeleton’s raised arm, it shattered the cannon completely, sending splinters of wood into the pilot’s body. He let a groan of pain. The impact sent him a dozen metres back, creasing the ground beneath.

Anselm drew a shallow breath. He pulled his arms back, and the echoes of determination took his features. “ÜBERBLUT!”

Strange symbols spread from his exoskeleton to his body. They were red like left-out blood, but alive, squiggling in place as they stretched across his skin. When Jenn saw this development, her smile gained an unsettling edge.

The exoskeleton’s thrusters spat red, outputting enough force to send Anselm airborne.

“This is good,” said Jenn, rising to her full height.

Numarei met her gaze. “Why? Can you fly?”

“Nope.” She took out a coin. “Grab my hand, Numa!” Jenn offered her left, free hand.

Numarei ran forth, gripping it at once.

Then, lighting her right hand, Jenn threw the coin at the airborne Anselm, a good 50 metres high.

—Third Reversion: Body Space Reversal

The coin was marked. Her ability activated, careening them through the sky at sub-sonic speeds.

Anselm aimed his cannons. They were glowing at the tip, scrawled over with worming, squiggling runes. He was a moment away from firing. From outputting his max power, and knocking the duo whence they came.

“ROT ZERSTÖREN!”

A ball shot from his cannons, a mass of swirling, crying blood. It measured thirty metres in diameter and blot out the sun as it descended. But as he studied its velocity, the speed and power at which it came, realisation dawned on the poor pilot.

“So much for zhat date.”

Hands held—Jenn and Numarei struck with their respective free fists, straight into the mass of swirling red. The impact pulverised it, shattering it into a thousand, lifeless seams.

—Jenn and Numarei: Trans-Pacific Double Fisting Extravaganza

Soaring through the air, their knuckles slammed into Anselm’s unprotected chin. Blood and spit shot from his mouth. The pilot fell into unconsciousness with a smile, appreciating the opportunity for this thing at all.

They landed on the ground. A soft crater formed in their wake, footprints in a shallow ditch.

One of the spectators stood upright and shouted, thumping their chest as they did. “The winners of the Three-Part Tournament have been decided! Kyoujyou Numarei and Jenn Cockehead will be moving to the finals!”

A round of applause came from the spectators. Jenn followed their gaze and smiles, noticing their genuine, heartfelt looks. Offering a bow in turn, her expression mellowed into something soft, and she raised a hand in triumph.

Numarei gave a brief nod. Though seeing Jenn’s own enthusiasm, did a backflip of her own. They shared a chuckle between them, a high-five, and a mutual, intense stare. For a short while, the two were unburdened, relishing in all that was and all that would be.

Coming closer, Jenn wrapped her arm around Numarei. “You know what’s next, right?”

She gave her most earnest smile.

“Mona Lisa.”

That was all Numarei said.