Ignacio vs. Blackwell

He craned his head forward, weakly, and gasped. His body was covered in dark blue fur, Koharu’s light radiating off him and curling in tendrils. He was three times his previous length, maybe more, every inch of his body rippling with muscle as he rolled onto his stomach and stood up.

“Oh, that was embarrassing,” Daichi said, covering his eyes with a hand. “You should’ve kipped up. It would've looked way cooler, too.”

Ignacio stared at his arms. They were covered in glowing, navy fur, giant fingers ending in silvery blue claws.

I’m… a wolf man?

“Ooh,” Lady Shidare purred, her teeth flashing in a grin, “look at all that muscle.”

He looked up as Blackwell rocketed towards him again, tentacles flaring open. Ignacio grinned. He jumped to the side, and accidentally launched across the room.

How strong is this thing!

He slammed into the wall with a crash, dirt and tree roots crumbling and falling to the ground.

His claws dug into the wall, keeping him locked onto it like a gecko. He leaned his head back, eyes widening as Blackwell’ anchor zipped towards him.

He yelped like a dog, backflipping off the wall, and landing in a crouch.

“Ha!” he said, licking his lip. “You need to be-”

He gasped as something smacked into the back of his head, knocking him flat to the ground. He groaned, the back of his skull throbbing. The pain radiated into the rest of his head as he tried lifting it.

What… was that? He thought.

Blackwell stood over him, anchor over his shoulder. “That was far gentler than it could’ve been, Ace. You’re too slow.”

“And… you’re… too close,” he panted.

He pushed his hands into the ground, leaping backwards and landing on his feet. He shook his head, his vision swimming. Now there were two Blackwell’ standing in front of him. He shook his head again, rubbing his eyes with his monstrous hands.

Blackwell chuckled. “Yes, you’re right. I should make sure the opponent is… what, Pix?”

“Dead before approach!” Pix shouted from the sideline.

“What are you people teaching your children?” Ignacio asked, his vision clearing a little.

“Good things, Ace,” Lady Shidare said. “We make very capable mothers in the Ethergeist.”

Blackwell flung his anchor into the air, catching it with one of his tentacles. He charged forward, spinning the tentacle that held his anchor in a blur.

He jumped, swinging the anchor down. Ignacio leapt away as it crashed into the ground, cursing under his breath.

He landed, turning around in time to see Blackwell swing the anchor with his tentacle again. He jumped out the way, landing just in time for Blackwell to pull the tentacle back and try again.

Ignacio jumped out the way, backflipped and pounced on and off walls, dirt and grass flying each time Blackwell swung.

“Fine,” Blackwell said, panting.

He charged for Ignacio as he landed.

Now.

Ignacio bounded towards Blackwell, dodging the anchor again, and vaulted over him. Ignacio landed behind the man, reaching his arms back and grabbing hold of two of those slimy kraken tentacles.

“How’s this?” Ignacio asked.

He swung his arms downward, flinging Blackwell overhead by the tentacles and smashing him on the ground.

“Woo-hoo!” Koharu cheered, holding a hand out to Pix. “You owe me a silver.”

Ignacio stared at her, then at Lady Shidare. “Really, what on earth are you people teaching your children?”

Shidare raised her hands. “Okay, that one you got me.”

Blackwell rolled over, rising to one knee. He held out a hand. Ignacio’s ears lifted, and he ducked as the anchor went flying overhead. It clanged into Blackwell’ hand, and he stood with a gruff sigh.

“Not bad, Ace. Perhaps I was going too easy on you, afterall,” Blackwell said.

He hunched over, four more tentacles sprouting from his back and flailing around before curving forward, their hooked tips pointing towards Ignacio.

Ignacio crouched, placing a hand to the floor. He couldn’t win. But he was learning. He was adapting, moment by moment. That’s what mattered.

His face scrunched up as something tugged at the skin in his back. Like something was trying to break out of him. He stood up again, reaching a hand back to try and scratch it. But his arms were too short in this wolf form to reach.

He let out a growl as the tugging in his back ripped, and something tore free.

What is happening, he thought, growling.

He collapsed to one knee, eyes wide as he glanced side to side. Tentacles, just like those Blackwell used only glowing with Koharu’s blue light, curled forward either side of him. He stood, glancing down to find four more, then looked up to find another two.

Blackwell lowered his anchor. “That is so unfair.”

Ignacio shrugged. “I’m not the one with the magical anchor.”

“No, you’re just a glow-in-the-dark Kraken Werewolf,” Blackwell said, raising his anchor to the ceiling. “Never seen anything like it.”

The blue gem embedded in the anchor glowed again, and a swirl of water lifted from its tip. It grew from a swirl, to a spiral, and Ignacio saw enough.

He pounced forward, claws outstretched for Blackwell. Two of the man’s tentacle’s lashed forward, and Ignacio’s did the same, wrapping around each other mid-air.

He swung down, kicking into Blackwell’ chest with his hind legs. The bang of claw and muscle against metal rang like a giant bell in the room, and knocked Blackwell flat on his back.

He tried lifting his anchor, but Ignacio pinned his arm down with a claw, his remaining four tentacles pinning down Blackwell’ four.

He bit down on the man’s helmet, and yanked it off, spitting it to the side.

Blackwell nodded, his lips down. “Not bad, Ace. But you forgot one important thing.”

“What’s that?” Ignacio asked, his tongue lapping like a dog’s as he panted.

“Look up.”

Ignacio glanced up as an aquamarine tornado spiralled down on him. He yelled as it sucked him up into the air, spinning him around and around before flinging him across the room. He smashed into the wall, above where he’d landed earlier, groaning as he fell and smacked into the ground with a thud.

He groaned, rolling over. Lady Shidare clapped off to the side, the sound drumming in his head.

Now it hurts, he thought, placing a hand over his head.

Everything hurt, actually. He was soaked with water, the blue glow from Koharu’s Aspect fading. The grass prickled his face, chest and knees, butt up in the air.

He glanced at his hand, turning it over. Back to normal. A blanket landed on his shoulder, and he sat back on his haunches, grabbing it and wrapping it around his shoulders as he shivered. The room spun as if he were still in that tornado.

Daichi walked up beside him. “You might wanna wrap that around yourself lower down, Ace. You’re butt-naked.”

Ignacio dropped the blanket from his shoulders, wrapping it around his waist. “Why-why the h-hell didn’t you tell me th-that?”

“I’m telling you now,” Daichi said. “Thought you might need it so I got one from their grounds keeper. For us who have Beast Aspects, you tend to rip your clothes to smithereens and get used to bringing spares.”

Blackwell walked up to Ignacio, holding out a gauntleted hand that seemed way larger now that Ignacio wasn’t a wolf-man.

Ignacio took it, standing with a groan.

“Not bad, Ace,” Blackwell said, nodding. “But you need to remember something very important about fighting in the Ethergeist. Every opponent you face has an arsenal that you’ve never seen before. Adaptability trumps all. It is often better to let your opponent reveal his weapons before you become too aggressive. Otherwise, you risk underestimating them and losing like you did there.”

Ignacio nodded, shivering a little harder. “I w-will do better. Is th-there a limit to how many abilities a p-person can have?”

“Typically, not more than five. But it varies. Some Aspects give their bearer more than ten, others as few as three. And in your case, it’s almost limitless,” Blackwell said.

Ignacio nodded. “I’ll train h-harder.”

Blackwell nodded, his helmet under his arm. His gaze narrowed. “Why are you doing this, Ace?”

Ignacio paused. “My sister. She’s been Ether-abducted by Cypher Corp.”

Blackwell’ face turned to shock. “And you want to get her back?”

Ignacio nodded, lifting his eyes. “Maybe you can help us?”

Blackwell sniffed, placing his helmet back on. “I don’t have a death wish, boy. That’s enough training.”

Lady Shidare stepped up to him, leaning an arm on his shoulder, her chin following.

“I’m going to help you,” she whispered in his ear. “You proved yourself, Ace. You’re a man who’s not afraid of death. And that’s a man I can present to the House.”

But I am afraid of death, he thought.

Who wasn’t? He just hated the thought of Celeste dying more than he hated the thought of himself dying. And that was enough.

“Thank you,” he said to her.

Daichi placed his hands on Ignacio’s shoulders, turning him away. “Thanks for your time, Lady Shidare. You too, Blackwell,” Daichi said.

Koharu walked up to them, tucking her coin pouch away. Her eyes were wide with concern as she placed a hand on Ignacio’s bare back.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

He coughed, his head spinning as he slowly trudged away. “I don’t know. I need to get out of here.”

Lady Shidare walked around in front of him, her sharp eyebrows knitting. “Ace? Can you hear us?”

Koharu turned back. “Blackwell, is it okay if we exit here?”

Blackwell paused. “Yeah, just go to the sidelines. You don’t want to reenter and find yourself in the middle of a training session.

They walked off to the sideline, and Ignacio sank to his haunches. He pressed his fingers against his eyes, nausea racking his body.

“Daichi,” Koharu said above him. “Exit and pull him out. I’ll leave once he’s gone.”

“I can wait here with him,” Shidare said.

Ignacio glanced up as Daichi nodded, and faded into a black light. Koharu glanced down at him, crouching and placing her hand to the side of his face.

“You look like hell,” she said.

He chuckled. “Well, you did say I want to burn.”

She smiled. And his eyes opened with a deep gasp.

He spluttered, coughing as the Cypher arms lifted off his body with a whirr. His body shuddered, heart spiking in his chest as he coughed harder. Warm blood ran from his noise, down his lips and chin.

“Get him off the Cypher, now,” Ezequiel’s voice boomed.

His vision pulsed with darkness as someone held his legs, another person grabbing his arms and back as he coughed. His body shuddered violently, like he was being held by the shoulders and shaken.

“We’re going to lose him!” someone shouted, their voice distant and muffled as the darkness deepened.