My last resort

“Y’know, I really didn’t expect our dear Toki to leave one of her girlfriends to die alone like this,” cackled Z, “but I guess you’re not the electric whore, so it makes sense. Sacrifice the side bitch before the main girl, right?”

The arm that Ms Denka had severed in our last encounter had been replaced cybernetically. While most cybernetic parts were intended at some level to mirror human organs, this one was clearly pure function over form. It looked barebones, yet extremely mobile.

“If you think you’ll unnerve me with your petulant taunts, you’re quite mistaken. But please, I invite you to continue trying.”

“What, so you can buy your precious little lover more time to cause problems? Nah, much as I’d like to savour this, we’ve got our orders. Put the spares to sleep then help the top girl crush the bug. No time for chit-chat, I’m afraid, girly.”

Z and W both began making their way towards me. I was unarmed, outnumbered and exhausted. I could think of nothing further to do than attempt to continue wasting time. My last gift to her.

“Orders? I can hardly see maniacs like the two of you falling in line with power. Tell me, why exactly would the clown and the butcher bend the knee to their oppressor?”

“Ain’t it obvious, sugar?” said Z, slowly down but not stopping. “It’s simple. There ain’t any way to beat Aki. Working against her? Shit’s suicide. But working with her? That’s where the fun begins. No one else provides so many opportunities to cause a little mayhem.”

“You’re wrong, I’m afraid.” I watched them intently, waiting for them to make their move. “Aki can be beaten, though not by the likes of you.”

“Ha! You really are lovestruck enough by that black-haired bimbo to think she can beat Aki, aincha? You actually think she stands a chance.”

“Not just a chance. I have complete faith in her. Tokiko will prevail. I am utterly certain of that fact.” They were within leaping range. I had to wait just slightly longer. “I would say you’ll see soon enough, but I doubt you’ll be that long.”

“Ooh, threats from the girl with no weapon? I’d love to see you make good on those, pumpkin.”

Just as I had expected, Z leapt towards me in one monstrously fast movement. And just as I had expected, W stayed back and watched my sword. It was a trap. I would teleport in, retrieve my sword, and be skewered by W. If I were still only capable of teleportation in direction, I daresay it would have worked flawlessly.

I’ll have to thank Higgs when we meet on the other side.

Milliseconds before Z’s hammer would have crushed my skull to pieces, I blinked forward. I re-materialised for just a fraction of a second, placed by hand on the hilt of my sword, and blinked backwards again. W’s skewer embedded itself in the wall where my head had been a mere moment before.

“Oooh, the attack dog learned a new trick. Your master teach you to play fetch recently?”

“I’ve changed my mind on keeping you talking. Having my skull turned to powder somehow sounds far more pleasant.”

“Oh, sweetie, that can be easily arranged.”

I was attempting to use bravado to seem more confident than I truly was, but the honest truth is that each blink made my body feel heavier. This power Higgs had unlocked for me was incredible, but my body had not yet had time to grow accustomed. And now it seemed it never would. A pity. But I could hardly let Higgs’ sacrifice go to waste over something as insignificant as exhaustion.

Z wasted no time with the follow up. She leapt towards me like a hunting lioness and swung her immense hammer at my head. I ducked underneath with the intention to counter, but she quickly swept at my legs and forced me to jump backwards. She had switched her heavy hammer for a lighter bat and used the speed change to catch me off guard.

Not content to let me escape her onslaught, she changed the bat once more to a flail. The extra range was enough to reach me even at a great distance, and I only avoided a severe injury with a last minute deflection from my sword.

Her attack had run out of steam. I had my opening.

I lurched forwards with all the speed my body could output. One good thrust at her wretched face would put an end to this menace.

Of course, that is not what happened.

Z stepped aside, and my blade contacted something different. W parried it away with her skewer, in a movement so clean it struck me with awe. A true professional at work. I sincerely lamented that she was not on my side.

My guard was completely thrown off. I blinked for just long enough for the ascending cleaver to fail to find its target, but the fatigue on my body was too great to hold it any longer. I failed to completely avoid the skewer that followed it. The attack was aimed at my heart, but I just moved aside enough for it to pierce my shoulder instead.

I retreated quickly. The wound wasn’t deep, but was bleeding profusely. As if I wasn’t on enough of a time limit as it was.

My foes clearly had no intentions to allow me to recover my stamina. I just barely ducked the warhammer Z had aimed at my head. The sound of the wall splintering behind me made me aggravatingly aware of how little space I had to work with. I tried to get away from the wall and make a break into empty space. I was quickly pursued by W, who attempted to slice my back with her cleaver. When I just barely outpaced that particular attack, she instead threw a butcher’s knife straight at my spine.

The only way to dodge was to blink again. The knife passed clean through where my body had been and landed in the wall opposite. I returned to corporeality and turned to face my enemies. My body was heavy, each blink adding an extra layer to my exhaustion. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could survive such a vicious game of cat and mouse.

I needed decisive action.

W was the first to move, attacking with rapid successive cuts using a carving knife. The edge looked sharp enough to cut bone like silk. I had no choice but to retreat further, throwing me directly into Z.

Z swung a short-staff morningstar at me, alternating between high and low at random. Unlike W’s surgical precision, Z attacked with utter randomness and chaos. Harder to predict. Easier to exploit.

I found one such opening.

A heavy swing, one that committed most of her body weight. Dodging would be impossible. Instead, I blinked on the spot. The morningstar passed straight through me. Just as I had hoped. Her guard weak after such an overcommitment, she had no way to protect herself as I split her in half sideways with my sword.

At least, that was what I had expected to happen.

Instead, the sword came to rest at her mechanical spine. I had miscalculated. Even with all the force I had put behind it, it wasn’t enough. Her cybernetic parts were simply too dense.

Absurd. Her body must have weighed hundreds of kilograms. How on earth could I beat something like that?

“Nice try, sweetcheeks.”

She struck my right shoulder hard with the morningstar, its spiked head piercing flesh and bone. It was agonising, and I was forced to my knees.

Ah. So this is where it ends. How pitiful.

“Say goodnight, poppet.”

She raised the morningstar once more. I hadn’t the wherewithal to move my whole body. One slip up, and I had sealed my fate.

All I had left was my last resort.

“What?!”

With every ounce of strength left in my body, I reached forwards and grabbed Z’s cybernetic arm with my own. With my other, I placed my thumb on the hidden scanner and detached the cybernetic arm, throwing myself backwards to avoid what came next.

The improvised explosive device that I had rigged to my arm detonated.

I failed to get out of the way in time and took immense damage from the resulting shockwave. My limbs no longer responded to me, and it was likely that several of my organs had ruptured. I could hardly hear a thing. All that was left for me to do was lay on my burned and bloodied back and look up at the ceiling above me.

Z took the brunt of the explosion and was launched the other direction. It didn’t matter how many cybernetic parts she had. There was no chance of survival. I had used more than enough chlorate to be sure of that.

How unfortunate. I had truly hoped not to have to use that.

Though, as I stared blankly at the boring white ceiling above me, I couldn’t help feeling that I had made the right decision. To give my life to ensure Tokiko’s success. That was what I had resolved. I could pass on satisfied that I had achieved my goal.

The adrenaline began to wear off, and my consciousness started to fade. I could hardly take the pain engulfing my entire body. I found myself hoping my end would come swiftly.

As it happened someone came to grant that very wish.

“You broke my toy.” W crept into my vision and looked down at me. I could just about make out her voice over the ringing in my ears. It was as flat and unemotive as ever. “I usually savour my meals, but you leave a bad taste in my mouth.”

Without any of the fanfare I had come to expect, W raised her skewer and brought it down in my heart.

Thus, there, on the unassuming floor of a mundane hallway in an unexceptional office block, I, Kawari Ryou, breathed my final breath.