Tag Archives: Champions of Battle

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #038

There was no known land route to Bear Gate; or air route actually.  Pilots would waste an entire evenings searching for the city with no sign.  There were however, widespread rumors of it being somewhere south of West Drop.  No one knew exactly where.  Pictures from inside the city depicted a rustic rural place with hints of modern technology scattered about.  Regardless of the rumors, Jaquan and his companions were headed there.  At least they had every reason to believe they were.  

The tunnel they entered a half hour ago was marked to lead them there; as was the subway car they boarded.  Jaquan occasionally checked his communicator’s compass, and for the third time it stated that they were headed northwest.  Despite the discrepancy with known facts, there was nothing he could do about the travel plans now.  They were in the car and no amount of unwarranted panicking would make any difference.  Besides, he wanted to keep up appearances in front of Justice.

The subway car was much like any other only exceptionally clean, and empty.  Shiny compressed steel surfaces were highlighted with burgundy cushions.  There were windows but there was no point in looking through them.  Bright lights from the tunnel whipped passed and didn’t add anything to the trip.

The crew’s luggage was packed away in a pushable cart just on the other side of the car.  As much as Jaquan wanted to train by carrying the load, he didn’t want risk pushing himself too far so near the tournament.  The maker of their healing water was off on an adventure leaving them no hints when she’d be back.

Again, he looked at the compass hologram.   He blinked as it shifted slightly, pointing their direction more northward.  Instead of revealing a worried face, Jaquan looked up and heard Justice talk about the tournament’s specifics.  Justice made certain to stress that Jaquan should be especially careful not to lose any of the opening rounds.

“Why not?”

Liana slapped her face in frustration, “Listen for a bit will you,” she pleaded, “This is a coin based tournament.”

Jaquan’s confused face told Liana and Justice that Jaquan’s mind had been elsewhere for the last fifteen minutes.  So after a deep inhale and purposeful exhale, Justice started again.  “A coin based tournament is like this.”  He thought for a bit to put things in terms that Jaquan could understand.  “At the beginning of the tournament, all the fighters have two coins credited to an account,” he paused again to make sure he was saying everything correctly and that Jaquan was following, “At the end of a fight, the winner gets a coin from the loser.  If at any point you run out of coins you’re out of the tournament.”

“So why do I have to be careful in the beginning?” Jaquan asked.  The thought of losing was never a good one.  To go through so much to acheive nothing was such a waste of time, money, and effort.  He wanted to avoid it at all cost.  

“Oh.  I forgot,” Justice corrected himself, “on the third round, the bank takes a coin from everyone still in the tournament.  They keep doing that every other round until only one player remains.”

“Oh!” Jaquan realized the severity now, “That changes everything.”

“So,” Liana chimed in to conclude the original point, “He was saying that if you don’t maintain a winning record during the first four matches, you’re done.  Even a tied record causes elimination.”

“The chumps and wanna-bes are eliminated early.”  This was truly going to be a challenge.  In a tournament such as this, everyone will be on top of their game.  Everyone will be looking for an edge on whoever they fight.  “So who am I fighting first?”

Justice leaned back in his chair, covered his face with his hands and purposefully exhaled again, “I have no idea.”

#1 – Opportunity #37 – Opportunity #39

 

Champions of Battle: AD7 – Awakening #039

Rubin’s Palace Science Facility – Active Research Quarters:

Thick walls of stone, compressed steel, and electromagnetic shielding held 8-7’s quarters but one would not notice from the inside.  The multiple room apartment was well furnished with white fluffy couches, thick wooden tables, holographic projection entertainment, and other amenities one would only find in the best apartments.  Plush carpets were accented with marble areas and trim while carved ivory shelves and counters shined in in the kitchen.  

The lavish decor remained unused as 8-7 lay face up on the stone floor.  There, she set into power save mode to think about what had happened on that busy and informative day.  It took only a few moments for her to realize what she had to do.  Only the proper methods were questioned at this point.

Though the mechanical lady had only been awake for half a day,  she had a fairly good grip on her current situation.  The researcher’s reactions and the scientist’s questions spoke volumes.  She took in all that happened around her to know how best to act and what she could and could not say.  In the end, she was certain that she gained more information than she gave.

Hours after waking, she had met their lead scientist, Doctor Yu, and had an interview.  The doctor seemed nice enough and even excited to meet 8-7.  However, every now and then, 8-7 noted slight twitches in Doctor Yu’s face.  Many of the questions were about random parts of mechanical life.  Only a few of the questions were serious and accusing.  It was clear that the Doctor did not want to ask these questions.  Perhaps they needed to be asked.  One such question stood out.

Why did your machines attack Rubin’s army?

“…your machines…”  The doctor thought that she was the master of the machines.  Naturally, because they all thought she was Master.  What then?  Would Master turn herself into a machine?  That would be overly foolish.  Master would never allow her free will to be reprogrammed.  

Apparently, they thought she would.  It was evident in her future weapons test.  The powerful Hanja characters covering 8-7 were silent as they had been for five decades.  8-7 noted that their untapped energy baffled the scientist.  Not only were they surprised that she was so powerful without their use, they wanted to see everything that she could do.  

They will see soon enough.  These scientists had a high respect for her power but a low expectations of Master’s reasoning.  Perhaps after they meet Master they will know what they do and don’t want to know.

“…attack Rubin’s army…”  Master’s commands were to protect the wall, protect.  The mission was one sided.  No one far enough from the wall would be in any danger.  To avoid battle, any Adventurer would only have needed to withdraw.  Signs were clearly posted and well kept.  Somehow a cloud of ignorance or overactive patriotism made them forget.  I’ll have to be extra careful around such people.

The question was past tense so the battle had to be over.  8-7 remembered the initial conflicts with Rubin’s army.  They were not that much of a threat while Master was in control.  However, things must have turned for the worse as evident by her current location.  The mech-army would have fought until the last of them were defeated and she was here with enemies.  The machines must have failed.  How do I get back?  

She remembered the sight of Rubin’s Banner but had not seen the large red “R” since she had woke up.  Apparently, they were trying to hide who they were so that she would not attack them.  They feared her power but wanted her to be friendly with them; perhaps even befriend them.  It was only fitting that she play along while pretending to be Master.

Their act was of no use as she knew exactly where she was.  The repeater droid told her all that she needed.  It was the greatest of fortune that she had been able to speak with the ball shaped droid for a few seconds.  That was more than enough time for the machines to discuss an overview of events of the last twenty years.  

The wall had been abandoned for that long.  There was little hope that it was still intact.  However, Master’s bots were everywhere in this place.  They were just behind a shield of some kind.  It shouldn’t be long before she would be free to send a message to them again.

8-7 recognized freedom, she didn’t have it here.  Soon she and all of Master’s droids will have it again and the wall will be safe.

#1 – Awakening #38 – Awakening #40

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #037

“How did you know to come to this particular alley?”  Detective Coye Han asked about the alley scene but not as a sympathetic investigator.  His skin was a dark eggshell color, almost an off grey.  Large light violet patches crept up to cover a large portion of the left side of his face.  

His clothes were not in disrepair, just very well used.  A dark green hat and matching wind coat with the proud symbol of the yellow West Drop Sunflower just under his left collar.  His eyes were keen but struggled to stay open.  He had rushed into this scene as a response to their call.  His flashing communicator spoke that he would be rushing off to another scene soon.

“I was checking all the alleys,” Catlin replied, “We stopped when we saw this.”  She pointed to all the bloodstains and slash marks in the alley.

Catlin had been separated from Neely who was around the alley’s corner talking to another detective, basic procedure.  However, this was the third way these same questions were asked.  While waiting for original questions, Catlin’s focus shifted to more important matters.

She had a wonderful view of guards searching through the stolen gear and the guards were acting strangely because of it.  Initially, each item was so light that the guards couldn’t help but lift the items high enough for Catlin to see.  Strangely, each item gained its original weight after Catlin was convinced that she didn’t make it.

“Who was it you say you were looking for again?”

“Oh, a friend I met on the shuttle.”  

The detective caught the bit of hesitation.  “If she is your friend, why did she run away from you?”

“She didn’t run away from me she ran into the city.  Loads of people saw her run this way, with someone else.”

“Someone that wasn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you followed?”

“Only after I learned that she may be attacked.”

The detective tried but couldn’t find any way to refute her response.  As such, there was no reason for him to hold her, yet.  He had the statement stored well in his mind and on a recorder.  “You’re free to go but stay around for a bit,” the detective added in a mock tour guide voice, “See the sights.”

Catlin shifted her attention to the detective just in time to catch the dismissal, “Sure.”  

She didn’t hear everything he had just said but it wasn’t important.  She was quite done with the alley; satisfied that none of the gear she had made was here.  

Catlin’s gear products were good, really good but were not the best.  Trolls that would steal armor from Champions would only keep the best items and discard the rest, in a pile.  She released an audible sigh following the logic that Brisa had not met with these gankers.  That was almost enough info for now.

Neely could be right again.  Brisa could be doing fine but it’s better to be sure.  

Catlin walked around the corner where Neely’s interview was finishing as well.  At the news of her finding, she expecting to see his common “I told you so” face.  What she saw instead was a face that renewed concern.

Neely was emotionless and stared through Catlin’s eyes as she spoke.  His tone was unusually stone cold as well, “We should head to an inn.  It’s getting late.”

From past experiences, Catlin knew not to argue with Neely when he got like this.  Instead, she followed his cue, “Are there any nearby.”

In response, Neely revealed a keypad under the armor on his arm.  After a little button pushing, a 3D hologram of the city projected from his armor into the space between them.  Solid skyblue and crimson dots marked their current location in the city and the places they had visited in the city appeared in much greater detail.

Hotels throughout all of West Drop were shaded in green standing out among the hollow grey buildings they had not gone near.  Each hotel was named and a set of rankings were represented by lines of gold, blue, and black dots just above the roofs.  Catlin knew that in a city like this the safety of the hotel was the most important value.  

Catlin ignored the gold dots; price was not an issue.  She looked for blue dots as the hotels needed to have available rooms.  However, she focused on the hotel’s black dots.  Also, a high top floor was a must.  She naturally chose the hotel with the least black dots and a high top floor.  

Not questioning her choice at all, Neely shut down the image and started running through the city again.  Catlin followed but her thoughts went elsewhere.

Catlin immediately worried about Brisa again.  She needed to know if Brisa was doing well.  The inability to know burned in her mind.  Sure, Brisa hadn’t run into these gankers but there were other threats to be had in a city such as West Drop.  

However, these worries had to wait for another day.  Catlin had seen Neely in this mood many times since he had learned his Holy Talent Set.  She had ignored Neely exactly once when he was like this.  She was going to follow him this time.

#1 – Opportunity #36 – Opportunity #38