Writer’s spot: Greetings friend! It is time for the fight! A long chapter filled with flashy attacks and cheaty cheats!

SO, I made the first true battle scene from this story, and I hope I did it decent, as the other times were both something akin to an ambush or something of the like. Still, as Gaz grow up as a robot, I plan on giving him a more varied range of enemies, bodies and attacks.

BESIDES, I may end up having to add some animal enemies, but I’ve been wondering. This is a Sci-fi story, but should I make some of the stronger beasts be something akin to magic beasts or something? I mean, there is Psy and the Gods’ priests, but I don’t intend to delve further into the fantastical than that when it comes to sentient races. Which lead us to today’s poll.

Have a good read!

-----

Nimbly landing on his feet, Gaz immediately took a look at the inside of the cage of his adversary, trying to get a preemptive look at his opponent, but due to a trick of the lights and the natural shadow of the cage, the image he got was far too dark and vague to make any sense of it. And if he tried to increases his camera sensitivity to the light, he risked obfuscating his view, and he’d rather not risk it when he had a chance of being cheated to defeat.

The announcers cheerfully made their countdown, slowly reaching down to zero, and the moment that they said ready, his opponent was freed from its cage, falling to the ground beneath it heavily.

Taking a stance by lowering his body, Gaz was in doubt wether to analyze his enemy first or to take the first strike for himself. In the end he decided to go with the first strike.

Darting forward, he quickly crossed the distance between himself and his adversary, leaving the commentators surprised with his sudden attack, as they actually had no idea how he actually fought.

Yet, the moment that he brought down his claw on his adversary, it jumped.

It took him a brief moment before understanding what happened, and it was only thanks to Ruby’s warning that he understood that whatever the thing was, he was aiming to fall right on top of him.

He quickly flexed his front legs and mad a sideway jump just in time to see as a strange belt-like device land on the ground besides him.

Seeing that his tactic had failed due to his opponent surprising jumping ability, Gaz once again took some distance so that he could take a look at the opponent.

[So?] He asked Ruby, but felt as she also looked surprised.

[No idea.] She said briefly.

[What? I thought that you were an expert in robots!] Gaz complained.

[Look, robots can change completely in only two generations! Don’t expect me to be able to know everything, okay?] Ruby complained. [Besides, he could also be from a distant country for all I know!]

Gaz clicked his imaginary tongue in annoyance, not that he was angry with the girl for not knowing, but more about the enemy that he knew almost nothing about.

Still, if he had to explain what he was seeing, he would use the words: Circular, flat, four-legged spider.

Just as the words suggested, the enemy in front of him was compromised of two parts, a main body that had a circular shape, yet was completely flat, having around five or six centimeters of thickness. The other part were its four legs, made of segmented rectangular part linked through some thick wires, almost like a metal belt. These four legs held its body while being bent slightly outward, almost as if they were struggling with the weight.

[That thing on his top… It’s a mod.] Ruby said briefly.

[What makes you so sure?] Gaz asked as he stared at the top of the blue robot’s main body. The final addition to it were what looked a pair of two small holes with rifling on them, they were added to the top with a streamlined shape that almost looked like it was perfectly integrated with the robot.

[I’m not sure. I just know…] She said briefly.

[Something about being a priestess?] Ekis asked confused.

[Could b… Look out, it’s moving!] Ruby quickly warned them as she noticed the robot’s legs bending ever-so lightly.

Gaz quickly reacted to the robot as it started to skitter its way away from him, always making sure to keep the barrels turned to the wolf-like robot. Noticing that the robot wanted to open some distance, Gaz made sure to dart forward and not let it open too much distance.

However, the robot was much faster than what he expected for such weird legs, as it quickly kicked the ground away whenever he got too close. However, besides that, the robot didn’t really do much, so Gaz felt a bit confused on how it could be the champion of the last tournament, since he looked so weak.

But his distraction proved to be a fatal mistake, as the robot suddenly turned back to him and Gaz saw as the barrel trembled slightly.

[Crap.] Was all that he managed to think before a shot was fired at him.

However, much to his surprise, the attack didn’t actually penetrate his armor, leaving mostly a small dent on it. The problem, however, was that the bullet somehow got stuck on left leg.

“HERE IT IS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE HUGGER’S SIGNATURE COMBO THAT EARNED HIM SO MANY TITLES!” The female announcer said cheerfully. “IS THIS THE END OF THE BLACKHORRSE?”

Hearing the girl’s announcement, Gaz felt confused, but deciding not to ask too much what it meant, he quickly choose to remove the bullet as a precaution. Making the spinning back-jump he used on the preliminaries, he quickly opened some distance so that he could do it without interference, but just as he bit into the bullet so that he could rip it off, he understood what it was.

A sudden strange feeling ran through his body as he felt a strong electric current cursing through his whole body. The sudden short-circuit made his body contort itself strangely, interfering with his electric motors. On the bright side, this made it so that his head managed to yank the bullet free, removing it from his body and stopping the current. On the bad side, it made it so that he stood in place for far too long as he recovered.

By the time he managed to move his head back to a position that he could use to watch his adversary, it had already disappeared from its previous position. Grimacing in his mind, Gaz tried to move away, but he was a bit late, even with Ruby’s warning that the robot was coming down on him.

He felt a weight hit his head, making him slam it in on the ground. However, the Hugger didn’t stop there, as he felt the four legs of the robot quickly coiling around his head and quickly tightening its grip on him.

[THE BEEPER WANT TO CRUSH MY HEAD!] Gaz shouted in pain as he felt his head slowly starting to cede to the pressure.

[PUSH HIM AWAY! QUICKLY!] Ekis shouted worried.

In a quick reaction, Gaz quickly grabbed the legs of the robot with his claws and pushed him away. Thankfully, his head had a somewhat triangular shape, just like a real wolf’s, so even with the ridiculous leg-strength that the robot had, he quickly managed to push it away from his head.

The robot looked confused for a moment, so Gaz took this chance to attack the robot, bringing down his clawed paw on it.

However, the robot reacted way faster than what he expected… But then, he is a robot, so maybe he should actually have expected that. Extending the legs that were still bent as if coiling around his head, the robot used them as springs, jumping away from the claws with but a simple scratch on its body.

Still, Gaz managed to land a hit on the robot, so it was a fair trade for the light damage he managed to land on the wolf.

“What is this, ladies and gentlemen?” The announcer said surprised. “The infallible Hug failed to finish his opponent?”

“That seems to be it, Yohn.” The girl said surprised. “It’s the first time someone manage to escape from that! Have the hugger found it’s match after so long?”

[Bloody hugger. Now I see how he works by…] Gaz complained.

[Yeah, if he grabs you on a good place…] Ruby said with a gulp. [You would be crushed to death…]

Deciding to not let this last for too long, Gaz quickly made his way towards the robots, aiming for when he had landed, he raised his front right leg and brought it down just as the robot landed, hitting it right on the head.

But the feeling he waited for wasn’t there.

Rather than hitting metal, he had a feeling similar to that of pushing a spring, and he soon understood why. The robot’s leg gave in as his attack landed, dampening the impact to a level that the hugger’s armor could endure without breaking.

Grimacing at the scene, he managed to see just as the hugger’s leg left the ground and aimed right at him. Moving his own leg away, he barely manage to dodge to the side, but taking advantage of the opening, he quickly spun around, aiming to hit his heavy tail on the robot’s legs to try and unbalance it.

But just like before, his attack bounced off harmlessly off the flexible legs of the robot, leaving him extremely annoyed.

The announcers had other thoughts, however.

“What is this? Hugger has been backed into a corner?” The girl asked surprised.

“It seems to be the case! It’s the first time I see the Hugger taking so long to finish a single opponent.”

Gaz grimaced slightly at their wrong predictions, as they didn’t notice that all of his attacks had barely dealt any real damage to his opponents. Still, taking advantage that it also left the robot unable to attack, since it had to absorb the impact, Gaz kept pressing on his barrage of attacks. At least his claws managed to land occasionally on the robot’s surface, and different from blunt attacks, these ones managed to go through, but its surprisingly hard armor stopped him from dealing any kind of real damage.

Besides, he had to look out to the tentacle-like legs of the robot that kept trying to entangle him into its crushing embrace. Once it somehow managed to take a hold of his front leg, but before the damage could be done, he quickly body-checked the robot, making him go of his legs.

Even though the crowd was becoming ecstatic with the surprisingly long fight, Gaz only felt more and more frustrated as all his attempts seemed to be in vain.

[Try to apply pressure to the center-part only!] Ekis said.

[And how would I do that?] Gaz asked annoyed.

[Try applying similar pressure on both sides!] She said quickly.

[And how the hell would I do that? These legs don’t really help a lot with that you know?] He complained loudly while doing a backstep and getting the sight of the robot’s owner fuming with anger. [And I can’t just go biting him away… ] Gaz stopped his complaint as he noticed what he was about to say.

He let out a shout of frustration through the link while baring his fangs open and aiming for the robot’s core with his mouth.

Running forward, Gaz made sure to aim it so that he would pierce the robot right in the middle of it’s central body.

But at the last step, his front leg slipped on the ground. Letting out a strange and silly sound, Gaz’s bite still somehow managed to land on the robot, but it only managed to get the very front of its body.

Still, it dug deep and ripped a part of the armor and one of the barrels from its back. With some luck, it would only have one bullet per barrel, and this would mean that he just ripped the one that still had a bullet inside, stopping half of his problems.

[What happened? Why did you stop yourself?] Ruby asked surprised.

[I didn’t, my feet slipped!] Gaz complained back to her.

[Bullshit! Your feet are made specifically to avoid that!] Ruby said back.

[Well, it sure wasn’t my fault!] Gaz said, and Ruby finally understood what he meant.

Taking advantage of Gaz’s brief moment of confusion, the robot quickly spun its body around and contracted its leg, pointing straight at Gaz. Widening his eyes, Gaz immediately ducked away from the attack.

[Watch out! A Judge seems to be focusing intently!] He heard Ruby say panicky. [Might be a psy!]

Complaining in his mind, Gaz quickly twisted his head away, feeling as an air current forced his head back up just as the robot’s leg threatened to pierce his head.

[JUMP!] Ekis said, and reacting in an instinct, Gaz followed her command.

The sudden impulse, plus the wind current pushed his body upwards, making so that the leg met with the plate on his belly, but bounced off harmlessly due to the tilted surface.

He jumped back so that he could open some distance and took a quick glance at one of the judges, the one who had his face turned to Ruby and Yllivia.

Yet, he caught sight of Hugger’s owner, who was eyeing at the shocked judge with a scary intensity. Judging that the man had probably paid his way to victory, Gaz grimaced before turning his attention back to the robot, only to see it jumping forward while retracting its extended leg.

With a quick movement, Gaz spun around, using its tail as a club and swatting the drone away, Beepy felt satisfied with the feedback this time due to the lack of the legs springiness. Still, the robot didn’t take too much damage and soon got itself back up.

Taking the chance as the robot tried to raise himself, Gaz quickly jumped towards it, aiming for another bite that he could use to finish the fight.

But the Hugger predicted his movement and jumped up and towards the point where he would stop. Gaz, however, was also quick to react and prepared to jump away, only to have his leg get stuck in a strangely soft part of the ground. It was only for a brief moment, where he managed to see as one of the “Judges” focused heavily on him and lightly moved his finger, one moment that he spent stuck on the ground, but that moment was enough for his opponent to fall on his back.

Soon, he felt the tight grip as the legs surrounded his body, slowly tightening as the robot put more pressure on it. Waves of pain surged on his body for a moment before Ekis managed to block the sensation out, and thanking for the peace of mind, Gaz started shaking himself, trying to throw it out from his body.

But the grip only got stronger and stronger, and soon he felt as the armor started to deform, feeling worried, Gaz started to slam his body against the arena’s walls, causing the nearby crowd move away in surprise while the rest cheered even louder. The announcers started to get excited and began to proclaim Hugger’s victory.

[THE SPIKES! QUICKLY!] Ruby shouted in worry.

Gaz stopped for a brief moment as he tried to understand her words, before nodding.

The crowd looked confused as the robot started to look focused. Some of them tilted their heads in confusion as Gaz quickly relocated the needles in the inner side of his body, setting them to appear on his central body.

And with a single movement, he arced his back, popping out the needles and piercing the robot’s body as he used half of the total steam in his body to shoot them out.

A loud buzzing sound that reminded Gaz of a cry of pain sounded on the arena. Hugger let go of his body, sliding its way to the ground where it quickly got up, readying himself for another attack. But under his body were seven large needles digging halfway into its body.

Gaz looked at the robot with a bit of pity, as it was clear that the needles hit something important. The very fact that it was still standing meant that his core was intact, and that was nothing short of a miracle.

Still, he couldn’t dilly-dally any longer, so he quickly darted forward while putting the needles back into his tail. He ran forward, making sure to do so in a zig-zag, leaving the judges unable to interfere with him, and once he got close enough to the robot, he slammed his tail on two of its leg.

The crowd went mad as the announcers went dead silent in shock. Hugger tried to move away, but a few of the needles stuck to the two legs making it unable to move them well enough.

Gaz quickly repositioned himself for the final attack. With the movement of the legs lost, it wouldn’t be able to spring its way out of the next attack. But just as he ran forward, a large patch of the ground became muddy, while a strong current of air blew him off balance.

[They aren’t even trying to be discreet anymore!] Ekis complained.

[The crowd doesn’t seem to care…] Ruby said in a furious tone. [And Gaz… Finish this quickly, or else Ylli might end up killing the judges…] She said worried.

Gaz nodded, but didn’t answer. He had just about enough of the judges himself. Quickly getting up and avoiding one of the impaling strike of the robot’s still functional leg, Gaz quickly circled around the robot, putting it between him and the judge that keep messing with the ground.

He smiled evilly in his mind, and did his attack.

With a quick spin, he threw all the remaining needles he had on his tail towards the robot, but due to the sheer amount of needles, it was clear that some of them ended up missing the target, and “accidently” flew towards the judge.

The judge panicked by the sudden ranged attack and had to jump away to safety as the needles pierced the wall behind where he was. The robot didn’t take that much damage, but since the judges were all too surprised, they didn’t have time to intervene as Gaz quickly ran forward and readied his next attack.

Just as he was about to reach the robot, that tried moving away, he slammed his claw in the ground as he twisted his body. This movement raised his back leg up high while he turned his body around the claw and brought his tail back down on the other side, slamming the Hugger right into the ground, shattering its two stuck legs in the process.

The flashy finisher left everyone else too shocked to understand what happened for a moment, and it was only when Gaz raised himself and turned to the two announcers that they finally snapped out of it.

“Wha… WHAT IS THIS! THE BLACKHORSE! BEEPY! HE WON?” The girl asked confused.

“I… I think that’s it…?” the man said. “With half of its leg like that, the hugger probably can’t continue!” He replied.

“This fight… WHY THE HELL DIDN’T WE LEAVE THIS MATCHUP FOR THE FINALS?”

“I’m not sure! All I know is that, the champion of this match is…” The man stopped for the unneeded dramatic pause, but just as he was about to speak.

“THE HUGGER!” A third voice said suddenly, shocking everyone in the area. Everyone turned to the owner of the voice, an elf wearing a suit that walked down towards the arena. “I just got the word, but it seems that the contestant Beepy have been found guilty of cheating.”

As the man said that, the whole arena froze.

Gaz simply looked at the man annoyed while hoping that the furious Yllivia on the crowd behind him wouldn’t end up killing him.