Laguna - South-west - Midnight - Proxy

My blood boils at maximum volume, and it’s only rising! This smile-wearing piece of shit, who tore off Wedge’s arm, stands there, readying his shit-ass spear! Puck doesn’t look all that hurt, but she’s out cold next to the old man. He might get in the way. I can’t tell based on how composed he looks… Whatever, if he does, I’ll lay his ass flat!

“How did you find us, Proxy?” Jed opens, keeping that smile on his face. “...Was it that scream?”

“Who cares!”

I’m not wasting another second with small talk. Crushing this son of a bitch is all I care about.

I make the first move, dashing at him. If I can get close, then I’ll strike him with my leg. Right away, he goes on the defensive with that chain of his. Those guys we met earlier told us how he swung that thing and cut people clean in half with it.

Rushing forward is no good! He whips around the chain, swinging it in multiple directions to hit me. Its speed is insane, moving fast enough to become a blur. Despite that, I can make out where it’s coming from. I get out of its range, using a bit of my athletics to get away.

“Oh, your movement is smoother than the other day.”

Yeah, yeah. As long as he keeps using that chain like a whip, then I’m never gonna get close. Think, what can I do…? That’s it! Done with all the thinking, I run for it. He whips the chain my way. Come on, body, this is the moment, just act! I gotta utilize that important part of myself!

My body responds to my wish. All the weight in my body shifts to the front, allowing me to dive under the chain and keep my momentum. Coming at me from the left, I twist my body in the air to jump over it. No matter the direction, I just keep dodging with all the athletics I can bring out. Not only that, but I use complicated front and backflips to move my way through. At the near end, I swiftly move to the right. Jumping off a pile of rubble near a lamppost, I launch off of it, sliding up on Jed’s left.

His eyes lock on me. I need to beat him to a pulp before he can ice my ass! He had already withdrawn his chain around his guide bar, dragging it toward my side. Kicking off the ground, I hover right above the blades. My hands are first to touch the ground, letting me get away with nimble movements.

“So you are incorporating athletics into your movements?”

“Shut up!”

This isn’t it! It’s kind of satisfying to pull off these moves, but this isn’t what I want! All that stuff Wildcard said and what the old man was spouting, beating this douche. Rhythm and flow, understanding the self, an idea… None of it is clicking still. What am I missing here? I remember Wildcard saying being more agile, but does that mean doing handstands and flips? Cause I can do it, but I don’t think that’s what it means…

“Shit, why am I thinking about this crap right now?”

Wedge needs help, and I’m the only one here. I can’t expect someone to bail me out now; I need to be the one to save them!

Throwing away all the ideas in my head, I charge forward, wanting to get this over with. Thinking about useless shit isn’t gonna do me any good. One solid blow is all I need. Grabbing a large rock from the ground, I chuck it at Jed. I throw another behind it. He spins his weapon around his body, cutting the rocks apart with finesse. That doesn’t matter. He’s in close range now.

“Clever. However…”

His spear was coming down on me. Don’t let it hit you, don’t let it hit you, don’t let it hit you! In the spur of the moment, I place my wrist under the shaft while moving. Before he can back up, I kick him right in the head to make up for the distance. This is it. He’s in my range! Don’t think, just throw a hit!

“..You’re putting too much power in each punch.”

Pull back a little, not too much power, but not too little at the same time. My fist flies, burying itself in Jed’s face. The impact wasn’t as powerful as I wanted, but even if it wasn’t, it was a clean blow. Not only that, I can disarm him now!

But to my surprise, he already regained his bearings. His control of the spear is strong. I’ll just yank it out of his hands with all I got! However, that’s where I went wrong. Cause right when I pull, he comes running up to me and hits me with a drop kick to the gut. What the hell was that? Why was it this effective…?

He tugs the spear his way, forcing me to him. His hands leave the spear for a moment. He spun around before delivering one hell of a kick. Blood flows from my nose. My hands! For a minute, I almost lost my grip on the shaft.

“I tire of this game.” A devastating strike rocks my head. My grip on the weapon evaporates altogether. “...I shall be taking this back.”

My body hits the ground. This light-headed feeling…yep, that hurt. No matter how I look at it, this is gonna end up like last time. No matter what I do, he’s too fast for me to handle. Was I just…not strong enough?

“Such a shame, and here I thought you were going to present a challenge. Perhaps you all bark.”

…No! This is not how it ends! I need to think, think of some way to win! I have to use my head…!

“Also, your body looks pretty agile. You can do athletics, right?”

“Means your hand-to-hand is not polished, doesn’t have that sense of rhythm and flow that it should have.”

All that stuff from Wildcard fills my brain. The fight we had earlier comes back in vivid detail. The way he fought wasn’t random or crazy, he was able to counter me cause he understood how he fought, and how I fought! My rhythm and flow, and vice versa! The understanding of the self!

“Goodbye!”

He plunges his spear toward my chest. At that time, I tucked back my feet, avoiding certain death. The sound of stone being continuously dug into says he buried his weapon in the ground. With the strength in my hands, I shoot up from the ground, hitting Jed with both my feet. The thump sound from my feet hammering into his chest feels good, real good.

“W-what was that?”

It was like when Wildcard ducked under my attack to counter me. I think I get it. When you’re on the offensive, don’t let up, and when on the defensive, you either run or block; those are the fundamentals. But there’s another: countering! Using attacks from the enemy to create your own opening. Wildcard wasn’t an unorthodox fighter, he was someone who understood what it meant to fight hand-to-hand! Jed knows how to use his spear like it’s a part of him. That’s why he beat me when it came to handling it.

I was never good with swords cause I never felt too strongly about them; that and I suck with them. The only thing I can ever rely on is my fists, so that’s all I should be using.

“Well, it seems like I have been disarmed. No matter, my hands are all I need.”

Whatever, you’re in my world now. He throws the first punch. Naturally, I block it, but he takes advantage of my lower half being defenseless. Dodging it isn’t an issue, but he follows up with another attack. I can’t let him control the battle. I need to keep up or outdo his rhythm!

His attack hurls toward my head. I redirect his blow, going for my own. It connects, but it isn’t over yet! I unleash another blow, and another after that one. Jed isn’t a slouch though. He parries a few of my blows. He trains his legs for my head, unrelenting in his offensive.

“C-crap!”

My footing was off when I stepped back. Jed closes the gap, seeing this as his chance to slam his fist into my head. Planting my hands on the ground, I lift my feet to the air. There was an impact, that much I can tell, and if I’m right, my feet hit Jed’s chin.

“You were able to counter like that?”

Before, I would have tried to move to get a hit with my fist. I’ve been squandering my talents up until now. I shouldn’t be focused on being a powerhouse like Gil; my agility and speed, that’s my strength!

We re-engage in battle, this time, I’m not going to make the same mistakes. Faster strikes, making full use of my arms and legs, and incorporating my agility into my movements and attacks. If I combine these, then maybe I can acquire something else! I have to get rid of my bad habits that developed during my time in NewPort Island! I’ll move past my old self to become stronger!

He breaks off from the fight to go for his spear. I chase after him, but I’m too late. He immediately swings the thing horizontally. I jump as high as I can, unleashing a kick at the same time. He’s stunned by the surprise counterattack. My feet touch the concrete, lightly tapping the ground with the bottom of my shoes. There! It’s small, but I spot the perfect opening. This is the best time for a punch. If I can’t make this one hurt, then there might not be a next time. There ain’t gonna be a next time. Just go for it, Proxy!

Any thought of winning and losing leaves my brain, the thoughts of Cade, Wedge’s lost arm, Alex’s sense of failure, and whether or not I can become stronger, all of that washes away; all that matters is this hit, nothing else. Just like that, all focus hones in on that sweet spot… Like a spark of lightning running through my fist, I strike the spot I’ve been eyeing. The speed of my strike was like lightning hitting the earth and leaving just as quickly… What is this? When I moved, it was like something in my body clicked, so I moved. Then, before I knew it, my fist smashed into his liver. Not to mention that feeling running through my fist; if I had to put it into words, it’s as if every other punch I’ve ever thrown before this point were incomplete, imperfect, weaker versions of this one.

Jed’s weapon clatters on the ground as he clutches his chest, reeling back from the strike. He’s in real pain, unable to even scream out how much pain he’s in. This is the first time that smile on his face turns into something else… As much as I want to cave his head in, I got something more important to do.

I get back to Wedge. He’s out like a light, and the blood from his wound is soaked into the sleeve I patched him up with. Then I go over to Puck, who’s next to the old man. He stares me down with his eyes, sporting an ugly grin on his decrepit face.

“...You want some too, Santa?”

I know this isn’t the time, but if he wants to fight, then I better hope I’m faster than him

“Santa… Fascinating name.” He walks away from us, waving at us. “...Jed, I await to see it.”

He heads through an alleyway with that cryptic sentence. Whatever. Puck is out for the count. I’ll have to carry her and Wedge. While I’m at it, I’m gonna bring Jed with us. After what he did, he has to pay.

“What…a terrible…situation!”

He digs his hands into his pockets. Two small balls. Don’t tell me…! I race after him before he can get away. Right in front of him, he throws them, and smoke envelopes my vision. The smoke cloud’s radius isn’t that big, so getting out was easy. Jed is already up on a rooftop, leaving out of sight.

“Shit! How did he get up there!?”

It must’ve been that chain of his, no doubt about it! If he’s able to use it to move on the rooftops, then catching up is gonna be difficult.

Tch, gonna have to let him go, for now. Next time though, I’m gonna crush his skull in! For now, I’ll get Wedge and Puck out of here.

“Sorry, Wedge. This is probably gonna be a bumpy ride, so bare with me.”

…/Jed

Pain wrecks through my liver, making it hard to move, especially from rooftop to rooftop. I took up residence in a building near Cade’s camp. Throughout the course of my life, I have felt pain, and have even grown somewhat numb to it. This! This is an unbearable pain, endlessly repeating this agonizing pain!

“Proxy…you’re…a problem.”

Such ability. He changed mid-fight; as if I was fighting someone else. Worst off, he got away with Wedge and Puck, so using their dead bodies as a means of pushing Cade off the edge is no longer an option. Although…

“I suppose Wedge’s arm will suffice.”

I was quick enough to find it before escaping.

“Cade, let us see the battlefield your anger will bring.”