Well....just as i thought, this kind of story isn't very popular around here. Ah well....here's one last chapter for ya, and then I'm giving up on it
Nick kept silent for a moment, realizing what Brendon had just seen. He knew he had to tell him, but didn’t know how. Only words he could say were:
“Thanks, Brendon.†He looked down at the Striker in his hand, and at his launcher in the other. “We need to finish this!†He shouted, turning his head towards his enemy.
Chapter 5: A Trickster faded
“Heh…†He smiled. “You wanna do this?†He picked up his striker. “Come on then, if you dare!†With his dark smile the black-eyed teenager ran to the ladder, climbing upon the bare building which was only halfway through construction. Soon he found himself on top of a metal platform, facing the opposite building and standing at least 10 meters above the ground. He gestured towards it, inviting Nick to climb on it just as he had.
“Nick, what are you going to do?†Frightened, Brendon asked his friend, pleading him not to go there with his desperate gaze
“Heck, I’ve got to do this!â€
“But, it’s just going to be another trap!â€
“I know. But like I said…I’ve got to do this, Rocky!†With a fearless shine in his eyes he dashed off, leaving one word echoing in Brendon’s head….â€Rockyâ€â€¦
A nickname Nick had given him, since the day they met. He remembered it clear as daylight, the distant afternoon of nearly a decade ago. They were kids, and Nick had just moved in next door. Curios as he was, Nick wondered off as his parents moved the boxes into their new home. And as curios as he was as well, Brendon followed Nick. One after another they walked through the neighborhood’s streets. And then something happened that would forge their friendship.
“Look at him, little baby wondering off!†2 years older, bullies began picking on Nick.
“Shut up! I’m not a baby!†Infuriated, Nick was quick to reply.
“Hey, look at him! Who do you think you are?†Another one of the bullies said, pushing him back.
“I’m Nick! And I don’t care who you are!†Pushing them away, Nick walked past them. But if only that was the end of them. Pulling him back by shirt white shirt, one of the bullies punched him.
And all the while the even smaller Brendon watched from behind a nearby car, afraid to do anything. As small as he was, what could he do? But then it came to him…
“Are you gonna cry?!†The bully said as he pulled onto Nick’s hair.
“Shut….up!†Nick struggled to keep back tears.
“Aw…little cryba...OUCH!†A small stone had hit him in the head. A stone coming from a familiar nearby car. Seconds later an array of pebbles and small rocks came falling onto the group of kids, scaring them off, all the while only a single shiny pebble hit Nick on the head.
“Ouch!†He ran towards the car, finding Brendon crying as he held onto a few stones. “Rocks? Did you throw them?â€
Wiping his tears with his sleeve, Brendon wanted to greet this new boy and say his name, but for some reason he could only nod. Probably all the fear that gathered inside of him rendered him speechless.
“Thanks!†With a smile, Nick replied. “I’m Nick by the way.†He extended his arm. “What’s your name?â€
Yet again, Brendon wanted to say his name but couldn’t.
“What’s wrong? You can’t speak?†Nick arched his head in surprise. “I think I’ll call you…†He looked at the stones on the ground. “Rocky! That’s it! I’ll call you Rocky.â€
Rocky…He flashed back to reality, hearing it again.
“Rocky!†Nick shouted from atop the platform, calling out to his friend. “Aren’t you gonna climb up too?!â€
He thought about for a moment, and then began running towards a nearby building, dragging his schoolbag behind him. It took him quite a while before he made it to a platform, although his was a bit higher up than Nick’s and the other guy’s. It was a building next to the one his friend was on. He chose it because he wanted to be closer to Nick than this new, deceitful person.
“Finally! Want to start now?!â€
“Oh I’m sorry.†Nick replied. “I figured you’d drop a stadium from the skies, so I was waiting for THAT.†He jested.
“Funny…â€He smiled, rubbing his nose. “But that’s not what I had in mind.†He then took a few steps back, approaching a lever on the wall. “I was thinking something a little…†He pulled it as a whole cluster of metal beams came down, tied with cables, just like before. They hung from a large crane that was between the buildings. With them on the same level as the battlers, the beams created a long, moving maze that could hardly be perceived as a valid surface for a Strikers’ battle.
“Ready?!†Nick attached Piranha to his launcher, starting it.
“Wait!†Brendon shouted, waving his hands.
“Now what?†Annoyed, the black-eyed guy looked at Brendon.
“I want to do this!†With a brave smile he held up his arms in the hair.
“Fine…†He walked back to the edge of his platform, attaching Blitz to his launcher.
“Ready?!†Brendon shouted as both battlers took a steady pose, with a slight nod confirming this.
“Set!†Nick took a step back, while his opponent did the same. Blitz sparked in dark blue as Piranha was engulfed in light waves of energy, almost teal.
“Strike!!†He dropped down his arms, and then the final battle began!
The strikers surged with energy as both battlers launched them. Buzzing as they spun, each striker landed on a different beam, sliding swiftly across it. With a force of a wrecking ball they kicked off the beams, sending them in perpetual turns as they flew into each other. Both StrikerSouls appeared in a battlecry, slamming into each other. At the aftermath of the clash, both were kicked back, landing on yet another set of beams and roaming around, readying for the next attack.
“Come on! I gotta win this!†His red hot heart under those black robes pounded like a tank! Then he saw it! With a twitch in his eye he commanded his dark blue striker to soar into the sky, slashing through a cable that held a beam in place on the far side of this improvised battle ground, away from Piranha. But in a strange chain reaction, the beam that Nick’s striker was rushing on came plummeting down almost immediately after the one Blitz had cut through.
“I knew he was gonna do something like this! But how did he do it?! DAMNIT! I can’t think about that right now!!†Nick was struggling to find a way to get Piranha back into the battle. If that beam had fallen with Piranha on it, this fight would have found its end. But as he tried not to give up, he caught a glimpse of his opponent’s victorious snickering.
“Thinking you’ve won?!†He clenched his hand into a fist, angry. Seconds away from defeat, Piranha began surging with energy, ever-increasing its speed as it spun immobile! It sped up to a point that it almost melted the metal underneath and just as Nick cried out:
“IT AIN’T THAT EASY!!!â€
His striker rocketed upwards, like a true blue piranha diving to the surface, biting into its prey!
The beast roared as its bite cut through a beam, arriving to face Blitz.
Still rotating faster than ever Piranha landed on a beam before shooting forwards like a cannon blast.
“carp! Gotta think fast!†In the last second Blitz had moved out of the way, its speed to its advantage. But he didn’t wait for another attack. With a jolt he pulled back his arm, sending Blitz thundering towards the enemy. But Nick did the same, waiting for just the right moment, and then extending his arm further, sending Piranha away from Blitz.
“Huh? That’s…†Brendon thought back to their short-lasting “battleâ€, and even wondered how he could even call it with such a powerful word after witnessing this astonishing display of power. “NOW NICK!†He shouted, trying to aid his friend.
“Heh, guess he caught me!†Nick smirked as he pulled back his arm hastily, slamming Piranha into Blitz. Two condensed blue energies smashed as Blitz got sent flying backwards in a spinning momentum with Piranha chasing after him.
“Grrr…that brat!†He growled as he looked up. Frown turned to smile as he directed his Striker to the right, cutting through another cable. But this time a beam, lower than the rest came rising up, slamming into Piranha.
“How the hell…!†A slight surging pain struck Nick’s arm as Piranha was slammed from the bottom. Agitated he looked around to see any levers and switches, any way he was doing it…
“Nick! Up there!†He turned to see his friend point upwards, where the crane held the cables that secured the beams. He focused, and upon close inspection noticed the gimmick. Instead of a separate cable for every beam, two and sometimes three beams were connected in one cable, intertwined in the top. Almost impossible to notice as he thought.
“So that’s how he does it, huh?!†He then lifted his hand even higher, sending Piranha flying towards the Crane. As it landed upside down, in a split second he decided to cut all of those cables. “But…heck, I’m not like him!†With a resolve not to use any trickery, he slammed his hand downwards hard, as Piranha came diving into Blitz.
“Heh, gotcha!†He sent Blitz blazing around the battlefield at insane speeds, releasing specific beams. The sound of cables tightening and beams plummeting filled the area as at least a dozen beams went flying at Piranha.
“NO CHANCE!†Every fiber of Nick’s body screamed as his StrikerSoul appeared in the form of the piranha he knew so well. Diving down the striker chewed his way through each beam, one after another.
“Of course not…It’s just to wear you out…†As Piranha made its way towards Blitz, the dark blue striker surged with blue sparks, spinning more and more rapidly. As the last beam was devoured, a dark blue human jolted upwards, going as fast as lightning at Piranha.
They crashed again! And again! Up went Piranha, down went Blitz. They crashed ever so powerfully! And then they clashed for one last time, slamming each other off center, propelling to the side. Heading past their owners, the strikers surged through the building. A short glimpse preceded a deadly lock between locks, as each battler directed his anger and controller at the enemy.
And from behind them, two deafening roars marked the arrival of the deadly Souls. They boomed their exit of the buildings as they headed into a collision. But then something stopped them. A benevolent purple fog interrupted them, along with the sound of a chopper’s propellers spinning and a megaphone through which spoke the person that started it all.
“Stop this battle at once! This is not an official tournament battle!â€
They looked up only to see Rurik, hanging from a helicopter and speaking at them. His hair wavered in the gust of air that came from the spinning, and a very serious look befell his face.
“Get down on the ground, and take your strikers with you!†With a flinch of a wrist, he sent both strikers flying to their owners with his purple Sentinel. They grabbed them and rushed to the ground as Rurik landed with his helicopter.
“You!†As soon the helicopter stopped spinning its propellers, Rurik stepped out and approached the battlers, all three in shock and awe of his appearance. He walked up to the black-eyed guy, with an emotionless expression. And still with no emotion shown, he punched him right in the cheek, sending him to the ground.
“I already warned you! You were banned from the tournament!†Crouching, he violently took his card, ripping it in half. “And you stoop as low as to steal another license?! Pig!†He threw the two pieces to the dirt as the guy got up.
“Heck, what is all this?!†Nick looked at Rurik.
“Nick, I deeply apologize! Recently this cunning weasel was banned from the tournament for using prohibited tools in battles. I am sure you have witnessed such things in your battle just now?â€
“Umm, yeah but...I thought anything was allowed.â€
“Anything IS allowed, as long as it hasn’t been pre-prepared. Cutting through a boulder to make for a projectile, opening a nearby pipe to send a blast of water. Environmental attacks and they are not forbidden. But if one would go as low as to pre-arrange his battling environment, now that is an entirely different story.†He fixed up his hair and dusted his clothes off.
“So if he was banned, how did he have that card thingy?!†Brendon interrupted, much to Rurik’s surprise, even if it did not show on his face.
“Hmm, I see you were careless enough to let someone who’s not in the tournament to follow you. But since we’re talking…†He approached Brendon. “I took immediate actions to deactivate his license after finding out about his rule-breaking and chased after him to retrieve the controller. However he was fast enough to escape me and to even find an unlucky battler from whom he stole this license, through trickery no doubt.â€
“Yeah well, you can’t keep me from a good battle!†He smirked.
“Good battle? You use devices and traps instead of giving your all!†Angrily, Nick replied to him.
“Whatever, I still would’ve won if it wasn’t for little miss sunshine here!†Untouched by this statement he spoke, referring to Rurik’s golden hair.
“Won?! You still don’t get it do you?!†Nick pushed him. “The time you push that button, the second you sent that wrecking ball down, the one moment you stop relying on your skill, you’ve already lost! You don’t win fights at the end! You win them in the heat of battle!! You win them when you give it your best shot and know you did what you could! And even if you lose, at least you lose with pride.†Turning away, he walked off with teary eyes.
“Come on Rocky, we’re late for class.†He started walking with his launcher and striker in hand and Brendon following close.
“Wait!†Running, he grabbed Nick’s shoulder. “carp! Just wait a minute!†Nick turned around to see those black eyes sharper than ever. “ You ain't going nowhere!†He said in an angry tone.
“I want a rematch! And back in the tournament!†He turned to Rurik. “Do it!†He ran to Rurik, grabbing onto his clothes “You! Get me back in the tournament!â€
“No!†Cold as ice, Rurik cut him off.
“Rurik, just give him a chance. I’ll battle him for it!â€
“YOU HEARD HIM!†Without looking away, Jordan quickly pointed at Nick. “My Striker versus his, for a place in the tournament.†A devilish smile spread across his face. “My strength! My skill.â€
“Idiots…†Rurik couldn’t help but shake his head in disagreement. But, he knew there was only one way to solve this without getting himself into a battle. “But, fine. Only if he wins.â€
“My way, boy!†Calmly he spoke. He simply let go of Rurik and walked to his launcher, grabbing it. Both him and Nick said no words, but they knew what the other was feeling. It was passion for a battle, burning desire to give it your all. When they positioned themselves, Rurik invited Brendon to join him in the hellicopter. They rose up in the sky in noise, as Brendon was handed a megaphone.
“Ready?!†He shouted, waiting for the battlers' confirmation.
“Set!†He spoke after catching a short glimpse of their battle-hungry eyes.
“STRIKE!â€â€¦
------Later that day----
Three boys walked in the sunset. A tall one, a dark one and a very short one…
“Yeah! I told ya I could do it!†He smiled happily, showing off his license with the initials “J.T.†written on it.
“Yes. I suppose you did earn it. After all, it only took you 7 rematches!†Nick grinned, tapping him on the back.
“Yes, I guess he did earn it.†Slightly sad, Brendon replied.
“Eh? What’s the matter Rocky?â€
“Nothing. It’s just…I thought I could get a chance to enter the tournament as well.â€
“Yeah well you heard Rurik. He had no more controllers available.â€
“I know.†He looked down. “…I know…â€
“Relax little guy!†He tapped him on the head. “I’ll let you use mine! After all, it’s the least I could do!†He smiled.
“You will?!†With his face lighting up, Brendon looked at the big black eyes that were above him. “But umm…It’s…†He looked around as the sun was going down. “It’s a little dark, and…â€
“And you have to go home, right?†Nick budged in.
“Hah! Guess I’ll be heading off too. We part ways here!†He said as the three approached a crossroad.
“Alright.†Nick waved as he walked off, but a moment later a shock hit his head as he realized something. “Hey wait!†he shouted.
“Huh?†He turned around, holding onto his beanie with one hand, and his bag with the other.
“It’s been an entire day, and I still don’t know your name!â€
“Yeah, I guess you don’t.†He smiled, turning around. “It’s Jordan!†He waved his arm, continuing to walk. “Jordan Teague!†And after crossing the street he turned around again. “And you better remember it, boy!†He shouted out at Nick, pointing and tagging him as a rival in his mind. Nick acknowledged him, just as a bus drove through the street, blocking him from view. When it passed, Jordan was hitching a ride on the very edge of the bus, waving at his two new acquaintances, and even though he didn’t admit it just yet…two new friends…