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…
The referee held his hand up to start the countdown.
It was all or nothing.
“3…2…1..Begin!”
The way the match started was best described as disappointing. So much that the whole crowd did not wait even a second to start unenthusiastically booing and cringing at the fight. The bots began their match by ramming into one another, which only showed the size disparity even clearer. The “Shadowbreaker”, Tom’s own bot, was just a small toy that Luc’s own could simply walk over. Only after holding out for a solid minute did the “Shadowbreaker” manage to show some impressiveness for the audience. It was mainly pushing to the side, trying to get out of the grip of the prongs that the bigger bot had, but it was still something. But then, the black bot’s wheels stopped and it tumbled before having its top get slammed against the wall by the awesome force of the bigger enemy bot.
The crowd was audibly winced from that loud damage. “Nice one, Executioner!” someone in the audience yelled.
Chester, meanwhile, glanced towards Tom. Something did not look right to him, when the “Shadowbreaker” simply sat still, and he wanted to check. Once he noticed Tom fiddling with the controls, it slowly became clear. Tom kept pushing every button he had, panicking more and more by the second.
The audience winced loudly again, and the Shadowbreaker slid against the stage’s surface. It was only a grazing, thankfully, but the bigger bot was getting ready to start up again.
“Hey! Stop!” Chester shouted out.
The few people that were behind him reacted, but not the referee. The zebra was further away standing next to Luc, apparently more preoccupied with him than the match. The fact that the two were talking when the match was going on just provoked something in Chester in a way he has yet to have felt in a long time.
“Hey, you with the whistle! Stripehead!!!” Chester yelled at the top of his lungs. “Butt for brains, pay attention!!!”
The room went quieter, allowing for his insults to reach the zebra faster. The referee looked very offended by the words, and readily exclaimed at Chester to return back to his seat. Chester continued to stand on it, for obvious reasons.
“He can’t move!!!” Chester then pointed to Tom.
The referee glanced, then quickly patted on Luc’s shoulder to stop. The match was halted right as the badger’s bot was about to ram at the “Shadowbreaker” the third time. Luc lowered the remote to his “Executioner,” whilst the referee left him. The way that Luc sulked stood out to Chester, though he more so paid attention to Tom and his bot.
Tom was trying to explain anxiously what was going on to the referee, the latter listened attentively. He then reached his pocket and pulled out a package with batteries. He pulled out a two from it, which Tom accepted and promptly disassembled his remote to replace the old ones. When he pressed on it again, the sound of “Shadowbreaker’s” wheels moving were clearly heard. It seemed to have done the trick.
As the referee passed them by, Mr. Mouton got up from his seat and stopped him.
“Can you give me a minute, please?” Mr. Mouton whispered. The zebra looked back at the boy, and nodded, adding that only one minute was allowed.
He then went towards the poor boy and started talking to him. In that short minute, the vice-principal managed to calm Tom to at least making long-deep breaths. By the end, Tom was testing the remote, letting his bot move around freely, free of the hold of fear from before.
Finally, you did something right, Chester thought, watching Mr. Mouton return.
The referee then asked for Tom to check up on his machine, to make sure there would be no malfunctions. He opened the gate to let Tom into the stage. The cat-boy readily went in, giving his “Shadowbreaker” a quick look from all the side. Chester didn’t hear a word he was muttering, but it was plain that Tom wasn’t happy with cuts and bruises that was seen on his machine. Thankfully, the hammer still worked, and so did the movement, meaning he could return back to work. When asked to place the bot in its last position at the end of match before getting out, Tom followed the first order to the letter, but the latter showed his signature hesitation.
“You better not lose this kid,” Chester overheard the vice-principal say. Mr. Mouton had his beak propped by his knuckles, clearly doing the adult thing of trying not to show stress by doing certain motions. Chester knew this one, because of how many times Pierre pointed it out to him before. Jacques was, without a doubt, completely absorbed in this.
This really surprised Chester. In fact, this piqued him, even amazed him in some respects. Did he really wanted Tom to win this, then? Chester was trying to analyze this. Maybe he was trying to play up his good guy behavior. Of course he does, he always tries to suck up to others. Maybe then winning this whole thing would mean a lot to him. But then, for what, to save some cash?
Chester side-eyed the adult, who himself was staring intently at the young cat boy. Or so did he think. In reality, Mr. Mouton was eyeing the remote, with the same concentration that Chester was doing to him.
“It’s time to resume the match,” announced the referee. He checked in on both Luc and Tom, each one giving their own sign of readiness. Luc’s was quick and rapt, while Tom took a second to re-check himself.
The referee raised his hand again. “Both of you, on your guard,” he said, gaining attention of the audience. Once again, the room fell quiet in anticipation. “3,2,1…begin!”
The “Executioner” had made its first move, by slamming right into the side of “Shadowbreaker.” The audience hollered and Tom jumped in shock from seeing the impact, the previous air that the match initially had returning. It was then that Chester realized how fast Luc’s bot was. Even though it was larger than Tom’s own by significant amount, it moved way faster for “Shadowbreaker” to simply outrun.
So much so that that last impact managed to get a hold of Tom’s bot in its pincers again. Its axe arm then promptly fell down, striking into the hammer arm of the “Shadowbreaker.” The sound of whirring wheels were at full force, as the smaller vehicle was trying its hardest to free itself from the grip. Then as if luck itself answered its plea, the bot somehow managed to kick itself off of the ground and remove itself from the pincers. Immediately the bot dash forward, with only a red ribbon getting lost during the escape.
Chester unknowingly stood up from his seat. He would never admit beforehand to in some way be interested in some nerd sport, but this was getting to him like nothing else. Tom’s bot was driving around, moving its hammer arm up and down, showing that despite injury, it was still usable. Meanwhile, the “Executioner” kept trying to turn around and begin its assault. However, while it trumped “Shadowbreaker” in terms of power and speed, it appeared at very least, it lacked in maneuverability. The dark bot was drawing circles around it, not giving a chance for a proper retaliation.
This was going according to plan. The “Shadowbreaker” managed to keep itself within “Executor’s” blind spot, and the hammer arm had finally raised up. Then, with swift movement, it charged ahead hitting right into the rear-wheel. The “Shadowbreaker” nearly flipped forward due to difference in weight. Most of the audience booed, finding the attack underwhelming, but Chester felt like jumping from hype. And then the hammer landed a strike on it once, and he was ready to pump his arm.
Everything went exactly as they planned it to be. Back when he sat with Tom, talking about his plan of action. How he managed to advise him about what the best way to use the hammer and the crystals. How they could possibly manage to win this thing, and the excitement that Tom had when he realized the potential that was opening up to him. And now, Chester felt that same rush in him. This wasn’t just a stupid game anymore, he was ready to see him win. All he needed was the second strike, and Chester was waiting for it.
And the second strike did not come.
The “Executioner” moved around to try to throw off the smaller bot. Despite the easy access, it would not strike again. Soon enough, the “Executioner” freed itself, making the “Shadowbreaker” fly off.
“What is going on!?” Mr. Mouton exclaimed.
Chester’s eyes were wide in shock. The bot just stopped moving. He spun his head to Tom and found the latter literally hitting every button on his control. He was panicking, way harder this time.
“Oh man, here we go!” someone shouted in the audience.
Chester did not see the moment of impact. But he did see the black blur fly across the stage, bits and pieces flying around, as it rolled right into the wall. It landed right below the wall he was standing by. He looked down on it and saw the wheels twitch a little bit. The “Shadowbreaker” was getting ready to move again.
And then the “Executioner” slammed its body into it. Chester nearly fell backwards from the reverb.
“WAIT!” the referee shouted. “I said, WAIT!!!”
There was already some booing, as the match once again was being halted.
“Are you serious?”
“Get this over already?”
“My ass is sore!”
“Why are we dragging this out!?”
Chester got himself up on his feet. Another malfunction, again? Even he found it ridiculous.
He saw the referee ran to Tom with a pack of batteries, looking very anxious himself. The two began quickly checking the remote, with Tom already had it opened. What kind of batteries were they even using?
“Woah, look at this!”
Chester felt the wall near him getting slammed once again. He looked down at the two bots and got met with a very gruesome sight. The “Executioner” prepared its ax, damaging “Shadowbreaker’s” hammer arm.
The referee turned around to see it and started yelling at Luc, though it was far too late. The latter would not listen to him, and tried to hit it a second time. The hit has left the hammer-arm nearly severed, and left a gash in the body of the smaller bot. Every member of the audience cringed away from the sight.
The zebra referee dashed his way to the badger, shouting and insulting the whole time. Only when he finally reached the badger did the latter let go of his remote, looking offensively nonchalant about this.
“And the Bot Killer kills with his Executioner!” said one of the spectators, getting a small amount of applause from the rest of them. This match had a clear answer for most of the audience.
And there was a reason too, as the “Shadowbreaker” looked like it was ready to be sold for scraps. There was no way to get back from this.
Chester’s jaw was hanging from this whole event. He looked at Tom, but the poor dude was devastated. This was the sign of imminent defeat and that he should simply accept it. When he turned to Luc though, the guy just took a bottle of water and drank from it. He was completely apathetic, even while the referee kept yelling at him, even though everyone else was in uproar. He did not care one bit. Hate him or not, he just did what he wanted to, and he was okay with that. This wasn’t some act to try and blend in, to be nice for others just so you could get free piggybacks later. All he did was an honest attack.
And Chester had no idea how to feel about it.
There was a giant storm of noise of everyone jeering, neither of hate or love, from the crowd of audience. They kept on asking for it to be over with. No one cared about prolonging this whole “farce,” where a veteran was taking down a newbie child.
Chester looked around the audience, and suddenly noticed someone missing. Mr. Mouton, the vice-principal who was supposed to look after them, was completely gone. Chester turned left and right, but the darkness of the area around him made it hard for him to see anyone.
He glanced back at Tom again and saw the dark, vacant sign of helplessness in the tubby cat’s eyes. He was barely moving, just sitting down, waiting for the whole thing to be over. Chester could not believe this at all. The boy was crushed, while their vice-principal was completely away. Where was he when they needed him. Chester’s quills became itchy, making the hedgehog anxious over this whole situation. Could this really help with the situation? Chester thought about waiting, but who knew how this would go over. Didn’t he wanted for them to loose anyway? To not even try at this game in the first place?
Chester scratched his quills on his head. At this moment, he began making a decision.
“Tom!” Chester yelled.
The boy would not reply back. There was no other choice.
Chester ran in from his seat and towards the cat. He grabbed his chubby shoulders and then shook him with every force he could until he could get a reaction. All he managed to get was Tom trying to free himself.
“Let me go…” Tom mumbled.
“Tom, look at me!”
The cat did not comply.
“Tom, dude, look at me here!”
They were wet. That was what Chester noticed as soon as Tom looked at him. Cats hated water. And Tom was miserable.
“I…” Tom spoke with shaky lip, “I…lost…”
“Get a grip!”
“I…I can’t…I lost…”
“No, you are not!” Chester shook him, trying to get him to focus. Tom kept pushing him away, but Chester would not let go of him. “You don’t go down without fighting first!”
“Who cares!? What the use?” Tom wailed.
Chester’s quills were getting extra itchy. But he was not going to go down fighting. Not in this place. Not after risking his life against monsters so many times. Not after losing his close ones, after making too many mistakes that cost the happiness of those he cared about.
“The use is that you try!” Chester exclaimed right into the cat’s face. “You gotta keep at it! You don’t throw your hands down, now! C’mon, you dealt with worse things, haven’t you?”
Tom wouldn’t answer.
Suddenly, a door was slammed open from afar. A figure ran in through the darkness, whose bright feathers nearly stunned Chester as they lunged towards the remote. Mr. Mouton fiddled with it, until he managed to get a new pair of batteries into it.
After a pause and some prayer said under breath, Mr. Mouton pushed every button on the remote, until finally, the car moved. It was beaten and battered, but miraculously, it moved and kept on moving.
“Oh god…” Mr. Mouton sighed and wiped his sweaty head with his bare hand. He checked around, then immediately headed to where the referee was, leaving remote at the behest of two boys.
Chester was in complete awe, even as he was reaching for the remote. The way this whole thing went just did not seem to leave him in but in constant state of disorientation. But for Chester, there was something important in his mind, which also happened to be in his hand.
“See, the thing is still working!” he said cheerfully. “You can get back at it again!”
“But the hammer…” Tom mumbled. He pointed to the arm mechanism which stopped working, unable to move itself anymore.
“That doesn’t change anything!” Chester retorted, then started to fiddle with it to move the “Shadowbreaker.” It was hobbling like crazy, and with that dented arm, looked like a piece of scrap-metal. And yet, to Chester, this was not a problem. “Remember what we said? You just need to make on more good hit. Just don’t do it forward this time, you know what I mean?” Chester said, before winking.
Tom looked up at him, still unsure over this. However, he reached to grab the remote anyways, and after brushing himself off, returned back to his position.
Chester ran up towards the referee then, as fast as he could. Mr. Mouton was still busy talking with him, his eyebrow feathers crossing themselves into a pair of daggers, only to be interrupted by Chester yelling,
“We can continue!”
He pointed to the stage. The referee saw the still working “Shadowbreaker”, and with a brief pause, stated that they can continue it one more time.
“That should make it up for you giving him faulty batteries,” said Mr. Mouton, before making his way back to the audience seat of his.
Chester raised his brow. He promptly followed suit and soon the two were in their original place, whereas the referee quelled the din down. There was one last glance he stole of Luc, also, the badger rolling his eyes at the whole thing.
“I’m surprised by how well you looked after Tom,” Mr. Mouton suddenly said.
Chester just looked at him, and retorted with, “I am surprised that you actually bought new batteries from that gas station. You got yourself all stinky.”
“Surprised I am myself.” Mouton smiled at himself proudly. “I mean, I was also ready for you to sabotage me, but then again, maybe I overreacted.”
Chester kept himself still. Best reaction too, lest Mr. Mouton would see his wide-eyed expression. Was he really that wrong the whole time?
The referee announced that continuation of the match, before saying that both bots should go to their original starting positions. On one side, was “Shadowbreaker,” with chipped paint, hobbling wheels, broken hammer arm that wouldn’t go higher than an inch off the ground. And of course, Tom, standing behind the controls and shaking in his place. On the other side, the “Executioner,” with barely a scratch on it, and Luc, showing nothing else than pure, unadulterated irreverence. Chester realized then exactly what Tom was fighting against. Not just the man who saw this as nothing more than a game, nothing but a way for him to show off his dominance over a smaller child. But also of everyone was jeering towards him.
They were all asking for the whole thing to be over. To let the poor kid go home and cry to his mommy. TO le him play video games in his backwards country town, instead of staying here and waste everyone’s time. Tom was shaking, more visibly than ever. If he could, he would definitely say he was giving up, but was too frozen to do anything.
Chester, looking back at the audience as if it was his enemy, came to one conclusion. He got up on his chair, gaining an odd look from Mr. Mouton, with all the might in him, shouted,
“You can do it! Kick his butt! We believe in you!”
Tom turned his head towards him.
“Shadowbreaker! Shadowbreaker! Shadowbreaker!” Chester kept chanting, even as the audience members kept telling him to calm down.
Tom glanced down at his remote, and after fiddling with it, back up at Chester, and then to Shadowbreaker. It was broken, busted and bent. And yet, it was still responding to him. There was still a chance for him. And he still had a reason to do it. For her. Tom bit on both of his lips, and gripped his remote as hard as he could. His eyes were now narrow, the fire burning in them like no other. It was time to show a miracle.
“You are given one more chance for the match,” announced referee. “But this is it! Now, is everybody ready to continue?”
“READY!” Tom announced without hesitation.
This got attention of quite a few people, even Luc himself. Chester just felt like he was letting go of an invisible boulder that was on his shoulders.
“Okay then.” Referee held his hand up, then checked both side one last time. “On my mark….3,2,1…GO!”
What happened next was unexpected and indescribable. But also very exciting, and something neither of the boys would forget for the rest of their lives. First, the “Shadowbreaker” got nearly grazed while trying to go around the “Executioner,” and it nearly lost control. However, it would not stop, and it kept on moving, using this chance to go around it. But then the “Executioner” suddenly went backwards and pushed the smaller bot into the wall. The crowd gave audible “ouch” when the bot got hit first time. They gave another audible “ouch,” when the “Executioner” managed to turn around and hit a second time, before “Shadowbreaker” could get back up from getting flipped over. And then it was getting ready for a third hit, with everyone braced for the ending. Chester’s mouth was open and Mr. Mouton had closed his eyes. It was about to be finished on in one strike.
But then, before the last hit came, Tom maneuvered his bot and made it fly past the “Executioner.” The “Shadowbreaker” spun itself and made its small frame jump in the air, as the hammer arm dislodged from the stuck position it was in throughout the fight. It then charged right into the “Executioner,” driving its face into the side of the bigger bot, as at last, the hammer fell on it for that second strike.
The speed that the “Executioner” flew and the size of the debris that it made had to be seen to be believed. It was almost impossible to take it seriously, unless you were there yourself. The loud bang, the grey smoke, the sudden quietness of the air, it all happened in an instant.
And though the noise returned not long after, there was nothing empty air everywhere. Then, the referee ended the match right then and there, finally telling Tom that he was disqualified.
Long story short.
That match was incredible.
…
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…
The referee held his hand up to start the countdown.
It was all or nothing.
“3…2…1..Begin!”
The way the match started was best described as disappointing. So much that the whole crowd did not wait even a second to start unenthusiastically booing and cringing at the fight. The bots began their match by ramming into one another, which only showed the size disparity even clearer. The “Shadowbreaker”, Tom’s own bot, was just a small toy that Luc’s own could simply walk over. Only after holding out for a solid minute did the “Shadowbreaker” manage to show some impressiveness for the audience. It was mainly pushing to the side, trying to get out of the grip of the prongs that the bigger bot had, but it was still something. But then, the black bot’s wheels stopped and it tumbled before having its top get slammed against the wall by the awesome force of the bigger enemy bot.
The crowd was audibly winced from that loud damage. “Nice one, Executioner!” someone in the audience yelled.
Chester, meanwhile, glanced towards Tom. Something did not look right to him, when the “Shadowbreaker” simply sat still, and he wanted to check. Once he noticed Tom fiddling with the controls, it slowly became clear. Tom kept pushing every button he had, panicking more and more by the second.
The audience winced loudly again, and the Shadowbreaker slid against the stage’s surface. It was only a grazing, thankfully, but the bigger bot was getting ready to start up again.
“Hey! Stop!” Chester shouted out.
The few people that were behind him reacted, but not the referee. The zebra was further away standing next to Luc, apparently more preoccupied with him than the match. The fact that the two were talking when the match was going on just provoked something in Chester in a way he has yet to have felt in a long time.
“Hey, you with the whistle! Stripehead!!!” Chester yelled at the top of his lungs. “Butt for brains, pay attention!!!”
The room went quieter, allowing for his insults to reach the zebra faster. The referee looked very offended by the words, and readily exclaimed at Chester to return back to his seat. Chester continued to stand on it, for obvious reasons.
“He can’t move!!!” Chester then pointed to Tom.
The referee glanced, then quickly patted on Luc’s shoulder to stop. The match was halted right as the badger’s bot was about to ram at the “Shadowbreaker” the third time. Luc lowered the remote to his “Executioner,” whilst the referee left him. The way that Luc sulked stood out to Chester, though he more so paid attention to Tom and his bot.
Tom was trying to explain anxiously what was going on to the referee, the latter listened attentively. He then reached his pocket and pulled out a package with batteries. He pulled out a two from it, which Tom accepted and promptly disassembled his remote to replace the old ones. When he pressed on it again, the sound of “Shadowbreaker’s” wheels moving were clearly heard. It seemed to have done the trick.
As the referee passed them by, Mr. Mouton got up from his seat and stopped him.
“Can you give me a minute, please?” Mr. Mouton whispered. The zebra looked back at the boy, and nodded, adding that only one minute was allowed.
He then went towards the poor boy and started talking to him. In that short minute, the vice-principal managed to calm Tom to at least making long-deep breaths. By the end, Tom was testing the remote, letting his bot move around freely, free of the hold of fear from before.
Finally, you did something right, Chester thought, watching Mr. Mouton return.
The referee then asked for Tom to check up on his machine, to make sure there would be no malfunctions. He opened the gate to let Tom into the stage. The cat-boy readily went in, giving his “Shadowbreaker” a quick look from all the side. Chester didn’t hear a word he was muttering, but it was plain that Tom wasn’t happy with cuts and bruises that was seen on his machine. Thankfully, the hammer still worked, and so did the movement, meaning he could return back to work. When asked to place the bot in its last position at the end of match before getting out, Tom followed the first order to the letter, but the latter showed his signature hesitation.
“You better not lose this kid,” Chester overheard the vice-principal say. Mr. Mouton had his beak propped by his knuckles, clearly doing the adult thing of trying not to show stress by doing certain motions. Chester knew this one, because of how many times Pierre pointed it out to him before. Jacques was, without a doubt, completely absorbed in this.
This really surprised Chester. In fact, this piqued him, even amazed him in some respects. Did he really wanted Tom to win this, then? Chester was trying to analyze this. Maybe he was trying to play up his good guy behavior. Of course he does, he always tries to suck up to others. Maybe then winning this whole thing would mean a lot to him. But then, for what, to save some cash?
Chester side-eyed the adult, who himself was staring intently at the young cat boy. Or so did he think. In reality, Mr. Mouton was eyeing the remote, with the same concentration that Chester was doing to him.
“It’s time to resume the match,” announced the referee. He checked in on both Luc and Tom, each one giving their own sign of readiness. Luc’s was quick and rapt, while Tom took a second to re-check himself.
The referee raised his hand again. “Both of you, on your guard,” he said, gaining attention of the audience. Once again, the room fell quiet in anticipation. “3,2,1…begin!”
The “Executioner” had made its first move, by slamming right into the side of “Shadowbreaker.” The audience hollered and Tom jumped in shock from seeing the impact, the previous air that the match initially had returning. It was then that Chester realized how fast Luc’s bot was. Even though it was larger than Tom’s own by significant amount, it moved way faster for “Shadowbreaker” to simply outrun.
So much so that that last impact managed to get a hold of Tom’s bot in its pincers again. Its axe arm then promptly fell down, striking into the hammer arm of the “Shadowbreaker.” The sound of whirring wheels were at full force, as the smaller vehicle was trying its hardest to free itself from the grip. Then as if luck itself answered its plea, the bot somehow managed to kick itself off of the ground and remove itself from the pincers. Immediately the bot dash forward, with only a red ribbon getting lost during the escape.
Chester unknowingly stood up from his seat. He would never admit beforehand to in some way be interested in some nerd sport, but this was getting to him like nothing else. Tom’s bot was driving around, moving its hammer arm up and down, showing that despite injury, it was still usable. Meanwhile, the “Executioner” kept trying to turn around and begin its assault. However, while it trumped “Shadowbreaker” in terms of power and speed, it appeared at very least, it lacked in maneuverability. The dark bot was drawing circles around it, not giving a chance for a proper retaliation.
This was going according to plan. The “Shadowbreaker” managed to keep itself within “Executor’s” blind spot, and the hammer arm had finally raised up. Then, with swift movement, it charged ahead hitting right into the rear-wheel. The “Shadowbreaker” nearly flipped forward due to difference in weight. Most of the audience booed, finding the attack underwhelming, but Chester felt like jumping from hype. And then the hammer landed a strike on it once, and he was ready to pump his arm.
Everything went exactly as they planned it to be. Back when he sat with Tom, talking about his plan of action. How he managed to advise him about what the best way to use the hammer and the crystals. How they could possibly manage to win this thing, and the excitement that Tom had when he realized the potential that was opening up to him. And now, Chester felt that same rush in him. This wasn’t just a stupid game anymore, he was ready to see him win. All he needed was the second strike, and Chester was waiting for it.
And the second strike did not come.
The “Executioner” moved around to try to throw off the smaller bot. Despite the easy access, it would not strike again. Soon enough, the “Executioner” freed itself, making the “Shadowbreaker” fly off.
“What is going on!?” Mr. Mouton exclaimed.
Chester’s eyes were wide in shock. The bot just stopped moving. He spun his head to Tom and found the latter literally hitting every button on his control. He was panicking, way harder this time.
“Oh man, here we go!” someone shouted in the audience.
Chester did not see the moment of impact. But he did see the black blur fly across the stage, bits and pieces flying around, as it rolled right into the wall. It landed right below the wall he was standing by. He looked down on it and saw the wheels twitch a little bit. The “Shadowbreaker” was getting ready to move again.
And then the “Executioner” slammed its body into it. Chester nearly fell backwards from the reverb.
“WAIT!” the referee shouted. “I said, WAIT!!!”
There was already some booing, as the match once again was being halted.
“Are you serious?”
“Get this over already?”
“My ass is sore!”
“Why are we dragging this out!?”
Chester got himself up on his feet. Another malfunction, again? Even he found it ridiculous.
He saw the referee ran to Tom with a pack of batteries, looking very anxious himself. The two began quickly checking the remote, with Tom already had it opened. What kind of batteries were they even using?
“Woah, look at this!”
Chester felt the wall near him getting slammed once again. He looked down at the two bots and got met with a very gruesome sight. The “Executioner” prepared its ax, damaging “Shadowbreaker’s” hammer arm.
The referee turned around to see it and started yelling at Luc, though it was far too late. The latter would not listen to him, and tried to hit it a second time. The hit has left the hammer-arm nearly severed, and left a gash in the body of the smaller bot. Every member of the audience cringed away from the sight.
The zebra referee dashed his way to the badger, shouting and insulting the whole time. Only when he finally reached the badger did the latter let go of his remote, looking offensively nonchalant about this.
“And the Bot Killer kills with his Executioner!” said one of the spectators, getting a small amount of applause from the rest of them. This match had a clear answer for most of the audience.
And there was a reason too, as the “Shadowbreaker” looked like it was ready to be sold for scraps. There was no way to get back from this.
Chester’s jaw was hanging from this whole event. He looked at Tom, but the poor dude was devastated. This was the sign of imminent defeat and that he should simply accept it. When he turned to Luc though, the guy just took a bottle of water and drank from it. He was completely apathetic, even while the referee kept yelling at him, even though everyone else was in uproar. He did not care one bit. Hate him or not, he just did what he wanted to, and he was okay with that. This wasn’t some act to try and blend in, to be nice for others just so you could get free piggybacks later. All he did was an honest attack.
And Chester had no idea how to feel about it.
There was a giant storm of noise of everyone jeering, neither of hate or love, from the crowd of audience. They kept on asking for it to be over with. No one cared about prolonging this whole “farce,” where a veteran was taking down a newbie child.
Chester looked around the audience, and suddenly noticed someone missing. Mr. Mouton, the vice-principal who was supposed to look after them, was completely gone. Chester turned left and right, but the darkness of the area around him made it hard for him to see anyone.
He glanced back at Tom again and saw the dark, vacant sign of helplessness in the tubby cat’s eyes. He was barely moving, just sitting down, waiting for the whole thing to be over. Chester could not believe this at all. The boy was crushed, while their vice-principal was completely away. Where was he when they needed him. Chester’s quills became itchy, making the hedgehog anxious over this whole situation. Could this really help with the situation? Chester thought about waiting, but who knew how this would go over. Didn’t he wanted for them to loose anyway? To not even try at this game in the first place?
Chester scratched his quills on his head. At this moment, he began making a decision.
“Tom!” Chester yelled.
The boy would not reply back. There was no other choice.
Chester ran in from his seat and towards the cat. He grabbed his chubby shoulders and then shook him with every force he could until he could get a reaction. All he managed to get was Tom trying to free himself.
“Let me go…” Tom mumbled.
“Tom, look at me!”
The cat did not comply.
“Tom, dude, look at me here!”
They were wet. That was what Chester noticed as soon as Tom looked at him. Cats hated water. And Tom was miserable.
“I…” Tom spoke with shaky lip, “I…lost…”
“Get a grip!”
“I…I can’t…I lost…”
“No, you are not!” Chester shook him, trying to get him to focus. Tom kept pushing him away, but Chester would not let go of him. “You don’t go down without fighting first!”
“Who cares!? What the use?” Tom wailed.
Chester’s quills were getting extra itchy. But he was not going to go down fighting. Not in this place. Not after risking his life against monsters so many times. Not after losing his close ones, after making too many mistakes that cost the happiness of those he cared about.
“The use is that you try!” Chester exclaimed right into the cat’s face. “You gotta keep at it! You don’t throw your hands down, now! C’mon, you dealt with worse things, haven’t you?”
Tom wouldn’t answer.
Suddenly, a door was slammed open from afar. A figure ran in through the darkness, whose bright feathers nearly stunned Chester as they lunged towards the remote. Mr. Mouton fiddled with it, until he managed to get a new pair of batteries into it.
After a pause and some prayer said under breath, Mr. Mouton pushed every button on the remote, until finally, the car moved. It was beaten and battered, but miraculously, it moved and kept on moving.
“Oh god…” Mr. Mouton sighed and wiped his sweaty head with his bare hand. He checked around, then immediately headed to where the referee was, leaving remote at the behest of two boys.
Chester was in complete awe, even as he was reaching for the remote. The way this whole thing went just did not seem to leave him in but in constant state of disorientation. But for Chester, there was something important in his mind, which also happened to be in his hand.
“See, the thing is still working!” he said cheerfully. “You can get back at it again!”
“But the hammer…” Tom mumbled. He pointed to the arm mechanism which stopped working, unable to move itself anymore.
“That doesn’t change anything!” Chester retorted, then started to fiddle with it to move the “Shadowbreaker.” It was hobbling like crazy, and with that dented arm, looked like a piece of scrap-metal. And yet, to Chester, this was not a problem. “Remember what we said? You just need to make on more good hit. Just don’t do it forward this time, you know what I mean?” Chester said, before winking.
Tom looked up at him, still unsure over this. However, he reached to grab the remote anyways, and after brushing himself off, returned back to his position.
Chester ran up towards the referee then, as fast as he could. Mr. Mouton was still busy talking with him, his eyebrow feathers crossing themselves into a pair of daggers, only to be interrupted by Chester yelling,
“We can continue!”
He pointed to the stage. The referee saw the still working “Shadowbreaker”, and with a brief pause, stated that they can continue it one more time.
“That should make it up for you giving him faulty batteries,” said Mr. Mouton, before making his way back to the audience seat of his.
Chester raised his brow. He promptly followed suit and soon the two were in their original place, whereas the referee quelled the din down. There was one last glance he stole of Luc, also, the badger rolling his eyes at the whole thing.
“I’m surprised by how well you looked after Tom,” Mr. Mouton suddenly said.
Chester just looked at him, and retorted with, “I am surprised that you actually bought new batteries from that gas station. You got yourself all stinky.”
“Surprised I am myself.” Mouton smiled at himself proudly. “I mean, I was also ready for you to sabotage me, but then again, maybe I overreacted.”
Chester kept himself still. Best reaction too, lest Mr. Mouton would see his wide-eyed expression. Was he really that wrong the whole time?
The referee announced that continuation of the match, before saying that both bots should go to their original starting positions. On one side, was “Shadowbreaker,” with chipped paint, hobbling wheels, broken hammer arm that wouldn’t go higher than an inch off the ground. And of course, Tom, standing behind the controls and shaking in his place. On the other side, the “Executioner,” with barely a scratch on it, and Luc, showing nothing else than pure, unadulterated irreverence. Chester realized then exactly what Tom was fighting against. Not just the man who saw this as nothing more than a game, nothing but a way for him to show off his dominance over a smaller child. But also of everyone was jeering towards him.
They were all asking for the whole thing to be over. To let the poor kid go home and cry to his mommy. TO le him play video games in his backwards country town, instead of staying here and waste everyone’s time. Tom was shaking, more visibly than ever. If he could, he would definitely say he was giving up, but was too frozen to do anything.
Chester, looking back at the audience as if it was his enemy, came to one conclusion. He got up on his chair, gaining an odd look from Mr. Mouton, with all the might in him, shouted,
“You can do it! Kick his butt! We believe in you!”
Tom turned his head towards him.
“Shadowbreaker! Shadowbreaker! Shadowbreaker!” Chester kept chanting, even as the audience members kept telling him to calm down.
Tom glanced down at his remote, and after fiddling with it, back up at Chester, and then to Shadowbreaker. It was broken, busted and bent. And yet, it was still responding to him. There was still a chance for him. And he still had a reason to do it. For her. Tom bit on both of his lips, and gripped his remote as hard as he could. His eyes were now narrow, the fire burning in them like no other. It was time to show a miracle.
“You are given one more chance for the match,” announced referee. “But this is it! Now, is everybody ready to continue?”
“READY!” Tom announced without hesitation.
This got attention of quite a few people, even Luc himself. Chester just felt like he was letting go of an invisible boulder that was on his shoulders.
“Okay then.” Referee held his hand up, then checked both side one last time. “On my mark….3,2,1…GO!”
What happened next was unexpected and indescribable. But also very exciting, and something neither of the boys would forget for the rest of their lives. First, the “Shadowbreaker” got nearly grazed while trying to go around the “Executioner,” and it nearly lost control. However, it would not stop, and it kept on moving, using this chance to go around it. But then the “Executioner” suddenly went backwards and pushed the smaller bot into the wall. The crowd gave audible “ouch” when the bot got hit first time. They gave another audible “ouch,” when the “Executioner” managed to turn around and hit a second time, before “Shadowbreaker” could get back up from getting flipped over. And then it was getting ready for a third hit, with everyone braced for the ending. Chester’s mouth was open and Mr. Mouton had closed his eyes. It was about to be finished on in one strike.
But then, before the last hit came, Tom maneuvered his bot and made it fly past the “Executioner.” The “Shadowbreaker” spun itself and made its small frame jump in the air, as the hammer arm dislodged from the stuck position it was in throughout the fight. It then charged right into the “Executioner,” driving its face into the side of the bigger bot, as at last, the hammer fell on it for that second strike.
The speed that the “Executioner” flew and the size of the debris that it made had to be seen to be believed. It was almost impossible to take it seriously, unless you were there yourself. The loud bang, the grey smoke, the sudden quietness of the air, it all happened in an instant.
And though the noise returned not long after, there was nothing empty air everywhere. Then, the referee ended the match right then and there, finally telling Tom that he was disqualified.
Long story short.
That match was incredible.
…
…
The referee held his hand up to start the countdown.
It was all or nothing.
“3…2…1..Begin!”
The way the match started was best described as disappointing. So much that the whole crowd did not wait even a second to start unenthusiastically booing and cringing at the fight. The bots began their match by ramming into one another, which only showed the size disparity even clearer. The “Shadowbreaker”, Tom’s own bot, was just a small toy that Luc’s own could simply walk over. Only after holding out for a solid minute did the “Shadowbreaker” manage to show some impressiveness for the audience. It was mainly pushing to the side, trying to get out of the grip of the prongs that the bigger bot had, but it was still something. But then, the black bot’s wheels stopped and it tumbled before having its top get slammed against the wall by the awesome force of the bigger enemy bot.
The crowd was audibly winced from that loud damage. “Nice one, Executioner!” someone in the audience yelled.
Chester, meanwhile, glanced towards Tom. Something did not look right to him, when the “Shadowbreaker” simply sat still, and he wanted to check. Once he noticed Tom fiddling with the controls, it slowly became clear. Tom kept pushing every button he had, panicking more and more by the second.
The audience winced loudly again, and the Shadowbreaker slid against the stage’s surface. It was only a grazing, thankfully, but the bigger bot was getting ready to start up again.
“Hey! Stop!” Chester shouted out.
The few people that were behind him reacted, but not the referee. The zebra was further away standing next to Luc, apparently more preoccupied with him than the match. The fact that the two were talking when the match was going on just provoked something in Chester in a way he has yet to have felt in a long time.
“Hey, you with the whistle! Stripehead!!!” Chester yelled at the top of his lungs. “Butt for brains, pay attention!!!”
The room went quieter, allowing for his insults to reach the zebra faster. The referee looked very offended by the words, and readily exclaimed at Chester to return back to his seat. Chester continued to stand on it, for obvious reasons.
“He can’t move!!!” Chester then pointed to Tom.
The referee glanced, then quickly patted on Luc’s shoulder to stop. The match was halted right as the badger’s bot was about to ram at the “Shadowbreaker” the third time. Luc lowered the remote to his “Executioner,” whilst the referee left him. The way that Luc sulked stood out to Chester, though he more so paid attention to Tom and his bot.
Tom was trying to explain anxiously what was going on to the referee, the latter listened attentively. He then reached his pocket and pulled out a package with batteries. He pulled out a two from it, which Tom accepted and promptly disassembled his remote to replace the old ones. When he pressed on it again, the sound of “Shadowbreaker’s” wheels moving were clearly heard. It seemed to have done the trick.
As the referee passed them by, Mr. Mouton got up from his seat and stopped him.
“Can you give me a minute, please?” Mr. Mouton whispered. The zebra looked back at the boy, and nodded, adding that only one minute was allowed.
He then went towards the poor boy and started talking to him. In that short minute, the vice-principal managed to calm Tom to at least making long-deep breaths. By the end, Tom was testing the remote, letting his bot move around freely, free of the hold of fear from before.
Finally, you did something right, Chester thought, watching Mr. Mouton return.
The referee then asked for Tom to check up on his machine, to make sure there would be no malfunctions. He opened the gate to let Tom into the stage. The cat-boy readily went in, giving his “Shadowbreaker” a quick look from all the side. Chester didn’t hear a word he was muttering, but it was plain that Tom wasn’t happy with cuts and bruises that was seen on his machine. Thankfully, the hammer still worked, and so did the movement, meaning he could return back to work. When asked to place the bot in its last position at the end of match before getting out, Tom followed the first order to the letter, but the latter showed his signature hesitation.
“You better not lose this kid,” Chester overheard the vice-principal say. Mr. Mouton had his beak propped by his knuckles, clearly doing the adult thing of trying not to show stress by doing certain motions. Chester knew this one, because of how many times Pierre pointed it out to him before. Jacques was, without a doubt, completely absorbed in this.
This really surprised Chester. In fact, this piqued him, even amazed him in some respects. Did he really wanted Tom to win this, then? Chester was trying to analyze this. Maybe he was trying to play up his good guy behavior. Of course he does, he always tries to suck up to others. Maybe then winning this whole thing would mean a lot to him. But then, for what, to save some cash?
Chester side-eyed the adult, who himself was staring intently at the young cat boy. Or so did he think. In reality, Mr. Mouton was eyeing the remote, with the same concentration that Chester was doing to him.
“It’s time to resume the match,” announced the referee. He checked in on both Luc and Tom, each one giving their own sign of readiness. Luc’s was quick and rapt, while Tom took a second to re-check himself.
The referee raised his hand again. “Both of you, on your guard,” he said, gaining attention of the audience. Once again, the room fell quiet in anticipation. “3,2,1…begin!”
The “Executioner” had made its first move, by slamming right into the side of “Shadowbreaker.” The audience hollered and Tom jumped in shock from seeing the impact, the previous air that the match initially had returning. It was then that Chester realized how fast Luc’s bot was. Even though it was larger than Tom’s own by significant amount, it moved way faster for “Shadowbreaker” to simply outrun.
So much so that that last impact managed to get a hold of Tom’s bot in its pincers again. Its axe arm then promptly fell down, striking into the hammer arm of the “Shadowbreaker.” The sound of whirring wheels were at full force, as the smaller vehicle was trying its hardest to free itself from the grip. Then as if luck itself answered its plea, the bot somehow managed to kick itself off of the ground and remove itself from the pincers. Immediately the bot dash forward, with only a red ribbon getting lost during the escape.
Chester unknowingly stood up from his seat. He would never admit beforehand to in some way be interested in some nerd sport, but this was getting to him like nothing else. Tom’s bot was driving around, moving its hammer arm up and down, showing that despite injury, it was still usable. Meanwhile, the “Executioner” kept trying to turn around and begin its assault. However, while it trumped “Shadowbreaker” in terms of power and speed, it appeared at very least, it lacked in maneuverability. The dark bot was drawing circles around it, not giving a chance for a proper retaliation.
This was going according to plan. The “Shadowbreaker” managed to keep itself within “Executor’s” blind spot, and the hammer arm had finally raised up. Then, with swift movement, it charged ahead hitting right into the rear-wheel. The “Shadowbreaker” nearly flipped forward due to difference in weight. Most of the audience booed, finding the attack underwhelming, but Chester felt like jumping from hype. And then the hammer landed a strike on it once, and he was ready to pump his arm.
Everything went exactly as they planned it to be. Back when he sat with Tom, talking about his plan of action. How he managed to advise him about what the best way to use the hammer and the crystals. How they could possibly manage to win this thing, and the excitement that Tom had when he realized the potential that was opening up to him. And now, Chester felt that same rush in him. This wasn’t just a stupid game anymore, he was ready to see him win. All he needed was the second strike, and Chester was waiting for it.
And the second strike did not come.
The “Executioner” moved around to try to throw off the smaller bot. Despite the easy access, it would not strike again. Soon enough, the “Executioner” freed itself, making the “Shadowbreaker” fly off.
“What is going on!?” Mr. Mouton exclaimed.
Chester’s eyes were wide in shock. The bot just stopped moving. He spun his head to Tom and found the latter literally hitting every button on his control. He was panicking, way harder this time.
“Oh man, here we go!” someone shouted in the audience.
Chester did not see the moment of impact. But he did see the black blur fly across the stage, bits and pieces flying around, as it rolled right into the wall. It landed right below the wall he was standing by. He looked down on it and saw the wheels twitch a little bit. The “Shadowbreaker” was getting ready to move again.
And then the “Executioner” slammed its body into it. Chester nearly fell backwards from the reverb.
“WAIT!” the referee shouted. “I said, WAIT!!!”
There was already some booing, as the match once again was being halted.
“Are you serious?”
“Get this over already?”
“My ass is sore!”
“Why are we dragging this out!?”
Chester got himself up on his feet. Another malfunction, again? Even he found it ridiculous.
He saw the referee ran to Tom with a pack of batteries, looking very anxious himself. The two began quickly checking the remote, with Tom already had it opened. What kind of batteries were they even using?
“Woah, look at this!”
Chester felt the wall near him getting slammed once again. He looked down at the two bots and got met with a very gruesome sight. The “Executioner” prepared its ax, damaging “Shadowbreaker’s” hammer arm.
The referee turned around to see it and started yelling at Luc, though it was far too late. The latter would not listen to him, and tried to hit it a second time. The hit has left the hammer-arm nearly severed, and left a gash in the body of the smaller bot. Every member of the audience cringed away from the sight.
The zebra referee dashed his way to the badger, shouting and insulting the whole time. Only when he finally reached the badger did the latter let go of his remote, looking offensively nonchalant about this.
“And the Bot Killer kills with his Executioner!” said one of the spectators, getting a small amount of applause from the rest of them. This match had a clear answer for most of the audience.
And there was a reason too, as the “Shadowbreaker” looked like it was ready to be sold for scraps. There was no way to get back from this.
Chester’s jaw was hanging from this whole event. He looked at Tom, but the poor dude was devastated. This was the sign of imminent defeat and that he should simply accept it. When he turned to Luc though, the guy just took a bottle of water and drank from it. He was completely apathetic, even while the referee kept yelling at him, even though everyone else was in uproar. He did not care one bit. Hate him or not, he just did what he wanted to, and he was okay with that. This wasn’t some act to try and blend in, to be nice for others just so you could get free piggybacks later. All he did was an honest attack.
And Chester had no idea how to feel about it.
There was a giant storm of noise of everyone jeering, neither of hate or love, from the crowd of audience. They kept on asking for it to be over with. No one cared about prolonging this whole “farce,” where a veteran was taking down a newbie child.
Chester looked around the audience, and suddenly noticed someone missing. Mr. Mouton, the vice-principal who was supposed to look after them, was completely gone. Chester turned left and right, but the darkness of the area around him made it hard for him to see anyone.
He glanced back at Tom again and saw the dark, vacant sign of helplessness in the tubby cat’s eyes. He was barely moving, just sitting down, waiting for the whole thing to be over. Chester could not believe this at all. The boy was crushed, while their vice-principal was completely away. Where was he when they needed him. Chester’s quills became itchy, making the hedgehog anxious over this whole situation. Could this really help with the situation? Chester thought about waiting, but who knew how this would go over. Didn’t he wanted for them to loose anyway? To not even try at this game in the first place?
Chester scratched his quills on his head. At this moment, he began making a decision.
“Tom!” Chester yelled.
The boy would not reply back. There was no other choice.
Chester ran in from his seat and towards the cat. He grabbed his chubby shoulders and then shook him with every force he could until he could get a reaction. All he managed to get was Tom trying to free himself.
“Let me go…” Tom mumbled.
“Tom, look at me!”
The cat did not comply.
“Tom, dude, look at me here!”
They were wet. That was what Chester noticed as soon as Tom looked at him. Cats hated water. And Tom was miserable.
“I…” Tom spoke with shaky lip, “I…lost…”
“Get a grip!”
“I…I can’t…I lost…”
“No, you are not!” Chester shook him, trying to get him to focus. Tom kept pushing him away, but Chester would not let go of him. “You don’t go down without fighting first!”
“Who cares!? What the use?” Tom wailed.
Chester’s quills were getting extra itchy. But he was not going to go down fighting. Not in this place. Not after risking his life against monsters so many times. Not after losing his close ones, after making too many mistakes that cost the happiness of those he cared about.
“The use is that you try!” Chester exclaimed right into the cat’s face. “You gotta keep at it! You don’t throw your hands down, now! C’mon, you dealt with worse things, haven’t you?”
Tom wouldn’t answer.
Suddenly, a door was slammed open from afar. A figure ran in through the darkness, whose bright feathers nearly stunned Chester as they lunged towards the remote. Mr. Mouton fiddled with it, until he managed to get a new pair of batteries into it.
After a pause and some prayer said under breath, Mr. Mouton pushed every button on the remote, until finally, the car moved. It was beaten and battered, but miraculously, it moved and kept on moving.
“Oh god…” Mr. Mouton sighed and wiped his sweaty head with his bare hand. He checked around, then immediately headed to where the referee was, leaving remote at the behest of two boys.
Chester was in complete awe, even as he was reaching for the remote. The way this whole thing went just did not seem to leave him in but in constant state of disorientation. But for Chester, there was something important in his mind, which also happened to be in his hand.
“See, the thing is still working!” he said cheerfully. “You can get back at it again!”
“But the hammer…” Tom mumbled. He pointed to the arm mechanism which stopped working, unable to move itself anymore.
“That doesn’t change anything!” Chester retorted, then started to fiddle with it to move the “Shadowbreaker.” It was hobbling like crazy, and with that dented arm, looked like a piece of scrap-metal. And yet, to Chester, this was not a problem. “Remember what we said? You just need to make on more good hit. Just don’t do it forward this time, you know what I mean?” Chester said, before winking.
Tom looked up at him, still unsure over this. However, he reached to grab the remote anyways, and after brushing himself off, returned back to his position.
Chester ran up towards the referee then, as fast as he could. Mr. Mouton was still busy talking with him, his eyebrow feathers crossing themselves into a pair of daggers, only to be interrupted by Chester yelling,
“We can continue!”
He pointed to the stage. The referee saw the still working “Shadowbreaker”, and with a brief pause, stated that they can continue it one more time.
“That should make it up for you giving him faulty batteries,” said Mr. Mouton, before making his way back to the audience seat of his.
Chester raised his brow. He promptly followed suit and soon the two were in their original place, whereas the referee quelled the din down. There was one last glance he stole of Luc, also, the badger rolling his eyes at the whole thing.
“I’m surprised by how well you looked after Tom,” Mr. Mouton suddenly said.
Chester just looked at him, and retorted with, “I am surprised that you actually bought new batteries from that gas station. You got yourself all stinky.”
“Surprised I am myself.” Mouton smiled at himself proudly. “I mean, I was also ready for you to sabotage me, but then again, maybe I overreacted.”
Chester kept himself still. Best reaction too, lest Mr. Mouton would see his wide-eyed expression. Was he really that wrong the whole time?
The referee announced that continuation of the match, before saying that both bots should go to their original starting positions. On one side, was “Shadowbreaker,” with chipped paint, hobbling wheels, broken hammer arm that wouldn’t go higher than an inch off the ground. And of course, Tom, standing behind the controls and shaking in his place. On the other side, the “Executioner,” with barely a scratch on it, and Luc, showing nothing else than pure, unadulterated irreverence. Chester realized then exactly what Tom was fighting against. Not just the man who saw this as nothing more than a game, nothing but a way for him to show off his dominance over a smaller child. But also of everyone was jeering towards him.
They were all asking for the whole thing to be over. To let the poor kid go home and cry to his mommy. TO le him play video games in his backwards country town, instead of staying here and waste everyone’s time. Tom was shaking, more visibly than ever. If he could, he would definitely say he was giving up, but was too frozen to do anything.
Chester, looking back at the audience as if it was his enemy, came to one conclusion. He got up on his chair, gaining an odd look from Mr. Mouton, with all the might in him, shouted,
“You can do it! Kick his butt! We believe in you!”
Tom turned his head towards him.
“Shadowbreaker! Shadowbreaker! Shadowbreaker!” Chester kept chanting, even as the audience members kept telling him to calm down.
Tom glanced down at his remote, and after fiddling with it, back up at Chester, and then to Shadowbreaker. It was broken, busted and bent. And yet, it was still responding to him. There was still a chance for him. And he still had a reason to do it. For her. Tom bit on both of his lips, and gripped his remote as hard as he could. His eyes were now narrow, the fire burning in them like no other. It was time to show a miracle.
“You are given one more chance for the match,” announced referee. “But this is it! Now, is everybody ready to continue?”
“READY!” Tom announced without hesitation.
This got attention of quite a few people, even Luc himself. Chester just felt like he was letting go of an invisible boulder that was on his shoulders.
“Okay then.” Referee held his hand up, then checked both side one last time. “On my mark….3,2,1…GO!”
What happened next was unexpected and indescribable. But also very exciting, and something neither of the boys would forget for the rest of their lives. First, the “Shadowbreaker” got nearly grazed while trying to go around the “Executioner,” and it nearly lost control. However, it would not stop, and it kept on moving, using this chance to go around it. But then the “Executioner” suddenly went backwards and pushed the smaller bot into the wall. The crowd gave audible “ouch” when the bot got hit first time. They gave another audible “ouch,” when the “Executioner” managed to turn around and hit a second time, before “Shadowbreaker” could get back up from getting flipped over. And then it was getting ready for a third hit, with everyone braced for the ending. Chester’s mouth was open and Mr. Mouton had closed his eyes. It was about to be finished on in one strike.
But then, before the last hit came, Tom maneuvered his bot and made it fly past the “Executioner.” The “Shadowbreaker” spun itself and made its small frame jump in the air, as the hammer arm dislodged from the stuck position it was in throughout the fight. It then charged right into the “Executioner,” driving its face into the side of the bigger bot, as at last, the hammer fell on it for that second strike.
The speed that the “Executioner” flew and the size of the debris that it made had to be seen to be believed. It was almost impossible to take it seriously, unless you were there yourself. The loud bang, the grey smoke, the sudden quietness of the air, it all happened in an instant.
And though the noise returned not long after, there was nothing empty air everywhere. Then, the referee ended the match right then and there, finally telling Tom that he was disqualified.
Long story short.
That match was incredible.
…
The referee held his hand up to start the countdown.
It was all or nothing.
“3…2…1..Begin!”
The way the match started was best described as disappointing. So much that the whole crowd did not wait even a second to start unenthusiastically booing and cringing at the fight. The bots began their match by ramming into one another, which only showed the size disparity even clearer. The “Shadowbreaker”, Tom’s own bot, was just a small toy that Luc’s own could simply walk over. Only after holding out for a solid minute did the “Shadowbreaker” manage to show some impressiveness for the audience. It was mainly pushing to the side, trying to get out of the grip of the prongs that the bigger bot had, but it was still something. But then, the black bot’s wheels stopped and it tumbled before having its top get slammed against the wall by the awesome force of the bigger enemy bot.
The crowd was audibly winced from that loud damage. “Nice one, Executioner!” someone in the audience yelled.
Chester, meanwhile, glanced towards Tom. Something did not look right to him, when the “Shadowbreaker” simply sat still, and he wanted to check. Once he noticed Tom fiddling with the controls, it slowly became clear. Tom kept pushing every button he had, panicking more and more by the second.
The audience winced loudly again, and the Shadowbreaker slid against the stage’s surface. It was only a grazing, thankfully, but the bigger bot was getting ready to start up again.
“Hey! Stop!” Chester shouted out.
The few people that were behind him reacted, but not the referee. The zebra was further away standing next to Luc, apparently more preoccupied with him than the match. The fact that the two were talking when the match was going on just provoked something in Chester in a way he has yet to have felt in a long time.
“Hey, you with the whistle! Stripehead!!!” Chester yelled at the top of his lungs. “Butt for brains, pay attention!!!”
The room went quieter, allowing for his insults to reach the zebra faster. The referee looked very offended by the words, and readily exclaimed at Chester to return back to his seat. Chester continued to stand on it, for obvious reasons.
“He can’t move!!!” Chester then pointed to Tom.
The referee glanced, then quickly patted on Luc’s shoulder to stop. The match was halted right as the badger’s bot was about to ram at the “Shadowbreaker” the third time. Luc lowered the remote to his “Executioner,” whilst the referee left him. The way that Luc sulked stood out to Chester, though he more so paid attention to Tom and his bot.
Tom was trying to explain anxiously what was going on to the referee, the latter listened attentively. He then reached his pocket and pulled out a package with batteries. He pulled out a two from it, which Tom accepted and promptly disassembled his remote to replace the old ones. When he pressed on it again, the sound of “Shadowbreaker’s” wheels moving were clearly heard. It seemed to have done the trick.
As the referee passed them by, Mr. Mouton got up from his seat and stopped him.
“Can you give me a minute, please?” Mr. Mouton whispered. The zebra looked back at the boy, and nodded, adding that only one minute was allowed.
He then went towards the poor boy and started talking to him. In that short minute, the vice-principal managed to calm Tom to at least making long-deep breaths. By the end, Tom was testing the remote, letting his bot move around freely, free of the hold of fear from before.
Finally, you did something right, Chester thought, watching Mr. Mouton return.
The referee then asked for Tom to check up on his machine, to make sure there would be no malfunctions. He opened the gate to let Tom into the stage. The cat-boy readily went in, giving his “Shadowbreaker” a quick look from all the side. Chester didn’t hear a word he was muttering, but it was plain that Tom wasn’t happy with cuts and bruises that was seen on his machine. Thankfully, the hammer still worked, and so did the movement, meaning he could return back to work. When asked to place the bot in its last position at the end of match before getting out, Tom followed the first order to the letter, but the latter showed his signature hesitation.
“You better not lose this kid,” Chester overheard the vice-principal say. Mr. Mouton had his beak propped by his knuckles, clearly doing the adult thing of trying not to show stress by doing certain motions. Chester knew this one, because of how many times Pierre pointed it out to him before. Jacques was, without a doubt, completely absorbed in this.
This really surprised Chester. In fact, this piqued him, even amazed him in some respects. Did he really wanted Tom to win this, then? Chester was trying to analyze this. Maybe he was trying to play up his good guy behavior. Of course he does, he always tries to suck up to others. Maybe then winning this whole thing would mean a lot to him. But then, for what, to save some cash?
Chester side-eyed the adult, who himself was staring intently at the young cat boy. Or so did he think. In reality, Mr. Mouton was eyeing the remote, with the same concentration that Chester was doing to him.
“It’s time to resume the match,” announced the referee. He checked in on both Luc and Tom, each one giving their own sign of readiness. Luc’s was quick and rapt, while Tom took a second to re-check himself.
The referee raised his hand again. “Both of you, on your guard,” he said, gaining attention of the audience. Once again, the room fell quiet in anticipation. “3,2,1…begin!”
The “Executioner” had made its first move, by slamming right into the side of “Shadowbreaker.” The audience hollered and Tom jumped in shock from seeing the impact, the previous air that the match initially had returning. It was then that Chester realized how fast Luc’s bot was. Even though it was larger than Tom’s own by significant amount, it moved way faster for “Shadowbreaker” to simply outrun.
So much so that that last impact managed to get a hold of Tom’s bot in its pincers again. Its axe arm then promptly fell down, striking into the hammer arm of the “Shadowbreaker.” The sound of whirring wheels were at full force, as the smaller vehicle was trying its hardest to free itself from the grip. Then as if luck itself answered its plea, the bot somehow managed to kick itself off of the ground and remove itself from the pincers. Immediately the bot dash forward, with only a red ribbon getting lost during the escape.
Chester unknowingly stood up from his seat. He would never admit beforehand to in some way be interested in some nerd sport, but this was getting to him like nothing else. Tom’s bot was driving around, moving its hammer arm up and down, showing that despite injury, it was still usable. Meanwhile, the “Executioner” kept trying to turn around and begin its assault. However, while it trumped “Shadowbreaker” in terms of power and speed, it appeared at very least, it lacked in maneuverability. The dark bot was drawing circles around it, not giving a chance for a proper retaliation.
This was going according to plan. The “Shadowbreaker” managed to keep itself within “Executor’s” blind spot, and the hammer arm had finally raised up. Then, with swift movement, it charged ahead hitting right into the rear-wheel. The “Shadowbreaker” nearly flipped forward due to difference in weight. Most of the audience booed, finding the attack underwhelming, but Chester felt like jumping from hype. And then the hammer landed a strike on it once, and he was ready to pump his arm.
Everything went exactly as they planned it to be. Back when he sat with Tom, talking about his plan of action. How he managed to advise him about what the best way to use the hammer and the crystals. How they could possibly manage to win this thing, and the excitement that Tom had when he realized the potential that was opening up to him. And now, Chester felt that same rush in him. This wasn’t just a stupid game anymore, he was ready to see him win. All he needed was the second strike, and Chester was waiting for it.
And the second strike did not come.
The “Executioner” moved around to try to throw off the smaller bot. Despite the easy access, it would not strike again. Soon enough, the “Executioner” freed itself, making the “Shadowbreaker” fly off.
“What is going on!?” Mr. Mouton exclaimed.
Chester’s eyes were wide in shock. The bot just stopped moving. He spun his head to Tom and found the latter literally hitting every button on his control. He was panicking, way harder this time.
“Oh man, here we go!” someone shouted in the audience.
Chester did not see the moment of impact. But he did see the black blur fly across the stage, bits and pieces flying around, as it rolled right into the wall. It landed right below the wall he was standing by. He looked down on it and saw the wheels twitch a little bit. The “Shadowbreaker” was getting ready to move again.
And then the “Executioner” slammed its body into it. Chester nearly fell backwards from the reverb.
“WAIT!” the referee shouted. “I said, WAIT!!!”
There was already some booing, as the match once again was being halted.
“Are you serious?”
“Get this over already?”
“My ass is sore!”
“Why are we dragging this out!?”
Chester got himself up on his feet. Another malfunction, again? Even he found it ridiculous.
He saw the referee ran to Tom with a pack of batteries, looking very anxious himself. The two began quickly checking the remote, with Tom already had it opened. What kind of batteries were they even using?
“Woah, look at this!”
Chester felt the wall near him getting slammed once again. He looked down at the two bots and got met with a very gruesome sight. The “Executioner” prepared its ax, damaging “Shadowbreaker’s” hammer arm.
The referee turned around to see it and started yelling at Luc, though it was far too late. The latter would not listen to him, and tried to hit it a second time. The hit has left the hammer-arm nearly severed, and left a gash in the body of the smaller bot. Every member of the audience cringed away from the sight.
The zebra referee dashed his way to the badger, shouting and insulting the whole time. Only when he finally reached the badger did the latter let go of his remote, looking offensively nonchalant about this.
“And the Bot Killer kills with his Executioner!” said one of the spectators, getting a small amount of applause from the rest of them. This match had a clear answer for most of the audience.
And there was a reason too, as the “Shadowbreaker” looked like it was ready to be sold for scraps. There was no way to get back from this.
Chester’s jaw was hanging from this whole event. He looked at Tom, but the poor dude was devastated. This was the sign of imminent defeat and that he should simply accept it. When he turned to Luc though, the guy just took a bottle of water and drank from it. He was completely apathetic, even while the referee kept yelling at him, even though everyone else was in uproar. He did not care one bit. Hate him or not, he just did what he wanted to, and he was okay with that. This wasn’t some act to try and blend in, to be nice for others just so you could get free piggybacks later. All he did was an honest attack.
And Chester had no idea how to feel about it.
There was a giant storm of noise of everyone jeering, neither of hate or love, from the crowd of audience. They kept on asking for it to be over with. No one cared about prolonging this whole “farce,” where a veteran was taking down a newbie child.
Chester looked around the audience, and suddenly noticed someone missing. Mr. Mouton, the vice-principal who was supposed to look after them, was completely gone. Chester turned left and right, but the darkness of the area around him made it hard for him to see anyone.
He glanced back at Tom again and saw the dark, vacant sign of helplessness in the tubby cat’s eyes. He was barely moving, just sitting down, waiting for the whole thing to be over. Chester could not believe this at all. The boy was crushed, while their vice-principal was completely away. Where was he when they needed him. Chester’s quills became itchy, making the hedgehog anxious over this whole situation. Could this really help with the situation? Chester thought about waiting, but who knew how this would go over. Didn’t he wanted for them to loose anyway? To not even try at this game in the first place?
Chester scratched his quills on his head. At this moment, he began making a decision.
“Tom!” Chester yelled.
The boy would not reply back. There was no other choice.
Chester ran in from his seat and towards the cat. He grabbed his chubby shoulders and then shook him with every force he could until he could get a reaction. All he managed to get was Tom trying to free himself.
“Let me go…” Tom mumbled.
“Tom, look at me!”
The cat did not comply.
“Tom, dude, look at me here!”
They were wet. That was what Chester noticed as soon as Tom looked at him. Cats hated water. And Tom was miserable.
“I…” Tom spoke with shaky lip, “I…lost…”
“Get a grip!”
“I…I can’t…I lost…”
“No, you are not!” Chester shook him, trying to get him to focus. Tom kept pushing him away, but Chester would not let go of him. “You don’t go down without fighting first!”
“Who cares!? What the use?” Tom wailed.
Chester’s quills were getting extra itchy. But he was not going to go down fighting. Not in this place. Not after risking his life against monsters so many times. Not after losing his close ones, after making too many mistakes that cost the happiness of those he cared about.
“The use is that you try!” Chester exclaimed right into the cat’s face. “You gotta keep at it! You don’t throw your hands down, now! C’mon, you dealt with worse things, haven’t you?”
Tom wouldn’t answer.
Suddenly, a door was slammed open from afar. A figure ran in through the darkness, whose bright feathers nearly stunned Chester as they lunged towards the remote. Mr. Mouton fiddled with it, until he managed to get a new pair of batteries into it.
After a pause and some prayer said under breath, Mr. Mouton pushed every button on the remote, until finally, the car moved. It was beaten and battered, but miraculously, it moved and kept on moving.
“Oh god…” Mr. Mouton sighed and wiped his sweaty head with his bare hand. He checked around, then immediately headed to where the referee was, leaving remote at the behest of two boys.
Chester was in complete awe, even as he was reaching for the remote. The way this whole thing went just did not seem to leave him in but in constant state of disorientation. But for Chester, there was something important in his mind, which also happened to be in his hand.
“See, the thing is still working!” he said cheerfully. “You can get back at it again!”
“But the hammer…” Tom mumbled. He pointed to the arm mechanism which stopped working, unable to move itself anymore.
“That doesn’t change anything!” Chester retorted, then started to fiddle with it to move the “Shadowbreaker.” It was hobbling like crazy, and with that dented arm, looked like a piece of scrap-metal. And yet, to Chester, this was not a problem. “Remember what we said? You just need to make on more good hit. Just don’t do it forward this time, you know what I mean?” Chester said, before winking.
Tom looked up at him, still unsure over this. However, he reached to grab the remote anyways, and after brushing himself off, returned back to his position.
Chester ran up towards the referee then, as fast as he could. Mr. Mouton was still busy talking with him, his eyebrow feathers crossing themselves into a pair of daggers, only to be interrupted by Chester yelling,
“We can continue!”
He pointed to the stage. The referee saw the still working “Shadowbreaker”, and with a brief pause, stated that they can continue it one more time.
“That should make it up for you giving him faulty batteries,” said Mr. Mouton, before making his way back to the audience seat of his.
Chester raised his brow. He promptly followed suit and soon the two were in their original place, whereas the referee quelled the din down. There was one last glance he stole of Luc, also, the badger rolling his eyes at the whole thing.
“I’m surprised by how well you looked after Tom,” Mr. Mouton suddenly said.
Chester just looked at him, and retorted with, “I am surprised that you actually bought new batteries from that gas station. You got yourself all stinky.”
“Surprised I am myself.” Mouton smiled at himself proudly. “I mean, I was also ready for you to sabotage me, but then again, maybe I overreacted.”
Chester kept himself still. Best reaction too, lest Mr. Mouton would see his wide-eyed expression. Was he really that wrong the whole time?
The referee announced that continuation of the match, before saying that both bots should go to their original starting positions. On one side, was “Shadowbreaker,” with chipped paint, hobbling wheels, broken hammer arm that wouldn’t go higher than an inch off the ground. And of course, Tom, standing behind the controls and shaking in his place. On the other side, the “Executioner,” with barely a scratch on it, and Luc, showing nothing else than pure, unadulterated irreverence. Chester realized then exactly what Tom was fighting against. Not just the man who saw this as nothing more than a game, nothing but a way for him to show off his dominance over a smaller child. But also of everyone was jeering towards him.
They were all asking for the whole thing to be over. To let the poor kid go home and cry to his mommy. TO le him play video games in his backwards country town, instead of staying here and waste everyone’s time. Tom was shaking, more visibly than ever. If he could, he would definitely say he was giving up, but was too frozen to do anything.
Chester, looking back at the audience as if it was his enemy, came to one conclusion. He got up on his chair, gaining an odd look from Mr. Mouton, with all the might in him, shouted,
“You can do it! Kick his butt! We believe in you!”
Tom turned his head towards him.
“Shadowbreaker! Shadowbreaker! Shadowbreaker!” Chester kept chanting, even as the audience members kept telling him to calm down.
Tom glanced down at his remote, and after fiddling with it, back up at Chester, and then to Shadowbreaker. It was broken, busted and bent. And yet, it was still responding to him. There was still a chance for him. And he still had a reason to do it. For her. Tom bit on both of his lips, and gripped his remote as hard as he could. His eyes were now narrow, the fire burning in them like no other. It was time to show a miracle.
“You are given one more chance for the match,” announced referee. “But this is it! Now, is everybody ready to continue?”
“READY!” Tom announced without hesitation.
This got attention of quite a few people, even Luc himself. Chester just felt like he was letting go of an invisible boulder that was on his shoulders.
“Okay then.” Referee held his hand up, then checked both side one last time. “On my mark….3,2,1…GO!”
What happened next was unexpected and indescribable. But also very exciting, and something neither of the boys would forget for the rest of their lives. First, the “Shadowbreaker” got nearly grazed while trying to go around the “Executioner,” and it nearly lost control. However, it would not stop, and it kept on moving, using this chance to go around it. But then the “Executioner” suddenly went backwards and pushed the smaller bot into the wall. The crowd gave audible “ouch” when the bot got hit first time. They gave another audible “ouch,” when the “Executioner” managed to turn around and hit a second time, before “Shadowbreaker” could get back up from getting flipped over. And then it was getting ready for a third hit, with everyone braced for the ending. Chester’s mouth was open and Mr. Mouton had closed his eyes. It was about to be finished on in one strike.
But then, before the last hit came, Tom maneuvered his bot and made it fly past the “Executioner.” The “Shadowbreaker” spun itself and made its small frame jump in the air, as the hammer arm dislodged from the stuck position it was in throughout the fight. It then charged right into the “Executioner,” driving its face into the side of the bigger bot, as at last, the hammer fell on it for that second strike.
The speed that the “Executioner” flew and the size of the debris that it made had to be seen to be believed. It was almost impossible to take it seriously, unless you were there yourself. The loud bang, the grey smoke, the sudden quietness of the air, it all happened in an instant.
And though the noise returned not long after, there was nothing empty air everywhere. Then, the referee ended the match right then and there, finally telling Tom that he was disqualified.
Long story short.
That match was incredible.
…
Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 120 x 120px
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