03: CLASH IV

Norval and Luciana exchanged looks. To a degree, Nelanian was correct, and they pondered why they had never considered it before.

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Luciana began scanning her surroundings right away. She needed to locate the canister, which she knew was nearby. She also knew he had to keep it secret so the toddler wouldn't figure out what he was up to.

"Are you going to attack me once more?" Todd was the one who inquired. ”If you don't attack me, I'm going to attack you, and I'm not going to be so lenient,” he remarked. He allowed Luciana a chance to consider her options before growing tired. The rocket thrusters sprang to life again, propelling him towards Luciana.

She's cleverly slid beneath the toddler's frame and moved over to his side. She expected it to be near the stairwell, but it was not there. Todd had to wait for her to finish her work before he could figure out what she was up to.

"Perhaps it's time I took this seriously," he added. The exoskeleton that surrounded his arms developed at an exponential rate, eventually devouring his entire arms. The parts formed a cannon when they fused together. As an energy beam approached her, she rolled out of the way. By a hair's breadth, it missed her and completely wrecked the concrete tiles near her. The umpire let out a loud whistle and dashed over to Todd.

"Stop it right now!" he exclaimed. Todd reluctantly turned off the beam. The umpire then made a complicated hand signal to the judges' table. The announcer then took the stage and addressed the audience. "Eadmer Todd's attack has been characterised as malicious, with the potential to kill or put Luciana Vonner in grave danger. The first and last warning has been issued to Eadmer Todd. If he commits another offence of this sort, he will be disqualified and eliminated from the tournament."  The announcer said, "Take note that this is the final warning." The crowd started booing at him, but he didn't seem to mind. Luciana had crumpled to the floor. After hearing the news, she was genuinely afraid. "You're a brat." "Did you really intend to kill me?" She said. Todd detected a little tremor in her voice.

"Do you think people will be going for points in a battlefield?  I've come to show you the reality,” he explained. Lunged forward in preparation for another assault. Luciana pulled out a vial with an explosive potion filling it. She tossed it towards Todd before he could reach her, expecting that the explosion would knock him out. Although the vial exploded, it had little to no effect. Todd merely covered his face with his hands and sprinted over the concrete debris that had been blown up by the vial. Luciana's reflexes had diminished in a moment of weakness, and she was unable to dodge the collision. Todd collided with her, and they both fell over the edge of the platform and onto the ground. Luciana landed awkwardly on her leg, and it was a pleasant surprise that it was unbroken. The umpire ran up to the platform's age and began counting down. Despite the pandemonium, Luciana was able to overcome her pain. When Todd and his technical crew arrived at the top of the platform, she suddenly remembered the steel suitcases that had accompanied the exoskeleton. She swept her gaze along their corridor, where the team had been gathered, and she found exactly what she was seeking for the entire time.

The technicians tried to cover it as best they could, but it was obvious that the canister was standing next to one of them. Todd was able to stand up as well. He followed Luciana's path vision to the Canister and quickly deduced what she was up to.

“Oh no, not on my watch!”   Todd remarked. He attempted to apprehend her before she escaped, but it was too late. She could hear the umpire counting down from one to ten in the back of her head, and he was on number three. Luciana tossed her utility belt to the ground after loosening it. The brilliant and loud explosion shook the entire Stadium when she stepped on it. The blast pushed her down the corridor, shattering the glass walls in the process. That didn't stop the umpire from completing his countdown. Luciana fought to her feet as he reached number five. Her vision was fuzzy, and her ears rattled with a loud ringing. Todd's mechanical steps approached her with a thump she could hear. She needed to act quickly.

She snatched one of the hefty metal suitcases from the floor and tossed it into the air. Thankfully, it collided with the canister and broke it as Todd pushed her to the ground. Todd became paralysed shortly after the canister exploded. His mechanical exoskeleton shut down altogether, rendering him paralysed. The umpire had counted down to seven.

Luciana reached inside one of her pockets and brought out another vial. She slammed it into the ground and was thrown into the air by the explosion. She couldn't give a damn about the possibility for the bomb to inflict injuries. He only wanted to get on the platform before the countdown was over.

“7! 8! 9...” the umpire abruptly stopped counting. Luciana slammed into the concrete floor and rolled many times before coming to a standstill. Her flesh was covered in cuts from the glass he had smashed through, and her body was aching from the several impacts she had experienced. Slowly, she was able to get back on her feet.

As the umpire went towards Luciana and grabbed her hand, hoisting it into the air and pronouncing her the winner, the crowd exploded in cheers. She'd was able to take a deep breath for the first time in a long time. She peeked out the window and saw their technicians struggling to get the toddler to stand. She was content, and she relished watching the little boy yell at his servants, blaming them for his predicament. She finally felt worthy in front of the Crowd, forgetting that the tournament had only just begun and she still had a long way to go. suddenly She began to sway on her feet after a wave of nausea hit her. the umpire  grabbed her hand and stopped her from falling down again. She ultimately gave up after a few moments of fighting to stay awake and lost consciousness. She could relax knowing she had triumphed.

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Judy had been travelling for well over an hour with her cameraman and driver. The road was lonely and abandoned, and there didn't appear to be any traffic. On most Weekends, such was the expected vibe. Judy was perplexed when she observed a car following them. She was sceptical of it because it had been following them for the past half hour.

“Hey Jimmy,” she continued, “slow down and turn left at the next intersection.”

“but I thought we were going back to the capital?” The driver inquired, perplexed.

“Just trust me and take the left,  I'd like to see if this car is following us. It's been behind us for about a half hour. And the road doesnt have any traffic so it would have overtaken us by now, but  hasnt,” she explained. She glanced discreetly through the back of the van, hoping not to be noticed. They travelled for a time, and as the driver turned the van to the left, the automobile in front of them did the same.

“I had a feeling!  Jimmy, it was following us! Step on it!” she exclaimed. The van accelerated swiftly, and the vehicle followed suit. Vials began to be hurled out the car's side windows, directed at the van, not long after. The vials slammed into the van, which caught fire and burned through its metal frame. Jimmy, the one behind the wheel, became agitated.

“Jimmy, whatever you do, don't slow down!” Judy yelled at him, making him even more nervous.