VOCT2 - Round 1: James vs Aira
VOCT2
Round 1
James Vs Aira
// A few quick notes. Ctrl+F is a wonderful feature. ----! will skip to Hypopharynx city and --v-- will skip to the vore you lazy, illiterate bastard.
_ FWOOSH! _
James closed his eyes and stood still as the restorative "victory aura" washed over him, resetting his damage counter, ammunition and repairing his clothing. He looked himself over instinctively and sighed happily.
Opponent digested. Congratulations, sir.
"Did everything fix right, kupo?"
The raccoon glanced up at the top right of his HUD, where Ludash was smiling and waving in his own little section of James' view. "Yep. I always check, just to make sure. One time in the earlier days, my underwear spawned backwards."
Ludash giggled as James was returned to the "lobby." The blue moogle immediately dashed over and hugged James tightly.
The raccoon grinned as his victory notification came up. "That was my last preliminary match. We're going to the tournament! Here's hoping Pylorus is more entertaining than Voreworld. Lousy, third-party garb- Hey! Frosty's out of battle. PICO, connect me to Frosty."
Right away, sir.
He tapped his foot as the "Please wait..." text blinked softly, connecting him to his feline friend.
Connected.
"Hey, spottybutt!" James called out, grinning happily. "I just passed the preliminaries! I'm going to be in the tournament!" He began walking with Ludash, who flicked his ears, curious as to why he couldn't hear Frosty's replies.
"Who'd you lose to, catfood?"
...
"I bet. You probably didn't even fight. You probably just let Andrei pummel your opponents and eat them."
...
"Yeah, you'll see me right into my stomach! Heh... You'd better hope we don't face off in the first round! Y-" He would have said more, but the image of the cat quickly snapped out of view.
Frosty has closed the chat.
"... Thanks, PICO. Lu, think I was a little too uh... Well... Y'know."
The moogle tossed the thought around for a second or two. "You came on a little... ehh..." Suddenly changing the subject so he didn't have to say anything mean, he perked and asked, "So! What's Pico?"
"He's the AI I've programmed into my goggles. It's always different for people. Some have floating menus, some carry laptops, I saw one guy with a cell phone..."
"I know that, but what's it mean?"
"Oh! Player Interface, Chat and Options. I just made an anagram of the name of my pet bat in the real world."
"How come I couldn't hear Frosty?"
"Privacy setting, you can se-" James' eyelid twitched as he was interrupted.
Incoming message from Arren.
"Accept. What's up, Ketchup-Kat?"
"I lost! He was so wet and squishy inside, though. I don't care. Prrr... Can I join you as a support guy thingy?"
"... Arren, did you join just so you could play and get eaten?"
The cat paused, poking two fingers together. "Maaaaybe..."
James shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. PICO, invite Arren to the party."
"Yay!"
Arren Jevleth has been added to the party.
The cat appeared after a teleport offer from James, waving to him and the blue moogle.
James cleared his throat. "So, I was going to tell you. We need t-"
Incoming message from Ackart.
James sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Accept..."
Connected.
"Ackart, wha-" The raccoon flinched and covered his ears at a series of angry shouts. The word "noob" came up several times. "Calm down! Jeez! Who beat you?"
...
"Some noob? Does some noob have a name?"
...
"Yes! I expect you to remember! I'm moving on an-"
...
"Fine, fine! Tell me if you see the guy. I'll let you rip him up. PICO, invite Ackart."
Ackart Grant has been added to the party.
The annoyed tower of a fox appeared in the same flash Arren did, giving an acknowledging nod to the group.
James nodded. "Four's enough. Now, as I was trying to say- ..." He paused, expecting to be interrupted" ... Mm. Good. We need to hurry our tails up before the line to the new continent is from here to Voreworld."
Ackart scoffed. "That half-assed, third party place with the glitchy ... everything?"
"That's the one. Let's get going."
The five of them arrived at the crowded, bustling square of the game's main continent. James began weaving through the crowd, half listening to announcements, half thinking to himself. He stopped abruptly, prompting Lu to bump into him.
"Oof! Why'd you stop, kupo?"
"That smell..." James tipped his head up, sniffing and looking around. "No way..."
Arren caught up, looking around with the two. He stopped, staring at someone. "... That guy's on fire."
James looked back to Arren, followed his gaze and then grinned. "That's him! SHIMO!"
Standing in the crowd, looking sullenly up at the screen that was showing a list of the tournament combatants was Shimo. Shimo was a lithe tiger with charcoal colored fur and blazing orange stripes- well, most of the time. In the game world, the stripes below his neck were literally ablaze and had burned holes through his loose-fitting samurai outfit. The tiger twitched his ear and turned to James. "Oh, hey..." He gave a quick bow, then turned back to the screen.
The raccoon shuffled over and circled him, examining his VOCT avatar. He held his hands over a flaming stripe, pulling it back sharply. "Gyah! What're you doing here?"
"Right now? Watching. I lost my third preliminary match. Yourself?"
James frowned. "How did you lose? You tear me up at Street Fighter and Marvel Vs Capcom!"
"That's not the s-"
"Shush! You're joining me! PICO! Invite!
"James, I don't know if-"
" Accept!"
...
Shimo Setsuko has been added to the party.
Ackart cleared his throat loudly. "A-HEM! Guys? The line isn't getting any shorter."
The five of them stopped, thought briefly ... and immediately took off as one big cluster.
Finally, they arrived at the passages to Pylorus. There was a teleporter, but the line was backed up to kingdom come. A zeppelin was there as well, but they decided against for being too slow. The group of five found themselves standing in line for a futuristic looking train.
Ackart grinned, pointing out the sharp teeth and angry eyes painted onto the front. "Check out the Spitfire paintjob."
The group chuckled, following the crowd into the lengthy vehicle. After a bit, everyone found a spot, claiming three rows.
Arren scratched his head. "Guys? Why are there so many seatbelts?"
James was already buckling up. Two across the chest, one in his lap...
The housecat lowered his ears when he realized everyone else had strapped themselves in. An ominous countdown timer began ticking. Arren began to frantically grab and pull at his belts, meowing in a panic as the timer reached zero. Everyone braced and the train took off like a missile, flying down its lengthy track at unrealistic speeds. Arren tumbled over his seat and flew to the back of the car, impacting the door with a thud and finding himself smooshed against it, limbs spread wide.
The train arrived at the pier in less than a minute, having crossed miles of virtual ocean. As the train settled, everyone began making their way to the front with the exception of James' party. After the aisle was clear, they wandered to the back of the car, where Arren was still stuck in his "splat" position against the wall, eyes wide, fur blown back and tailtip twitching. He slid down and faceplanted, twitching a few more times before Ackart helped him up.
James could only sigh. "I love the "toon" setting."
---!
Because of their delay, the five were the last off the train. As Arren was brushing his fur back to normal, they stopped at the end of their pier.
"... Wow."
"Who... How could... What?
"Impressive."
"...A'ight."
Arren looked up, eyes going wide. "Shiiineeey..."
In the distance, at the end of the painfully long pier was the city of Hypopharynx. Nestled into the edge of tall mountains like a cluster of natural crystals in a large stone were the glistening, towering spires of crystalline glory, shimmering in the daylight sun.
The group stared blankly at the city for upwards of a minute before James gave them a sharp whistle and began walking down the pier. Their eyes stayed locked on the city as it drew nearer, beginning to see the different "sectors" of it in which the architecture abruptly switches to a different theme... As they reached the end, they were greeted by one of the moderators. ... Well, he tried to greet them. The group passed him by with the exception of Shimo.
James stopped abruptly as a familiar voice called his name out.
"James! Stop for a second." It was Russet! James knew the skunk offline, prompting a smile from both of them and a sudden greeting hug.
"Hey, stripey! Since when were you a mod?" James asked, scratching his head.
"Since that beta I wasn't supposed to talk about. Didn't you get an offer?" The skunk ruffled James' hair playfully.
James flinched and pulled away. "Turned it down. Moderating is a bloody nightmare. I'd rather enjoy the game and not deal with people complaining about this and that."
"It's nowhere near that bad, Ringtail. Anyway, your tiger friend is going to like the first stage..." Their idle conversation aside, Russet gave James directions, as well as the information from a status message. By the time they had stopped talking, only James and Shimo remained, the other three having wandered off to explore.
The raccoon sighed. "PICO, open a party chat."
Connected.
"Where the hell did you guys go?"
Arren peeked over a pile of ketchup bottles. "Restocking! They have food places!"
Ludash was staring at the sights and ... Oh no.
The four of them immediately began laughing madly.
Ackart was in his Fatty Hamcheeks avatar, holding at least 20 bags of french fries. "WOOOOOO!"
After everyone collected themselves and regrouped, James relayed the instructions to them.
"We have to wait here for you to teleport us? Lame!" Ackart called out, munching his last handful of fries and back in his normal avatar.
"You can be teleported in for your support action and you're allowed to explore the stages when we've departed to the next ones."
"Why would we do that?" Ludash asked, scratching his head.
Shimo replied for James. "We could survey the battleground ... Oh, and look at the new game content."
James gave a quick nod. "You can watch from pretty much any TV, projector or whatever ... or rez your own. First, third and dynamic camera angles and blah, blah, blah." He stopped explaining, noticing Arren's spaced out expression. He stared for a moment, then snapped his finger, making Arren flinch. "I'm heading out now. Hands in everyone." James put his hand forward. "For fun."
Shimo put his in. "For honor!"
Then Ludash. "For love!" ... The party stared briefly, making the moogle lower his ears in chagrin.
Arren patted Lu on the back and threw his hand into the mix. "For ketchup!"
Ackart rolled his eyes and placed his hand atop everyone else's, saying in an overdramatic Southern voice. "Fo victreh!"
...
James blinked a bit, only then realizing he hadn't thought of a way to close this. "... Uh. Go team!" Everyone blinked ... then reluctantly threw their arms up with a "woo!" James cleared his throat. "I need to pick something as a 'drop treasure.' A souvenir for whoever beats me."
The group chimed in randomly.
"Your gun!" "Your goggles!" "Your shorts!" "French fries!" "Your sword!" "Your tail!"
Everyone stopped and stared at Ludash.
"... It's a pretty tail?"
James rubbed his head. "Right. Goggles it is." Following the instructions given by Russet, he assigned his "drop treasure" and went on his way after bidding his party farewell.
"Finally..." James sighed, climbing into the cable-car that would take him to his destination. He took a seat and closed his eyes, trying to look as if he were concentrating when in fact he was trying to keep his mind off of the fact that he was in a swaying cablecar ascending to great (though virtual) heights...
A nerve-wracking ride, to be sure. James could smell the stink of sulphur, even before the cablecar stopped at its destination. The group filed off of the small car, disappearing as they exited onto the platform to their respective instances. James' turn came up. He stepped onto the platform and closed his eyes. For just a flickering instant, everything went numb and he was there.
He opened his eyes and suddenly found himself thankful for his goggles as a hot, putrid wind blew harshly, carrying bits of ash and grit. The raccoon had been teleported to a low spot, unable to see much aside from the tall spires of rock towering over him and a few fissures in the pitch black rock he was standing on. Walking along, listening for sounds other than the blowing of the wind and the distant crackling of rocks, he took in the sights of this volcanic wasteland. He stopped once he stepped on something.
"What?" The raccoon lifted his foot and bent down, picking up a small crystal shard. Natural instinct took over as he admired it, examining the stone closely. "Ooh... PICO! Add this to my inventory."
The item will have no practical use. Store it as a souvenir?
"Yes." The raccoon watched as the stone faded away as the device strapped to his torso lit up, having added it to a folder in his inventory. With a soft sigh, he began wandering once more. Ten, maybe twenty minutes passed with no signs of life. He was beginning to think there had been some error, but his thoughts were abruptly interrupted.
_ CRACK! _
Caught by surprise, the raccoon fell in a sudden rush of rocks and hot air. He landed flat on his back in a dark, hidden cavern. When he opened his eyes, the first thing that caught his attention was the clusters of shining crystals lining the walls. The second thing was a blue-furred hand held out to him. James blinked a bit, looking up at the blue, mostly nude fox. Locking eyes with him, he asked "No tricks?"
The fox shook his head. "That wouldn't be any fun."
After a brief stare, James took the fox's hand and stood up with his help. He dusted himself off, then looked the fox over. The blue vulpine was just a few inches taller than James, wearing a pink button-up and nothing else. James tried not to stare.
"I'm Aira."
"James."
They shook hands and endured a very awkward pause.
"... Should we start in here or climb out first? I've kind of been lost down here for a while." Aira rubbed the back of his head, a little embarassed. "I was teleported down here and couldn't find a way out..."
James chuckled softly, dusting himself off. "I'm not a fan of underground tunnels. Tell me when you're ready." With that, the raccoon moved to the center of the hole he had fallen through. Focusing on the light overhead, he began to lower down as if to pounce... Aira watched closely as James crouched slowly. A pneumatic whine could be heard building up in the metallic leg just before he launched himself out of the cave!
"Whoa!" Aira shuffled over, looking up... The raccoon had jumped high enough to clear the edge of the hole! The fox saw his opponent lean down to check on him. Aira gave a quick wave and started climbing!
The raccoon watched closely, grinning as Aira lept from one handgrip to another as if he had ninja training of some kind. "I'll have to keep an eye out on him..." he mused to himself.
Aira checked up at James with each leap, drawing nearer and nearer before he finally climbed over the ledge on the opposite side of the hole. He knelt down to catch his breath for a moment, assuming James would be polite enough to let him rest.
He did, of course. James was wandering away from the hole, not entirely keen on falling into it again as he hovered his hand in front of his storage device. In a quick flash of light, 0's and 1's, his foil appeared in his hand. His back to his opponent, he examined his weapon. The handle was smooth, fine wood affixed to the shining silver pommel and guard, looking almost like a mushroom. Atop the guard was the start of the blade; a square base that slowly tapered to a needle-like point. His foil wasn't as flexible as most. It stood straight out regardless of the angle it was at with just a little bit of a bend when moved around. The strangest thing of all was the blade itself. No cutting edge, as foils aren't intended to have one, but the blade was softly twisted in a spiral, not unlike an elongated drill. The point was still infinitely sharp, of course, making this an especially deadly and, because of the blade's strange shape, painful weapon. James gave a few quick thrusts at the empty air while he waited.
James' ears twitched at the silence. "... Aira?" He suddenly whipped around, foil forward and prepared to defend himself! This might be intimidating if Aira were there! James glanced around, the blue fox should stick out like a sore thumb, but he was nowhere to be seen. James took a step forward to peek down the hole... Still nothing. Finally, he sighed and simply called out to him. "Marco!"
"No, Aira." The fox was suddenly behind him, the tip of his sword pressed against James' back. He grinned as the raccoon flinched. "So, why don't you surrender and let us get this over with?"
James stood perfectly still, contemplating his next move as fast as his brain would allow. "That wouldn't be very entertaining." Time was ticking down, James frantically thought to himself. "Crap. What can I do? He's got me b-"
Before James could finish his thought, a hot, smokey wind blew by, grit and soot blasting over the two in a powerful gust.
The raccoon's ear flicked as he heard Aira gag. "Perfect!" He dove away and made sure to create a nice, big gap between the two of them. The wind settled, prompting Aira to wipe the soot off of his face and look around. He spotted James and took a defensive stance with a frustrated grunt.
Aira looked James over, quirking a brow at his unusual stance. James had one leg tucked loosely behind the other as he balanced on one foot. The fox simply rolled his eyes and dashed forward, confident in his ability as a swordsman.
James flinched a bit, resisting the urge to dive aside as Aira charged in to strike. James held his foil horizontally over his head to deflect the downward slash from the fox. A loud clang rang out as their blades slammed into each other. The boy winced and found himself thrown off balance. Aira's sword was much heavier than he expected; this wasn't going to work.
James, the opponent's weapon outweighs yours by several pounds. Defending yourself will be difficult. I advise ranged combat.
"I'll keep it- Ungh! -in mind, PICO." James staggared and slid as he desperately fought off Aira's relentless sword attacks. It got to the point in which James was holding the end of his foil with one hand to make sure there was enough leverage to stop the fox's longsword. Another hard swing and James found himself stumbling, trying to regain balance. He held his arm up to stop the next attack, only to feel a painful jab at his side. He looked down to see Aira's sword impaled through his left side, sparks dancing across the entry and exit wound.
Aira pulled his sword back, looking at James' damage counter as the raccoon stumbled. 60%! "This'll be easier than I thought!" Aira thought to himself and reared back for another thrust, only to connect with air as the raccoon spun in place and found his arm caught by James'. The raccoon's arm was tucked under Aira's upper arm and grasping the fox's shoulder. Aira tugged back, then felt the harsh impact of James driving the pommel of his foil into the back of Aira's head.
The raccoon threw the fox forward, blocking a desperate, sudden slash as Aira turned around. Their blades slid against one another with an earsplitting schhhhwing! James quirked a brow as he noticed Aira's damage and thought to himself. "80%? There's no way I did that much..." He didn't have much time to muse, of course. He found himself frantically parrying the fox's powerful sword strikes once more. Each loud clash of blades drove the raccoon back a foot or two.
Aira saw that he had the advantage, telegraphing it with a devious grin. He tried for several quick thrusts, aiming to stab the raccoon again. This time he wouldn't recover!
Aira's eyes went wide. It all happened so fast. He wasn't even sure what happened. He felt his hands jerked around and his sword bounced across the ground, sliding to a stop before it dissolved into a pile of leaves. The fox looked at his hands, then over at James. The tip of his foil looked much sharper when he didn't have a sword to defend himself.
"What was that about surrendering, Aira?" James quipped smugly, sword aimed at the fox's heart.
Aira shook his head, bending down a bit before launching himself into the air in a showy backflip, landing near the pile of leaves. He began gathering them up as James took a defensive sword stance, expecting more frantic swordfighting. The fox looked up at him, eight or so leaves in hand. His damage abruptly went up 2% as he flicked a leaf forward.
James was confused for just a fleeting instant, long enough for the leaf to rocket forward like a flying dagger and stab into his shoulder. With a wince of pain, he dropped his stance and left himself wide open as Aira dashed forward and ripped his foil from his hand. His shoulder still throbbing, James winced as Aira snatched both of his wrists and pulled them behind the raccoon's back in what could almost be described as a hug if not for the painful armlock. Aira's head connected with James' in a dizzying headbutt, leaving the raccoon stunned for a moment.
Everything was spinning... James could feel his head swimming, his world shaking... but he couldn't hear anything. His cloudy mind ran over a few thoughts. "Ergh... Can't... Why is it so quiet? So hot..." He tried to move, but his head was stuck. Things began to clear up further and further with each passing second, but he still couldn't get his bearings enough to--
Glk...
James felt himself lift off of the firm ground for a moment, squeezed unbearably tight around his chest. Pitch darkness, unbearable heat ... moisture. James suddenly figured it out. "AUGH!"
Aira grinned around the boy's head, holding him tighter as he began to kick and thrash. Saliva oozed down the sides of James' head as the fox slowly worked his jaws over James' head. He could taste a hint of blackberries beyond the boy's tasteless fur and the grit he's picked up from the landscape. "Easy as that..." He thought to himself, tongue slathering across the boy's face lewdly.
"Think, think..." The boy grimaced as Aira's lips wrapped around his neck. Time was ticking! The raccoon began rolling his shoulders to try and wiggle free from the grasp of Aira's arms-- only to stop and wince as he still felt the leaf buried in his arm. Aira wasn't about to let go. James bumped around with his knees for a moment and grabbed at what he could with his hands... AHA!
Aira couldn't help but giggle quietly as he felt the raccoon feeling around his body. He bent forward to try and work his jaws over James' shoulders. Something caught his ear just before everything stopped. That pneumatic whine he had heard earlier.
Using his metallic leg to its maximum potential, James had rocketed his knee forward and driven it into Aira's gut!
The fox twitched and spasmed momentarily before releasing James with a splash of saliva and falling to all fours.
James frantically ripped the razor sharp leaf out of his arm and got to his feet as fast as he could. Aira clumsily flicked two more leaves in James' direction, prompting the raccoon to jump and weave aside. James was no ninja, that was for sure. If anything, he looked more like a clumsy ballerina with the way he stumbled about and dodged the leaf shuriken. The other batch of leaves were sent in James' direction. Three were dodged, the fourth stabbed into James' side near the area the sword had gone through earlier.
"Time for a new plan..." After plucking the leaf out and rubbing his side briefly, James took off, running.
"Come back here!" Aira called out, slowly standing up and chasing after the raccoon. It didn't take him long to close the gap. He'd probably been running a lot longer than James has, on account of the raccoon being disabled in the real world.
The duo sailed over the edge of the ground, unable to skid to a stop before the earth ended and gravity took over. James was overshot by Aira, his metal leg and rubber-soled sandals gaining more traction; while the blue fox flipped and caught himself on one of the chains, James dropped like a rock and tucked into a roll on impact, the chained platform shuddering from the force of the landing. The sudden whipping motion of the platform prompted Aira to jump to an adjacent platform, glaring at James through the waves of heat radiating from below.
Sitting in a booth at a restaraunt, James' friends were watching the battle on a screen mounted in the wall.
"This is getting good!" Ackart announced before taking a sip of virtual soda.
"Mmph" was all Ludash could manage around a mouthful of spaghetti noodles.
Aira pulled a cluster of leaves out of thin air, spiking his damage to around 250%, exceeding James' 180% by a good bit, but the fox was confident in his advantage. He stepped forward, picked up speed and launched himself through the air as James turned tail and began running. Aira chased as closely as he could. James did have a jumping advantage with his robotic leg.
Leaping from platform to platform, James glanced back now and then. He took one more flying leap and slid to a stop.
"Oh no..." James had trapped himself in a corner. He looked up at the sheer cliff face, then back just in time to roll away from a leaping sword attack. Aira and James circled one another on the small, unstable platform, eyes locked together.
"Surrender, James! There's nowhere to run. Just climb down my throat and spare yourself the pain." Aira's stare was burning into James' body, as hot as the lava below them.
James closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if considering the demand... then opened them with a smile. "One word."
"Mercy?"
"Ackart."
"... What?"
The digital "WOOSH!" of something being rezzed was heard in the distance, making Aira's ears twitch. The fox looked up, his eyes going wide as he spotted him.
Ackart fell-- no, flew toward the two of them. A strange looking submachine gun in each hand, he was spraying a hail of bullets toward the blue fox, circling him with pockmarks from the raining bullets.
Aira could only throw his arms out over his head protectively, crying out as a petty few shots connected, plucking about 5-15% damage each.
James, meanwhile, had crouched down and "charged" his leg, kicking himself into the air as hard as the pneumatics in his leg would allow. Sailing through the air, he made it about halfway up the cliff face before kicking against it to launch himself higher still. He reached out as far as he could, grasping the edge where Ackart had dove from. His grip faltered briefly, leaving him dangling before he threw his arm back upward and dug his claws into the rock, straining to pull himself up.
Ackart was falling like a rock, bullets still spraying from his guns. What felt like forever was actually only a few seconds. It all came to a sudden, painful end.
THUD!
...
"... Was ... was he supposed to do that?" Arren asked out loud, scratching his head.
Ludash stared at the screen, noodles hanging out of his mouth with a desperately confused expression.
Shimo looked about as lost as Lu. "... Did he forget his parachute?"
Two passers-by were staring at the screen as well.
The camera was focusing on Ackart, face-down on the platform and unmoving. His guns lay several feet from his motionless figure.
After an impossibly long pause, Aira came out of his curled up posture. He looked himself over, surprised at how little damage he had taken. He looked up in time to see James making his way over the edge to safety. His gaze then turned to the apparently dead or unconscious fox at his feet. He shook his head and scoffed. "Was that it?" Aira stepped closer, wedged a foot under the collapsed fox and rolled him over with a soft grunt.
...
He immediately wished he hadn't. Ackart looked up at him, bleeding from his nose and covered in soot from his landing. His coat had fallen open... revealing a cluster of bombs strapped to his body. A sinister beep rang out as Ackart laughed up at Aira. "SURPRISE!"
James kept his head covered, having laid down on the rocky ground after climbing over the edge and crawling to a safe distance. His eyes were squinted shut and ears were covered as a mushroom cloud erupted behind him, followed by a distant splash and the loud clatter of the oversized chains. Waiting a few seconds for the smoke to clear, James found himself curious as to what would happen if either of them fell into lava. He got on his hands and knees and slowly made his way to the edge, looking down... Several of the platforms were gone. The sudden explosion, having upset the balance of the network, had sent them plummeting into the lava below. Aira was nowhere to be seen.
"I know the lava can't kill us... Where di--" Something caught his eye. A blue speck on the horizon, plummeting downward. Could it be? James doubted it heavily. "No way.." Still, having nothing to do in this area, he circled around the massive lava pit and headed the direction of the distant speck.
It took him a few minutes, but he finally found signs of his opponent. A few leaves here and there... unusual, he thought, but kept moving. The leaves became more frequent as he moved on. "I don't like this..." James held one hand out and muttered "Pistolera..." With a small flash and a wave of little binary numbers, the unusual three-shot revolver materialized in his hand. He loaded it with a set of tranquilizer slugs and looked over in the nexus of the mysterious leaves. There, slowly summoning the strength to stand was Aira! His damage counter was around 750%! That explosion must have annihilated him! James rushed over with his pistol pointed at the fox.
As Aira started to stand, he was interrupted as James all but stomped on his back, pinning him with his foot and holding the fox face-down on the hard rock. Aira groaned and writhed about beneath him.
"Alright, fox... I think we've played with each other long enough." James twisted his foot against Aira's back, making the fox groan. He let up on the pressure, reared his foot back and drove it into his ribs in a brutal kick.
POOF!
Aira popped - reduced to a pile of leaves! James shook his head and blinked a few times, utterly shocked. He then began to look around frantically, paying a small bit of attention to the unusually high amount of leaves...
"It's over, James!" called a voice from overhead.
The raccoon looked up, spotting Aira on a rock spire about 10-15ft above him. He was in a concentration pose of some kind. James' hackles stood on end as a strange, cool breeze began to circle him. He immediately took aim and fired a shot at the fox. The glass shell impacted Aira's shoulder, peppering him with broken glass and tingling liquid, but he wasn't going to be distracted. James' next shot was interrupted by a leaf, sailing through the air, followed by many others. The raccoon looked about frantically and whimpered in horror as the leaves that littered the area began gathering in a soft spiral.
A few seconds later, the leaves picked up speed, whirling around James in a loud, vicious cyclone that seemed to be shrinking! James yelped in pain as a few leaves began to graze his body. They were as razor sharp as the leaf shuriken Aira had hit him with earlier. He looked up at his opponent, eyes locking onto him... Slowly he raised his arm, tuning everything out.
There were no sounds.
There was no pain.
Just him, his line of sight and his pulse.
Sir, odds of a hit are--
"Never tell me the odds!" He couldn't help but grin. He's always wanted to say that... As he concentrated, he tried to imagine everything slowing down. "Focus..."
Ackart, Ludash, Shimo and Arren stared at the screen in anticipation, as well as the small crowd that had gathered around their booth.
James' eyes went wide, his ears twitched and his body tensed. "NOW!" He squeezed the trigger; the shot rang out.
Ludash clasped his hands together hopefully.
Shimo stared into the screen.
Arren bit his thumb.
Ackart pumped his fists.
--v--
Slowly, Aira's eyes looked upward. His vision blurred, his muscles grew weak. The glass slug had struck him in the forehead, shattering and splashing the potent tranquilizer all over the fox's face. Like a ragdoll, he rolled forward and fell from his perch. Aira landed with a dull thump, eyes closed and limbs akimbo.
The cyclone of leaves had stopped. James winced and whimpered as he looked himself over. His leg was scratched, his body sore and his clothes torn to shreds. This would be such a mess if he had gore enabled. Glancing at his damage counter, James couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. "Six hundred... seventy-four percent..." He wheezed, stepping over to the unconscious fox. Flashing over Aira's form was James' reassurance.
"999%!"
"You couldn't fight back if you wanted to..." James was one to talk, having a pronounced limp. His metallic leg was damaged, throwing off sparks with each step. Still, he was better off than his opponent. The raccoon knelt down, gently slipping his hands under Aira's arms and began to lift him from the ground with a soft grunt. The fox was like a wet noodle in James' arms, slouching against him. The raccoon wiped Aira's forehead and planted a soft little peck on his nose. "You've damaged me more than anyone I've fought before. Very well done..."
His praise aside, James gaped his jaws wide. The glossy, black interior of his mouth glistened with saliva as small strands connected his upper and lower jaw. The raccoon eased Aira's head forward, holding him by his chin and the back of his skull. In the fox's head went, squeezed into the tight, fleshy passage of James' throat. The boy's throat distended around Aira's form graciously; his jaws unhinged like a serpent's and his flesh stretched like rubber
Aira couldn't do so much as blink voluntarily, completely paralyzed and unconscious from the tranquilizers he had been pelted with. His fur was soaked, his ears folded back and his breathing slow as he was pulled into the pitch black abyss of the raccoon's body.
James vibrated happily around his meal. Despite the gritty texture and sooty aftertaste from the environment, Aira was pretty good! The fox's shoulders came next as James gently pushed Aira's shirt down his body, letting it fall to the rock floor as his jaws gaped and stretched to accomodate his unconscious opponent. His chest bulged heavily as Aira slipped deeper. The raccoon adjusted his position, bending forward for better leverage. He pulled the fox into a sitting position, heaving forward and letting his weight slide his body over theirs.
Aira's arms, dangling limply at his sides were compressed against his figure as James' jaws crept further. The fox would have felt James' unusually sharp canines pressing into his flesh with each push if he were conscious, perhaps whimpered as they came close to puncturing his skin at each pause in James' momentum.
The raccoon's jaws began to creep over Aira's lower back, about at the fox's center of gravity. James reached down, nonchalantly wrapping his hands around his opponent's rump and pulled back sharply to bring himself up onto his knees. Gravity and the lubricating quality of his saliva helped the fox practically shoot into the boy's body. His meal's face pushed into the empty expanse of his stomach, then quickly press into the slimy walls that surrounded him... James' hands rested on his gut as his stomach began distending around the fox, distorting the boy's midsection around the outline of another living being. Aira's legs dangled limp in the air as they sank into the raccoon's hungry maw to join the rest of his figure.
Curling up in a tight, compact ball, his meal seemed to be a much easier fit when unconscious. No movements to mess with how their body rests. Aira was packed in by the rippling, slimy walls. Tight, rippling contractions serving to knead and push the unconscious fox deeper tucked him away efficiently, leaving only his bare, dirty paws and tailtip remaining outside his opponent's gaping maw.
With a soft sigh through his nose, James danced his fingertips across Aira's pads in the hopes of drawing a muffled giggle from the fox. No such luck. James closed his eyes and opened as wide as he could. With a soft push and a few more gulps, a set of sooty toes disappeared into the pitch black gullet. The raccoon gently rubbed along the outline of Aira's feet as they eased down his neck to join the rest of him, packed away neatly inside his stomach. A soft gurgle from his stomach announced its closing, sealing Aira away for digestion. Stuffed, smiling and a few degrees warmer from satisfaction, James licked his fingers confidently-- then groaned and spit. "Urgh! Stupid soot... I hate this place..."
If Aira were conscious, he would have a paltry handful of seconds to escape with a damage level so unimaginably high. This wasn't the case. The ominous timer on Aira's HUD went unnoticed by the sleeping vulpine, leaving James nothing to do but relax.
Watching the timer himself, James muttered a quiet goodbye as it ticked down to zero. Aira's damage ticked up to 1,000%, at which point his body succumbed to digestion. Virtual or otherwise, James couldn't help but feel a massive wave of satisfaction when his stomach gurgled, groaned and shrank over the course of about a minute.
_ FWOOSH! _
James closed his eyes and stood still as the restorative "victory aura" washed over him, again resetting his damage counter, ammunition and repairing his clothing. With a satisfied belch, James clambered to his feet and dusted himself off despite being immaculate.
Opponent digested. Congratulations, sir.
His ears twitched at the sound of something overhead. Engines? Looking up, his eyes went wide. "How long has that been there!?" Looming over him like a whale falling from the sky was a massive zeppelin. He could make out "Hidden Bird" emblazoned on the side of the massive dirigible. A rope ladder rolled down, bouncing and cracking like an enormous bull whip in front of him. Smiling, James took hold of a rung and stepped on, climbing up a few feet before he felt it reeling in and lifting him. The raccoon got a nice view of the volcanic wasteland from the increasing height, making him cringe and hold the ladder a bit more tightly.
He reached the gondola and was helped in by a pair of crew members. He thanked them and was directed to the passenger lounge to reunite with the others. He took a few steps, then abruptly stopped.
"You alright, kid?" One of the crewmen stepped over and pat him on the back as the raccoon started coughing.
"Yeah, j- Urgh... Something in my throat..." With another wretch and a few more coughs, he spit something up. Looking down at his hands, he saw what the obstruction was. A leaf, identical to the ones Aira had conjured, but with a bright blue glow to it.
Drop treasure obtained. Store this item as a souvenir?
"Yeah. Do that. ... Thanks, Aira." Bidding adieu to the crewman, James made his way to the passenger lounge, looking at the thirty or so other competitors who were chatting, comparing souvineers and relaxing.
As he entered the room, nigh everyone glanced over at him to see who had joined them. A few chuckled, others rolled their eyes. James cleared his throat to get more of their attention. "I'm going to ask a very important question and I want you to answer honestly."
A few people tensed up, not sure what to expect.
"Show of hands... How many of you were hearing Duel of the Fates in your head down there?"
There was a group chuckle for those who made the connection. A rather large bit of them raised their hands or nodded. James chuckled happily and found a seat, idly glancing around for familiar faces.
His friends and spectators were cheering, discussing the battle and enjoying victory refreshments.
Aira appeared in a bright flash at one of the designated respawn points in Hypopharynx City. Looking around and piecing things together, he hung his head and let out a soft sigh. He felt a warm paw on his back, turning to look at a passer-by who had stopped near him.
"That was some cool fighting! Can you show me how to do that leaf stuff?"
The blue fox couldn't help but smile. "Sure... My name's Aira. Suppose you already knew that."
The young looking feline nodded. "I was rooting for you! You did really good! I'm Charles."
"It's nice to meet you, Charles. Let's go get something to eat. We're going to have to keep an eye on that raccoon."
Charles followed along, bouncing with each step. "Then you'll show me that cool leaf magic, right? I want to be able to make a leaf chainsaw!"
"... We'll see, Charles. We'll see."
~Extremo