Chapter 18: Beach Beatdown
The sun beams down on the hot, golden sand. Thankfully, no one decided to change for the occasion, so their feet are free from a grainy-burn. They don’t have time to stand around though as training begins immediately upon stepping into the sand. Jace leaps into the air and switches his arm into Freeze before firing a flurry blast down onto Henry. He manifests two tails and uses them as a shield against the arctic wind.
Henry: “Hot, cold, make up your mind!”
Jace: “Nah, that makes this more interesting! Dodge this!”
Jace lands on his feet and swaps Freeze for Flood before shooting a large burst of water at Henry. The tails dissolve under the pressure and Henry gets blown back. He snarls and grows another tail, which he then uses to stab Jace with. He begins to run towards the tail and dodges left to avoid getting pierced.
Jace: “Going for winning-blows? Try this!”
He unsheathes his sword and side-flips over the tail, now facing Henry directly again. He raises the sword above his head and goes for a downwards-strike on Henry’s shoulder. He grits his teeth and within a moment of desperation, a stinger emerges from his wrist and clashes with Jace’s strike. They both stare amazed as the clash finishes and they return to idle stances. Henry examines his wrist, the stinger is the same exact ability as his tails. He grins and retracts the stinger.
Jace: “That was awesome! How’d you learn how to do that?”
Henry: “Because you fucking scared me, dipshit! Don’t try to cleave my arm off!”
Jace: “It was gonna be a fakeout! Why would I take this that seriously?”
Henry: “I don’t know! Thanks for the upgrade, I guess?”
Jace: “That’s what friends are for.”
Luke: “I'm next."
Jace looks over and instinctively raises his sword to protect him from Luke’s incoming slash. Their swords clink off of each other, forming sparks that scatter throughout the air around them. Luke tries for an overhead strike, but Jace dives forward and enters a somersault. He rolls and repositions himself behind Luke before blasting him with a burst of water. The impact sends Luke off his feet and slightly airbourne. Jace gets up from his knees and rushes towards Luke. He grabs his leg with his mechanical arm and swaps into Burst. He fires a quick explosion that propulses his arm over his head and back into the ground behind him. Luke’s body makes a quick indent in the sand before receiving another burst slam.
Jace: “You better start fighting back!”
Suddenly, Jace is poked in the forehead by the blunt of a weapon. He drops Luke and goes to massage the newfound mark on his head. Luke regains his footing and glances down at what he had just manifested. The blade curves into a sharp hook, forming a scythe. He spins it in his hand before striking a battle pose.
Jace: “Ah, shit.”
Ana: “That looks like fun! Tag out, idiot.”
Ana grabs Jace’s head before slamming it into the sand. She leaves him there as she readjusts her gloves. She wipes her nose and enters a battle pose.
Luke: “Are you sure you want to go against something this deadly?”
Ana: “You’re about to see some impressive shit.”
Ana blitzes towards Luke and engulfs her fist with Pulse. Luke spins the blade one more before sending a downward slash towards her. She sidesteps the slice, noticing an indent in the sand. That would’ve split her in two. She throws out her fist and clashes with Luke’s scythe. They struggle for a bit before Ana smirks. She backs up and clasps her hands together. Luke can only be confused for a moment though as Ana’s Pulse detonates on his scythe, sending it hurtling out of his hands. Ana releases her hands and rushes Luke once more. She sends a punch straight to his chest and another to his cheek. The force of the punch sends him into the water with each detonation skipping him along like a stone. After being submerged for a bit, Luke stands up out from underneath the water.
Luke: “This sucks.”
Ana: “Come on, I’m sure the water’s fine!”
Luke: “I’m never letting anyone take me to the beach again.”
Ana stands proud with her hands on her hips. The celebration is short though as with a burst punch, Jace sends himself airborne. He swaps into Freeze and forms an icicle in his palm. He throws it towards Ana, only for her to deflect it with a Pulse-infused arm. Then, the final trainee makes their appearance by grabbing Jace’s legs and throwing him into the water near Luke. The splash covers Luke in another wave of water. Jace’s head pokes out of the water next to Luke. They look at each other before Jace breaks out into laughter.
Kien: “I want the strong one!”
Mythril: “Ana, wanna train?”
Ana: “Bring it! I wanna break that parasite’s spirits.”
Mythril and Ana go for a clash. She places her palm over her fist to supercharge this upcoming Pulse punch. Mythril suddenly plants his feet into the ground, letting Kien’s fist hurtle towards her like a whip. She raises her fist behind her head and fires it forward. The impact causes a shockwave that sends the two back and blasts everyone else with a quick puff of air. Mythril is able to remain on his feet, only sliding back a few feet. After the sand settles, he sees Ana slumped over and catching her breath.
Kien: “OOH! YA LIKE THAT SHIT?!”
Ana: “Check your hand.”
Kien: “Ah?”
Kien forms an eye above Mythril’s and stares at its arm. It notices some magenta residue around its knuckles.
Mythril: “Kien! Retract, now!”
It’s too late though as its arm detonates in front of Mythril, sending him off of his feet and onto his back. With its other arm, it slams the sand in anguish before managing to gather the motor skills necessary to raise its middle finger.
Kien: “Damn you!”
Ana: “What a sore loser.”
Jace and Luke shuffle out of the water, one is clearly more excited about this event than the other.
Jace: “Good work, everyone! I think we all learned something today.”
Luke: “I learned that I hate the beach.”
Henry: “Same.”
Kien: “Yeah, this sucked!”
Ana: “I learned that I can kick your ass five times over.”
Jace: “Okay, did anyone learn something useful?”
Mythril: “I learned that I need to be more mindful of everyone’s abilities.”
Jace: “Oooh, I like that. Good job using that noggin, buddy.”
Mythril softly smiles. Henry helps him up out of the sand.
Henry: “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
Jace: “Same time as right now, we meet outside of the Rocks. We either sneak or brawl our way to Breakdown, then kick his ass. I’ll ask him my questions and everyone else can do whatever. We in?”
Everyone nods and walks back to the tavern together.