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Seasons Beatings Part 3

Even before I joined the Cons, I've been in my fair share of scrapes. Combine that with the tricks that I picked up from Frag in these last few months, and my awareness in a fight is almost second to none, which is why I can tell that we are losing badly. So, as I served as a punching bag for my robot, I quickly scanned the battlefield to see how everyone was doing.

Eternus was the only one who seemed to hold his own at least, unleashing a rather ruthless barrage of blows on all of his opponent's weak points! However, the robot continued to persist little by little, slowly making its blocks cleaner, its evasion tighter, with Dr. Nefario's voice playing in the background.

"I'm sorry about this faulty Nefaribot Eternus, but after watching exactly a thousand hours' worth of martial art combat, I've failed to guess yours accurately. Which means I'll have to adapt and control this one directly. I hope you don't mind!"

With that, Eternus was put on the back burner, taking hit after hit as the robot adapted faster than he could counter. From there, my vision shifted to Gum as she managed to keep her distance. However, no matter how many precise shots she made, the Nefaribot was always able to brush it off like bird poop before she could ever even wonder why Nefario jumped in once again.

"I hope you like this Nefaribot Gum; I had to cycle through thirty-one chemical dissolvents and over one hundred trials each to get it just right," he said encouragingly.

"I don't like it, I don't like it!" she said as she kept blasting at an even faster rate.

Port was doing worse, she was never the greatest at hand, and her bot only worsened that fact. Before she could even pull out a weapon, her wrists got met with a tied-up bola. That combined with the constant attacks, and she was going nowhere fast. Frag and Fury were probably doing the worst, though.

With all the training we've done, Frag was now physically a helluva a lot stronger, meaning at the very least he can hold his own. Unfortunately, course holding his own told that he got trapped in a stalemate. The kid can build up his energy and let it loose on his own now, no problem, but that took time and concentration he didn't have. It's still far too unreliable to use with the bit of stress he was feeling now.

Which meant that all he could do was employ practiced bob and weaves, analyzing his opponents for just the right time to strike. Fury, however, drew the shortest stick of it all, she got more combat training with Eternus than anybody else, but even still, it was training with every precaution imaginable. Compared to the real thing, she had no chance as she got knocked down for the third time in a row. Visible disbelief claimed over her face as the "good" doctor explained what had happened.

"Don't worry, Fury, your transformative capabilities are working just like they're supposed to. It's just that my little shock collar is interrupting the necessary electrical transmissions you need for your nerves to trigger it, rendering you utterly powerless. Given previous studies, I would hope you would appreciate it."

"I kind of do it in a way, actually," Fury said as she thought over.

"Good, because if you or any of your allies try to remove said shock collar, your brain will directly receive 2 million volts of electricity for a minute straight. Leaving your brain about as cooked thoroughly as the sauteed filet mignon you made for Chase Jackson for his 17th birthday."

"How did you know th-," Fury questioned before getting kicked in the stomach.

And then there was me, who was having just as much "fun" as everybody else. Counting on my strength above all else, I tried to close in and take the initiative for once, grabbing the robot by its shoulders and raising it above my head with complete means to smash it down! Yet my throw got completely interrupted as I got reminded of "what" I was facing.

Before the throw could follow through, Nefaribot twisted the arm I was holding while positioning itself to the point we were face to face as if nothing had happened. I tried holding on to said arm, but the spinning was so intense that my grip faltered at a mere jerk of the arm! Unfortunately, that small opening was all the robot needed, as soon enough, I found myself blocking a brutal hit from that same arm.

Usually, I would've shrugged it off, but I swear this one pierced through my guard so hard my bones rattled! With that, I got pushed back so hard I was on my knees (which wasn't exactly a new experience for me but still). Either way, Nefario's voice was far more painful than any hit I've taken so far.

"Your rubber skin was quite the conundrum for me, Ricochet. I could only go off prior calculations collected off dead skin. But I think that my Nerfaribot's steel three hundred sixty degree five hundred revolutions per second palm will accommodate you perfectly," they said influentially as the bot took a boxing-like stance.

From there, I engaged in probably the second most dangerous dance in my life (like I said before, not a new experience), barely dodging a host of haymakers. However, like Eternus, each move was getting sharper by the second.

Before I knew it, I found myself with my back against the wall. Instinctively I thought about what to do, looking for some exit, some way to escape. But those thoughts quickly vanished upon what Frag said to me all those months ago.

"Don't think. Just do."

I spent way too much time running away, so now I'm going to put all that training to good work and fight. So with that, I emptied every loose thought in my head. Instead, only feeling for what comes next. The world seemed to fade to black with only the slight vibrations and coursing wind to guide me. And once an unbearable amount of time passed, I felt the arrows come to play.

In those few precious nanoseconds, I braced my body for all it's worth, taking consecutive shot after shot after shot until the robot decided to finish its short combo off with a chilling uppercut to my left side! Then, finally, I gave in entirely to the blow's power, twisting my now airborne self around and repositioning myself, condensing the kinetic energy and redirecting it back towards my left foot!

When said foot made its way to the wall again, all that coiled up energy let itself loose like a bottle rocket. Then, with surprising torque, I leaped off the wall, closing in on the robot and severing its head promptly with a swift kick! And from there, a chain reaction of rather unusual proportions happened.

While I tended to my newfound bruises, the head of my Nefaribot promptly got sent flying even higher upon hitting Port's opponent promptly in the head! Unfortunately, those precious seconds were all Port needed to work her magic. Port managed to pull out a pen with her rustling wrist, stabbing the robot dead in its jugular. Oil and fluid started to spill out like gushing blood as Port twisted the pen so hard ink began to spill into the bot's skull, causing it to sputter into a dramatic shutdown.

After that mess was over, my robotic head sailed over to Frag's fight. It was almost comical to see the approaching robot tripping over its metallic brethren so hard the head got sent flying again. Following Port's example, though, Frag closed in with intense aggression, jumping up in the air only to deliver a flying kick on its neck! The blow is precise, snapping the robot's neck and leaving it paralyzed.

On that note, the head made its way towards Gum, who was now grappling with her bot. Noticing the incoming projectile, Gum got out of the way as the head hit her robot, stunning it long enough for Gum to work her magic. Using her abilities to stick the head in her hand, forming a new makeshift weapon. With that Gum in a split second shot, a thick glob of gunk on the robot's face, stunning its face to start beating its head in with her's!

Gum followed both Frag and Port's example once cracks started to seep into her opponent's artificial head. Gum aimed through the cracks with another raised finger and fired another powerful blast. Glopping liquids that even if I didn't want to consume met each other in frantic, violent intercourse that left the robot's processor so gunked up that it might as well have turned it into a statue.

Gum didn't even bother dwelling over her victory for a second, instead firing her makeshift weapon towards Eternus! Noticing her outstretched call, Eternus instantly took advantage, headbutting the robot so hard it got pushed back. With their now gained back distance, Eternus unfurled his cape with the flick of a wrist, catching the robot's head with said cloak and tying it back into his self-made bag.

That new weapon was all he needed, as with inhuman vengeance and superb technique, Eternus unleashed violent haymaker after haymaker. Each hit carved itself into a robot as if he was scratching through a mirror. With Nefario's direct control, they tried to lunge in and counterattack, but that was a bad move.

Cause that small piece of human error was something that Eternus always seized for its full worth! Before those metallic hands could even touch Eternus, he shifted gears completely to spin around and cleave its head off like a guillotine! No hint of hesitation was in Eternus' face as he unfurled his cape with as much speed as an earlier onslaught.

Multiple pieces and parts fell to the wayside as, without a second thought, we all rushed to a still in indeed Fury! In that short period, her battle went from bad to worst, as she struggled for dear life while getting choked out by her Nefaribot's metal grip! That was pretty much the last mistake that droid could ever make as the rest of us started to close in like murder of crows!

Eternus and Gum restrained their hands while Port and Frag closed in! Finally, Port cut into the Nerfaibot's neck using an already shattered glass mug while Frag made the quick save for Fury. However, in the most surprising of all moves, Fury entered back into the fray!

Armed with rage and violence on par with Eternus, Fury exploded, using almost bestial strength to stomp the robot so hard it cracked! Oil quickly sprouted out like a water balloon, but Fury didn't stop, reaching into the tiny opening created by Port to rip its already damaged head clean off promptly! By the time I dragged my pained self to others, Fury had let out a primal scream of pure unadulterated rage!

However, as quickly as this terrifying outburst was, Fury quickly replaced it all with layered bewilderment as if she finally remembered her surroundings. I could tell she was about to say something about it too. Still, before that could happen, Nefario's rather annoying voice started to make its appearance through a rather overdramatic applause.

"My, my, my, that was an excellent display as I expected from all of you. But I have to give Ricochet the award for sheer performance; your late-night training with Frag is doing wonders. I wonder how it will serve you in the trial to come. So see you there," he said enthusiastically.

In the span of a few seconds, a dense cloud of silence filled the entire room as Eternus decided to carry all of the other's respective curiosity in one aimed question.

"What training?"