[01] Arctic Sector FIGHT

[DA 2009]

ALEXANDER TRAFFORD VS. TEMPO

Tempo had absolutely no defense against Alex’s attacks. The music thrummed deeply in his ears, drowning out all else, but the heavy metal tune was seemingly a harbinger of his doom. He couldn’t help but scream as the bullets whizzed by, a few of them making contact and exploding on the kid’s skin. Had it not been for his insane innate abilities, he might have been blown to pieces. As it was, he received a few horrendous scorch marks, the shrapnel from the bullets digging into his flesh and eliciting fresh cries of pain. Blood spilled on his skin, and this time, it wasn’t that of a helpless rabbit.

Due to the nature of the storm, not all of the rounds made it to their intended target, but there was nothing Tempo could do to free himself. His sensei had taught him well, yet this was an entirely new experience.

Alex couldn’t help but laugh. This wasn’t even fair. Once the physical element was removed, Ace had an unbeatable upper hand. Just then, he heard the voice speak again.

“Combat protocol complete. Disengaging stasis field,” the collar curtly informed.

“What? No!” Alex protested.

Before he could do anything—as if he could have done something at all—Alex felt himself being transported again. He wasn’t, however, back in the safety of his nice warm bunker, but in another section of the Arctic Sector entirely. Looking around, he could see that Tempo was gone, as was his nicely crafted maelstrom of snow. If he finished off the orange-haired kid, he wasn’t going to get to see. More than likely, the music-addicted youth received the same treatment, ensuring that the coup de grace wasn’t going to be delivered. Ace had created a perfect maneuver that guaranteed his victory, and somehow due to technical interference, he got cheated.

Alex threw his hands in the air, guns and all.

“What kind of bullshit was that?!”