[03] Arctic Sector FIGHT

[DA 2009]

ALEXANDER TRAFFORD VS. KADEN

“Wabbits?” Kaden repeated dazedly.

Alexander nodded. Wasn’t he clear enough the first time? Then again, who could tell? He was riding on cloud nine. As he squeezed the trigger, Kaden flippantly smacked the gun away from the center of his chest, and the energy-augmented round fired uselessly off into the chilly sky. “I dodged it,” Kaden said matter-of-factly.

“Wascally wabbit,” Ace replied in frustration.

Kaden backed away. “I’m sorry,” he shrugged sincerely. It seemed like the polite thing to say. The orange-haired youth was trying so hard, and the courier felt a little bad for him. The least the red-eyed boy could do was make him feel better about himself. Then he thought perhaps a joke would help; it usually worked in any other situation. “Maybe it’s duck season?”

“Wabbit season!” Ace insisted.

“Duck season!” Kaden giggled.

“Wabbit season!”

“Duck season!”

“Wabbit season!”

“Rabbit season,” Kaden baited perfectly.

“Duck season!” Trafford suddenly switched.

“Rabbit season!”

“Duck season! Fire!” Ace put the gun up to his own head, before realizing at the very last second what he was doing, and jerked his cranium away from the trajectory of the bullet and it sailed off without harm. He felt a mixture of amusement and irritation that he’d fallen for the oldest trick in Bugs Bunny’s book.

“Whoa, hey man, I was just trying to lighten the mood. I didn’t mean to do that. Are you okay?” Kaden asked, moving closer to inspect the health of his opponent.

Alex moved to pistol-whip Kaden with a backward swinging motion of his arm, and the courier bent backwards at the midsection to avoid it, decidedly taking a few steps back afterwards.

“Good,” the courier said. “I thought you might have hurt yourself.”

Trafford stared almost drunkenly at his opponent. “I’m great,” he slurred.

“Yeah, you’re doing pretty well,” the blond-haired boy admitted. “If I was actually fighting, it might be a lot more fun. Maybe some other time, though.”

Ace spun the pistol around on his hand, contemplating his next move and taking a few puffs on his cigarette. He then gripped his second pistol and pointed them barrel-up towards the sky. “Check this out,” Alexander said. He released them, but they didn’t fall. Instead, they levitated into the air, encased in a glow of ki. It took some of the personal element out of using his beloved Desert Eagles, except this was a killer idea.

Kaden’s Sight activated, and he could see the technique at work again; some form of influence from Alex was behind the seemingly magical manipulation. He watched with morbid curiosity as the pistols eventually turned on him. The curiosity shattered with resounding realization as the guns began to fire of their own will, sending a peppering wave of bullets his way. He twisted and contorted his body to dodge them, eventually throwing up a barrier to catch the rest in a net of exploding shrapnel. Alex didn’t look the least bit annoyed this time; he rather enjoyed watching Kaden squirm. That is, of course, until the courier fired a bolt of ki his way. Ace was in no physical condition to dodge, and couldn’t react fast enough. The Break hit him dead on, and he could feel the psychokinetic energy within him diffuse, causing his pistols to clatter uselessly into the snow. Kaden kicked the pistols away, trying to obscure them in the snow. As long as his opponent was disarmed and had nothing to hit him with, the courier figured it would be a hell of a lot easier to stay alive in this fight.

Alex simply pulled out a pair of old leather gloves from inside his jacket and slipped them on his fingers. “Welcome to Fight Club!” he announced grandly as he raised his fists into a boxing position.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Kaden advised.

“Well I do! Now come here so I can kick your ass!” Ace ordered.

“I told you, I’m not fighting, and I can’t let you beat me, either,” Kaden replied.

“Then I’m comin’ to you,” Alex said, and he proceeded to stumble over to his opponent.

Kaden shook his head. The boy’s advantage was at long-range combat. What in the world was he thinking? Alex charged up his gloves with energy, and threw a few wide-missing punches. Kaden didn’t bother to raise his arms, as it wasn’t very difficult to dodge. Trafford eventually lost his balance and tumbled into the snow, and the courier waited for him to get up. He was trying so hard.

“Hold still,” Ace commanded. “I must break you!” he added in a thick faux Russian accent.

Their little dance continued, and Kaden repeatedly moved backwards, hard-pressed for ideas. At last, Alex backed off a couple of paces and threw his open palms up to his ears.

“Okay, I surrender,” he said cheerfully.

“Really?” Kaden replied, somewhat incredulous.

“No, not really,” Alex answered honestly. A single desert eagle flew to his palm, and he aimed and fired before the courier had time to dodge. Kaden caught the bullet directly in his shoulder, and his body twisted to the side from the force of the impact. Alex chuckled; all he’d been doing was moving around until he could find his gun. After using the firearm so many times, and imbuing it with his energy, it seemed almost synchronized with his body. At least, that’s what he’d liked to brag about. He’d simply seen it half-buried in the snow. The fresh trail on the otherwise virgin snow was a dead giveaway.

Kaden grunted, a hand moving immediately to the bullet hole to staunch the flow of blood. On pure reaction, he threw up a Flare, knocking Alex back before he had time to detonate the psychokinetic-infused bullet. Trafford was knocked bodily in the opposite direction, and he crumpled in the snow. Kaden hissed in agony as he used his ki to push the slug out of his body so it couldn’t be used a second time. It dropped in a trail of blood onto the white blanket of ice below. Alexander would not be deterred, however, and he got right back up and aimed his gun again.

“Combat protocol complete. Disengaging stasis field,” the collars chirped.

The bullet blasted through the air, directly at Kaden’s chest, just barely missing and whizzing through empty air, as the two were teleported away from the stasis field.