"Come on Arma! You can punch better than that!" Phoenix bellowed loudly, nearly missing the kick that was thrown at her way. Arma grunted loudly, his face somewhat pale and perspiring a lot. His vision seemed disoriented with exhaustion but he continued to press on and instinctively avoiding the mirror that Phoenix was trying to force him to see. It was not like he was purposely glancing away from the mirror; it was his natural instincts kicking in to look anywhere but the mirror.
Phoenix knew this was so very well but continued to shove the mirror in his face for the umpteenth time. Once again, he avoided his gaze and continued to attack her with his fist. Phoenix noticed that after many duels with other players, Arma had significantly improved. Though he was a bit awkward in some areas but it was still impressive for a guy who doesn't want to fight.
The mystery of Arma, not recalling his experience in Blessed Combat had baffled both Zatch and Phoenix. From what she and Zatch knew, Arma wasn't motivated enough to join Blessed Combat two years ago when the Taboo occurred. However, the moment when Phantom Dancer, whoever that mystery man was, destroyed more than half of the game stage, Arma fell unconscious at the apartment all three of them used to live.
For five whole minutes, there was no pulse, no heartbeat and no breathing from him. Arma's body had grown cold and Zatch almost declared him dead. However, since Phoenix was at present, Zatch couldn't say it out loud because Arma was like family to the girl, no matter how annoying he was. For her to hear that news would only break her heart.
Then, just when the medics appeared, Arma started breathing again. His vital functions were working properly and he woke up in a slight daze. At that point, there was nothing wrong with him. He could remember his real name, what happened in Earth, how he got into the game, who Phoenix and Zatch was and the fact that everyone else thought of him as a monster. So of course both Zatch and Phoenix didn't suspect anything from Arma.
That was until they asked Arma whether he was joining Blessed Combat again and what he thought about the Taboo that was broadcasted live in their personal TV. Phoenix could still remember the shock in Zatch's face when Arma answered back. It was as if Arma had been abducted by aliens and brainwashed.
"Eh? What do you mean joining it again? And what Taboo?"
The memories of his experiences in Blessed Combat and him being unconscious when the Taboo occurred were gone. Time to time, Arma had holes and gaps in some other memories too but he never questioned them as he always shrugged it off as normal. However, both Zatch and Phoenix knew very well that it wasn't normal. Something had happened to Arma and his memories during the Taboo even though he wasn't even part of it.
Back at the present, Phoenix dodged off another punch by catching it with her fist despite how painful it was. Arma growled lightly and stepped back, preparing for another combination combat move. He stepped forward with his left foot and placed more weight in that leg to keep him balanced. He then thrust out his right hand, throwing a punch to which Phoenix swiftly dodged by side stepping.
"So...you...don't...know...What...the trials are?" Phoenix gasped at each word as she either dodged or threw a fist or two at Arma. The tall lad grunted, to which Phoenix took as a yes. She jumped back, causing him to relax a bit but still poised to attack. Phoenix crossed her arms over her chest, rocking the mirror with her left hand as she shook her head in disbelief.
"Before we continue... I'll explain it to you." Arma gasped out in relief. He was more or less felt wasted after fighting Phoenix for so long. He placed both his hands on his knees and painfully inhaled all the air he could get. Sweat drops trickled down from his head and dropped on the white ground below him, staining it in grey splotches.
"Basically the trials are like a test to find if you have what it takes to join in Blessed Combat. It's not the real thing but sort of the same thing. Like how to say, it's a beta version of it?" Phoenix explained weakly with an impish smile. Arma simply nodded, gesturing her to continue. Phoenix cleared her throat before she did so.
"So in these trials, it will be a lot like those random games the AI created for us as entertainment. Though, you have to wear exoskeletons which acts like your second skin. You won't get to use the secondary mass or the machine until you beat everyone else and be in the Top Five. So in short, you have to fight yourself through everything. After all, its 'Blessed Combat'." Arma sighed with a groan.
"Remind me again never to ask you anything" Arma retorted which earned him a kick in the stomach. Phoenix's right foot actually disappeared in his navel and Arma instantly coughed out blood. However, both him and the girl knew he could survive with that. Phoenix had done much worse damage to him than to suffer badly from this wound.
"As I was saying before you graciously interrupted..." Phoenix spoke dramatically to which Arma rolled his eyes. He was hugging his sore stomach and it was a miracle that the fiery girl didn't see the eye roll or she would have added another injury.
"These trials only accept five teams. A team can be a solo player too if I might add. So if you managed to get to the Top Five you can bet that you are safe but it doesn't end there. There is also the first place, second place and third place to think about too. So I would say to look forward in staying alive and going through it all till you get into the Top Five."
Arma was then in deep thought, processing it all in slowly. That was when Phoenix realised that this was her chance to counter back. Secretly apologising at Arma for what she was about to do, Phoenix quickly strolled to him. This action made him flinch and lean back. Arma naturally looked up and for the first time in a long while, found himself staring at his own reflection.
He looked somewhat pale and his brunette hair was windblown. His grey eyes were wide and hollow which stared back at him and that's when Arma felt something pulsing inside of him. In his thoughts, he was swearing at Phoenix with pure hatred. How could she? Why would she do this to him?
Phoenix instantly removed the mirror from his face and jumped a few feet back. She had herself poised to defend herself from whatever that was going to erupt out of the tall lad. Chances are she would be pulverised but she had a slight chance that she would be alive. For now, she would have to bet on that chance.
Arma clutched his head tightly when a headache came crashing in. It was so strong; Arma would have sworn his head would have split into two. He blinked furiously in pain, seeing a vision that was slowly surfacing in his vision. It was blurred and disarrayed, like a TV not getting enough signal. He stared numbly as someone standing casually on the edge of a roof. That someone suddenly fell as the roof gave away from his weight. Arma watched in horror as he pummelled down a fifty feet height and was about to smack on the white floor to death.
Wait...white floor?
Arma instinctively zoomed in, trying to figure out whose death was occurring before his eyes. To his horror, he recognised the glasses that person was wearing anywhere. It was Zatch. His childhood friend with the biggest annoying mouth in the whole world, was going to die? How long from now? A few seconds? A few minutes? Will he be able to stop that?
That's when Arma felt the power of the unknown flowing into him. Arma groggily curled up in a ball, trying his best to not react but the power inside of him was surging up too much. Everything seemed horribly disoriented and it was as if his vision had turned into a broken and shattered glass with cracks everywhere, causing him to shut his eyes tightly
"Hold it in, hold it in, hold it in, hold it in," Arma thought furiously, scared that if he did not then it would burst out of him from being suppressed too long. The tall lad recalled Phoenix, also scared at using her Major, Pyromania. It was just as destructive as his and she was frightened she could hurt someone with it.
However, from what Zatch had told the tall lad, she managed to conquer her fears by convincing herself that she is going to control her Major, not the other way around. Would that trick work on him as well? The tall lad could only hope. He stayed there, still curled up and tried to breathe deeply but the unknown power was growing all the more intense, causing his mental screams grow louder
"DON'T DON'T DON'T DON'T DON'T DON'T DON'T!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SAVE HIM IF YOU KEEP REACTING WITHOUT ME PERMISSION?!"
"Looks like we meet again..." Arma felt both his eyes cracked open at the familiar voice. He was all the more baffled to find that the intensive energy that was building inside of him suddenly vanished. The tall lad looked up only to find he was not in the training area. He was in an old shabby looking elevator, with someone sitting at a stool at one corner.
Arma vaguely recognised him as someone in his dream as he noticed the yellow character hoodie. The stranger still had his eyes shadowed and the tall lad wanted it that way. Something about his face had made several shivers to run down his spine. The last time, which was also his first time when he saw his face, something made him coil back in fear.
"Where am I?" Arma asked suddenly, not too bothered to find out how he got there.
"Hmm...That's a difficult question to answer right now. Let's say that your body is back at that interesting city but your mind is at the core of the AI..." The stranger, Arma should really give him a name, smiled cheerfully. As he said this, Arma scanned around his surroundings. The back of the elevator wall was transparent, fully revealing several other elevators that went up and down, side to side and even in curves and eventually disappearing to thin air. He didn't know whether the guy he was with was telling the truth about his mind and body though one thing is for sure; he was definitely in a whole new dimension.
"Why did you bring me here?" Arma asked. The yellow hooded seemed startled by the question, or he looked like that despite most of his face being covered with the Pikachu hoodie. Arma can only guess.
"Oh wow, already getting used to the strange surroundings now are we?
"I dealt with stranger things in my life. Now, answer me." Arma retorted gently and asked a bit too harshly than intended. Though, he knew the harsh tone in his voice went to deaf ears as the yellow hooded guy merely shrugged his shoulders with his hands raised in such a way, it was almost as if he was saying 'it can't be helped'.
"Don't get me wrong, I do want to help you control better of your Major. My reasons are a secret for the time being. I was happy when you finally started trying to accept your Major so I thought I would bring you here to give you a simple hint at your power." The yellow hooded guy explained as he stood up from the stool. He then walked closer to Arma, much to his discomfort and pointed towards his chest, where Arma's heart was beating. The tall lad refrained himself from stepping back as he wanted to keep his distance with the weird person in the elevator.
"The trick to controlling your Major is Desire and Will. You need the desire of saving someone and the will to protect. It might be difficult for you but in time, it will eventually sort itself out." The yellow hooded guy instructed gently, almost as if he was treating the tall lad as his younger brother. The air around him seemed different than before. The first time Arma known this guy, there was a shady aura around him but now, it seemed warm.
"Sort itself?" Arma asked curiously when he processed the last few words. It was mind boggling thing to say. How can a power just simply, sort itself out? The stranger simply nodded, flinging his index finger infinity symbol as he rambled away.
"Yes. Right now you are having an ongoing battle with that Major and you aren't in good terms with it. Think of it as a best friend instead. You wouldn't want to shun your friends out now would you?" Arma recalled the faces of his only four companions. Sure Zatch was irritating, Phoenix was too impulsive, Stabs was weird and Zessica was a mystery, but they were there to stay by his side and keep him company. Arma was grateful for all four of them to accept him as a part of their gang, despite how abnormal they all can be sometimes.
"So once you are friends with that Major, it will help you along the way." The yellow hooded guy then glanced at his watch, something Arma hadn't noticed before. It was like an ordinary leather black watch but something was afoot about it. Arma would have sworn he had seen it before. Too soon, the stranger hid it under his sleeves.
"Ah, time is up. It's time for you to go back." He smiled once more which was a whole lot more decent than the ones he had earlier. Arma was now in a tight fix. Can he trust this guy as his ally, or watch out for his back to be stabbed by him? What should he do? Trust him or not trust him? Be on good terms with but keep a distance?
"Wait...I have a feeling this isn't going to be the last time we are meeting..."
"Yea it isn't. There is a lot more encounters to come, my friend hehe" The stranger chuckled lightly which still left the tall lad with more questions than answers. He guessed it would be alright that not to get all the answers he needed in one day. After all, if what he said was true he would answer some of his question next time. If not, well, there was always Zatch to give him information.
"Then, what do I call you? I honestly can't bear of thinking to call you Pikachu..." Arma said jokingly which to his surprise, made both of them to snicker lightly. Since when had he started making jokes so casually? How long had it been since he could finally speak without thinking anything?
A sudden realisation popped into his head. Zessica, why does she always think before she speaks? Was she afraid of something? Or was it an influence of a traumatic incident she might have had on the day she had lost her memories? As Arma was engulfed with his own thoughts, the stranger stopped snickering and gave a somewhat sad smile.
"Hmm...thats a bit personal. I'll let you choose instead."
"Me? As in your name?" Arma asked bewilderedly. The stranger simply smirked.
"Sure. Why not?" Arma remained silent, trying to come up with a good name for a guy like him. He remained that way for a long while those minutes seemed to pass by. It took him at least a good five minutes to finally come up with one.
"...Oliver..." The hooded guy stiffened instantly, his mouth parted which a muffled gasp escaped from him. Arma also tensed, not liking what the hooded guy reacted towards the name. Had he provoked him? Was the name too pathetic?
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing! Just surprised thats all! Bye for now, Sawyer!" The stranger, now Oliver, merely quickly shrugged it off. His voice tone seemed a bit off, as if forced. Arma knew that he wasn't satisfied or he didn't like the name he had given him. However, he did say that he would let Arma choose one for him now didn't he? Plus how the heck did he knew his real name?!
"I told you not to call me tha-
"Arma!" Arma felt something jostling him sharply, causing his eyelids that were magically shut to fly open in surprise. He briefly registered the look of concern in Phoenix eye's before scanning around the monochrome world. He was back. His mind was synchronised back in his body and the stranger, Oliver, was nowhere in sight.
"I can't believe this, you actually hold it back right after struggling for a few minutes.." Phoenix muttered lightly, the look of disbelief pasted on her face. Arma stared quizzically at her, wondering what she had meant by that. The girl must have realised that since after that, she gave a winning smile at him and hugged him tightly. Arma was once again, stumped to the core.
"You did it Arma! You won against your Major!" Phoenix squealed, her hug tightening at the second. Arma didn't know whether she was trying to be comforting or trying to kill him with her killer grip. He decided it was not the latter and tried his best to breathe. More importantly, what had she said just now? He won against his Major? ...He what?
"I...did?..." Arma uttered back numbly, unable to conceal his shock. Phoenix let go of him and looked back with amused red eyes. She playfully slapped him on the shoulder, almost pushing him back by the force and laughed joyously. Arma blinked as she did this. He had never seen Phoenix so chipper before. Was his new achievement that great? Just when he was about to ask her that, the fiery girl reverted back to her commanding side again, making him wondering had he imagined it all?
"Yes you numbskull! You just need to control that more next time. For now I'll have to guess that took you five minutes to hold it in. Other players won't wait for five minutes for you to attack so we will have to work on that till it goes to a second, got that?" Arma groaned. There she goes again, the mother of strict commands but then, ultimately she is a mother so he had to respect her.
"How long do you think it will take?" Arma asked curiously as he groggily got up. He was stunned to find that his body still felt lethargic despite he had it rested for a short while. Maybe he really needed to catch up with sleep. After all, he would need all the sleep he could get to remain healthy at all times if he is taking part in Blessed Combat.
"If you train everyday might take a few weeks. That is if your luck holds enough."
Just then, just a few blocks away from both of them, a loud explosion took place. It was so unexpected; both of them instantly turned their attention to the white smoke that was drifting from one building. Before they could react, several poles and stop signs were thrown at the opposite building with lightning speed and two figures emerged out of the smoke
One figure, a small one which Arma immediately guessed as Zessica, hopped from one pole to another. He was awestruck to find that she was doing it backwards while concentrating most of her attention towards the source of the explosion. She even somersaulted backwards and landed on a nearby neon light advertising board with ease. The other figure, Zatch was pirouetting from one pole, to another stop sign and landed on a random grey roof.
"Hahaha, Stabs you really are slow when both of us are free running away from you!" Zatch chirpily cried out while having both his hands fished in his jacket pockets casually. He had one of his mischievous smirks towards the lanky silhouette that was slowly emerging from the smoke. Stabs was holding one minivan with one hand and glaring at Zatch with several veins throbbing at his left temple.
"...Is Stabs angry?" Arma asked a bit queasily. He heard the girl beside him gulp uncomfortably.
"Yea...this is the first time I seen him pissed off at Zatch. I have forgotten that Stab's Major is Immersive Strength. He had always used his Minor, Stealth most of the time. That bastard might have gone too far with a joke or two...but why is he mad at Zessica as well?" True to her words, Arma noticed that Stabs threw the minivan towards the shorter girl's direction. Zessica swiftly leaped atleast fifteen feet in the air and landed on the top side of an advertising board. She then activated her Major, and sent several small stones towards another huge advertising board. Arma felt his eyes almost bulge out when it took her only two stones to send it falling towards Stabs.
Stabs reacted immediately and moved out of the way while the other two runaway players fled. The impact of the board on the ground was tremendous, causing a small earthquake. Arma and Phoenix had to put more weight in their feet to prevent themselves from falling. When the moment ceased, Arma saw Stabs carrying a strangled traffic light, charging at them with rage.
"Get back here you rodent!" Stabs bellowed loudly to which Zatch immediately replied happily back in a cheeky tone.
"Ahaha are you stupid? If I do that I would get killed!" Arma saw as several vein throbbed at Stab's forehead as he flung the traffic light in his hands back. That's when Arma felt something landing and pushing itself off his head. Soon another followed. He turned to find both Zessica and Zatch had used the top of his head as their stepping stone as they ascend towards different rooftops. something about that grinded his nerves.
"That's what I am trying to do Idiot!" Stabs yelled and thrust the traffic light forward.
"Hu...WaaAAAaaAaaah!" Both Arma and Phoenix cried as they saw the traffic light coming at fast speed towards. They both side stepped away quickly as it whizzed past them. If they had been a second slower, they would have gotten to know Mr.Traffic Light for a long time.
Arma watch as both Zatch and Zessica impressively avoided the strangled post and cleanly landed on two opposing buildings. Zatch rested most of his weight on one leg, his right hand fished in his jacket pocket and smirked ruefully at Stabs.
"You really are something else Stabs. I never thought you would react this much by that one single sip" Stabs growled in response which made Arma to flinch. Stabs was usually the calm and down to earth type of guy. What had Zatch done to him? Whatever it was, Stabs looked mortifying now.
"That was very cruel of you to trick him like that. Are you really enjoying yourself by giving him a personality alter potion than a fruit drink you claimed it was?" Zessica asked somewhat coldly. Phoenix slapped her forehead, knowing very well that Zatch was capable of such things.
"Hmm...Maybe?~" Zatch answered with a flimsy gesture of his hand. Zessica simply went quiet, not asking any further.
"Zatch!!! Get back down here!" Stabs yelled furiously, now lifting up a huge boulder that was once part of a road. He flung it against the building Zatch was on to which the guy in glasses simply jumped onto another roof and watch the previous building crumble down in delight.
"You good for nothing bastard! I demand you to fix Stabs right now!" Phoenix ordered furiously as she glared at Zatch, fully intending to turn him into a human torch. Arma suddenly noticed the situation they were in. He stared at the roof Zatch was on and saw it slightly shifting down at Zatch's weight.
This was it, the moment before Zatch pummels to his death. Arma immediately recalled what Oliver had told him as a trick to handle his Major. Desire and Will. He must desire to save Zatch and have a strong will to protect him. Arma closed his eyes, enveloping his mind with fond memories of their time together.
There were those memories where they both fought and there were those where challenged each other at wits. There were memories of Phoenix too, the three of them running barefoot on a hill towards the sunset. Will they be able to do that again? How would their lives be like when Zatch is gone? Without his evil smirks and pranks? Without his knowledgeable brain to constantly tick them off?
In all honesty, Arma couldn't even picture the future without that annoying voice of Zatch's.
"Jeez Phoenix! He only took one sip. The effects won't last too long. A full day at most" Zatch answered Phoenix cheekily who had her jaw hung ajar.
"A day?! What kind of strong potion did you brew this ti-
The hot headed girl was interrupted with a loud creak that reverberated around the monochrome world. All of a sudden, the roof of where Zatch was on gave away, surprising him as he then was gliding towards gravity's force.
At that moment, power burst through Arma's veins and he could feel his eyes burning almost scorchingly hot. He focused on the ground that Zatch was going to smack into and felt the unknown power travelling from his chest to his shoulders, arms and then to his hands. He then gestured it up, causing the earth of where Zatch was going to land to raise up to thirty feet in the air.
Zatch felt his eyes widened as he landed gently on the huge rocky platform Arma unwittingly made for him. For one thing, he shouldn't have landed on it. His Major was activated so he should have gone through instead. A mortifying thought popped in his mind.
If Arma hadn't done that, would his Major fail him and would he have died on the floor right then? With his head cracked open? Had his bastard of a friend for seen his death? Zatch shivered lightly at the thought he had escaped from death by a mere few seconds.
Zatch saw Zessica, at the opposite building, staring intensively at him. There was a look of suspicion in her eyes but the guy in glasses doubted it was towards him. He was also more or less stumped why his Major didn't work. Was it some sort of bug? Had he lost control of it?
"Zatch!" Arma's alarmed voice rung in Zatch's ears. He turned to find the tall lad running up to him, his face flushed with worry. Phoenix was close at the tall lad's heels. Just then he suddenly felt his chest loosen a bit which struck him as odd. How long had he had a tight sensation in his chest? It was the exact same feeling when Zessica finally made a punch at him. Was she the source of his Major malfunctioning?
Zatch shook the thought away. It couldn't be. Even if she was so, she was unaware of it. Testing his Major again, Zatch gave a small sigh of relief as he dropped and passed down the platform and landed safely on the floor. It was one less thing to worry about for now.
"Zatch are you alright?" Phoenix asked immediately, searching for any source of injuries. Zatch gently pulled her away and gave her one of his signature evil smiles.
"I am fine Phoenix. Fit to be tied" Zatch chuckles humorously as Phoenix tried to strangle him for being too carefree. At the corner of his eyes he saw Arma, staring at his own hands in awe as if he couldn't believe what he had just achieved.
Before Zatch could congratulate him in his own fashion, he saw Stabs slowly advancing towards them, his hand scratching at the back of his head. He looked slightly out of it, as if he woke up too early from a deep slumber. Zatch grinned broadly. It seemed the effects of the potion had worn off.
"Good to see you back old friend!" Stabs stared at him with s perplexed face. He looked even more lost than ever and scanned around his surroundings.
"Did I do this?" Stabs asked confusedly. Before anyone could answer him, Stabs froze when he saw Zessica who was still crouched at the lip of another building. The girl stared back, her head cocked to a side in curiosity. Stabs's eyes widened and soon he was bowing to his knees.
"I am so sorry! I didn't mean to attack you! I don't know what came over me but I deserve a harsh beating to attack a girl!" The other three simply blinked blankly as Stabs announced this loudly. Zessica stood up from her roof, her eyes boring holes on Stabs.
"It's alright. I know you didn't mean to so please, raise your head" Stabs leisurely got up from his kneeling position when something light hit his nose. Astonished, he wiped away what seemed like a water drop. Soon, more came pouring down.
"Its raining?" Phoenix asked bewilderedly, her arms spread out as if she was welcoming them.
"That's strange, it never rained here" Stabs noted lightly to which Arma wondered if something bad was approaching.
"Well there's always a first time for everything right?" Zatch mused loudly, chuckling as he lightly hopped from one foot to another.
"Let's go back." Phoenix suggested in a level-head tone.
"Zessica! You can come down now!"
Unfortunately, the short girl remained there, freezing against the rain. It only occurred a while later to Arma that she was doubtful that she would land safely despite wearing an exoskeleton. He secretly agreed that without much practice in landing, it might injure her in some odd way.
"Okay Zessica, I'll catch you so jump on the count of three okay?" Arma instructed as he made his way closer to the building. He didn't trust his Minor of flight to get her down since the weather was not at his side. The rain was cold and his arms felt numb but he was certain they had the strength to catch a small kid. He didn't wait for her to nod in approval and started counting.
"One-
He couldn't even continue to count the next number when the short girl leaped towards him. Swallowing his tongue with his teeth gritting at each other, Arms managed to catch the girl who landed roughly in his arms. The force was surprisingly so big; the tall lad had to take a few steps back to steady himself.
"What the heck were you thinking?! I said on the count of three! Not the count of one! What would you do if I hadn't caught you?!" Arma scolded loudly as he gently placed the short girl on the grey ground.
"But you did catch me" Zessica replied nonchalantly, dissipating his anger once more. Arma sighed, and glanced at her with sad eyes.
"Then why?" For the first time from the moment he met her, Zessica finally spoke without thinking too deeply. She almost replied back, her words purer than he had thought she would be.
"The same reason for involving you in Blessed Combat... I trust you" Arma felt his heart making strange flips as she said this and a blush creeped on his face. Zessica simply stared at his embarrassed red face, not in the least shy of what she had said.
"Come on you two, the portal's closing!" Stabs voice interrupted his thoughts and Arma instantly grabbed her wrist, pulling her with him.
"...Thank you Zessica..." Arma whispered lightly in the rain, having not enough courage to say it to her face. He even wondered whether she heard him or not when he felt her small cold hands squeezing his own palms fondly.
Arma let himself have a small smile at the fact that she had heard him. He would train every day, practice his Major till he masters it. He would do it for his friends, for the sake of this girl too. He would protect her till his last breathe and eventually, he will see her smile.