Chapter 13: Battle Against a Flying Foe
His cut closed up in a matter of seconds as if nothing happened to it. Derp snuck from behind, swung his fish at the unsuspecting Sterloin, and knocked him back with one, impactful hit. He was sent back flying and fell offthe mountain's peak with such great force. Before he could even fall to his doom, Sterloin grabbed onto a stony ledge, and slowly began to climb his way up.
Arianna took out her iron hoe, wielding it alongside her pickaxe. She sprinted, and lunged towards Derp, with both weapons in hand, only to be pushed away with a gust of wind from the flap of HackThoop's elytra wings. She was thrown off and tumbled to the ground from such force.
This gave Derp another opening to strike Arianna down. He took out his fish and swung it at her, only for Arianna to roll and dodge to the left. The fish's head landed on the ground as it missed Arianna, it got partially buried and Derp had a hard time getting it off.
While he was frantically trying to pull the fish out of the ground, the hook of Pixel's fishing rod wrapped around the fishing line around his body, coiling him like a python holding its prey still. He was reeled in closer while tumbling away on the stony ground to Pixel's direction helplessly.
Derp couldn't get out, nor had a way to cut through the strings. He was finally caught by Pixel, suffocating him and snapping his neck with only the tight grip fishing rod's line. A cannon fired from a distance; Derp has been eliminated.
The fight still ensues, leaving Pixel and Arianna, and HackThoop on the battleground. HackThoop was enraged. His teammate was killed off easily with a fishing rod, leaving him alone in the simulation.
But how?! "Hmph, mere servants do not get the opportunity to be spared, anyway." HackThoop readied his trident. "Show me what you've got." Arianna and Pixel charged at HackThoop with their weapons.
HackThoop descended to the ground and went in for Pixel first, punching his chin which knocked his glasses off his face. This rendered Pixel vulnerable due to his poor eyesight; HackThoop now has the potential to end him once and for all.
With his trident raised triumphantly in the air, he readied to impale Pixel on the ground. Arianna then rushed in, and kicked HackThoop out of the way while he wasn’t looking, making him stumble on the ground before his weapon got to bury itself deep into Pixel's chest. She quickly grabbed, wiped the glasses clear, and then gave them to Pixel, who then placed them back on his face.
“Ugh, pathetic.” HackThoop mumbled as he stood back up flawlessly while clutching onto the side Arianna kicked to ease the pain.
Without a second thought, Arianna grabbed her weapons back and bolted to the hacker to attack him full-on. “Ari, don’t-!” Pixel’s shout was cut out as it hurt his chin.
HackThoop clasped his trident with his right hand and shoved Arianna’s arm to the side as he swooped forward. She was knocked back and thrown to the ground by the collision. He got back to her and grabbed her by the throat, slowly raising her to kill her in such a dramatic way. Arianna gasped for air and stared deeply into HackThoop’s eye, defeated and hopeless. She tried fighting back and tried to kick him, but her legs couldn’t just reach even just a bit of HackThoop. She tried hitting his forearm and hands in hopes of numbing them, only to realize that she’d get more tired than he ever would.
After Pixel struggled to get his vision back in order, the first thing he saw was Arianna, struggling to breathe as HackThoop held her up in the air, choking. “Arianna!” Pixel shouted and stood up. He swayed back and forth, still hurt and dizzy from HackThoop's blow.
Pixel tried to free Arianna by slicing off HackThoop's arm with his blade but was stopped before he even got near, as the hacker turned and flapped his wings, sending yet another strong gust of wind towards Pixel.
He was nearly thrown off from the mountain peak, sweat ran through his body and his heart throbbed faster as he flew mid-air, witnessing his doom in slow-motion. Before he could even fall, Sterloin climbed back up, threw his sword at HackThoop, severing the limb which choked Arianna, caught Pixel in his arms and gently got him back up.
Arianna fell to the floor with HackThoop’s severed arm, making a disgusting, fleshy thud as it landed on the ground. HackThoop screamed in agony, he had never felt such a thing before. Impossible! He thought. He turned around and saw Sterloin carrying Pixel, an indication that he was saved from a supposed death. Enraged, he picked his forearm back up and connected it back to his arm, patching up the cut like it didn’t exist.
“Come on, then. Finish me.” HackThoop taunted, just as the group charged at him, ready to cleave him down to shreds.
The heavy impact of Pixel, Arianna, and Sterloin’s several blades sliced through HackThoop in rapid, coordinated slashes. With his arms crossed, the hacker just stood there menacingly, not moving a single inch. Turns out, he wasn't affected by the weapons, and his wounded skin just regenerated immediately right after being cut.
"You're just tiring yourselves out." said HackThoop, right before he jumped high up in the air, pushing the three back from the tremendous force. He fell back down, creating a shockwave that hurt his opponents after plunging his weapon to the ground. He laid his eyes on Sterloin and charged at him.
Sterloin got down, and laid on his stomach, dodging HackThoop as he swooped. You’re overusing your swoops, try hitting me another way! He thought, after learning his opponent’s repeated patterns.
He grabbed Arianna and Pixel by their arms and ran, formulating a plan as they went. “I found a way to cheese this cheater!” Both of his teammates questioned him but were eager to learn.
“The instincts of prey direct them to run when encountering a predator.” HackThoop chased after the three, catching them up in a matter of seconds. “In short, get back here!”
He tried bumping them from the side but missed, only going overhead Sterloin and company as they ducked below.
“I told you!” Sterloin remarked.
“Okay, what’s the plan?” asked Arianna.
“Pixel, go for his wings, tie it up. Then try to catch the command block too. Pass it to Ari, then she breaks it with her pickaxe. I'll distract him, NOW GO!” The three split ways, each trying to do their part.
Sterloin dug through the ground, found, then threw a pebble on HackThoop’s head. “Over here, you cheat!”
HackThoop, as expected, did one of his signature swoops at Sterloin, who retaliated using his ominous blade. He sliced through HackThoop’s limb, forcing him to get it back. Blood spilled forth from his body, as he knelt from the agonizing pain.
“AUGH! SURELY YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!” hissed HackThoop. He retrieved his arm and took some time reconnecting it from his body. He then lost his haughty, yet calm demeanor. “Can you guys not chop my limbs every time I-”
Ziiip!
Pixel reeled his fishing rod and caught HackThoop’s Elytra. He then manages to pull it away from his back, stealing it successfully.
"Hey! What was that?!" yelled HackThoop, clueless. He tried to fly but realized his Elytra was stolen.
He had no choice, all he could do was to face them one on one. He charged at Pixel, with his trident grasped firmly between his two hands.
Pixel once again reeled his fishing rod and latched it onto something. HackThoop looked behind, wondering what his foe just caught. Pixel, however, was too fast for HackThoop. He already caught the command block as he looked behind, and passed it on to Arianna. "Lookin' for this?" she taunted while holding HackThoop's prized gadget up in the air.
"Oi! Give it back!" demanded HackThoop. Arianna, in return, stalled away from the hacker. "Fool! I still have my powers!" HackThoop chased back, almost catching her up. She realized this and called out for Pixel.
"Pixel, help!" instinctively, he tried catching HackThoop with his fishing rod after hearing Arianna's call. Alas, the hacker was caught successfully, tripping on the ground as his legs were tied together by the fishing line.
Arianna, in return, went in front of HackThoop's eyes, throwing his prized gadget to the ground, and smashing it with her pickaxe. "Come on, not like this!" he cried.
The three loomed above the hacker, arms crossed, still thinking of a way to let him go off the simulation.
"Well, do you think he's ready for the Global?" asked Pixel. "I think not though, especially if he relies on his toy a bit too much. Realistically, he wouldn’t be able to use it there either."
"Yeah, though it's quite praiseworthy he's willing to play for the Hive." remarked Arianna. "But after all, he's just a kid. He's not ready for what's out there."
"Alright, I get it…" defeated, HackThoop apologized. "I'm sorry. Come, finish me, I should go back now."
"Good game." said Sterloin. "Well then, see you at the Spectator Dome."
He raised his netherite sword, and decapitated the boy's neck, giving him a swift, painless conclusion. A cannon fired from a distance, and HackThoop was eliminated.
"Whew, that was… exhausting." Pixel lay on the mountain ground on his back, observing the sun go down the horizon. Several cannons could also be heard from a distance, an indication that contestants were killed. "Man, can't believe we're already halfway through the games."
"Indeed." Sterloin joined, lying beside him. "There's still tomorrow, and then the next day, and the other. We should prepare ourselves."
Just as Arianna was about to sit with her friends, she heard Centuria's energetic voice over the simulation again. "...and that's for today, everyone! Sterloin and HackThoop fought awesome, now Ari can be Ari plane with the Elytra!"
"Do people just-" Arianna paused and sighed. "Can they go a day without making puns out of my name?"
"Hahaha, we get it," answered Pixel. "Oh yeah, I should give it to you." He then handed over the Elytra to Arianna.
"Yay, Ari plane!" Centuria's voice faded. Arianna's eyes could be seen rolling on screen as the people from the Spectator Dome watched. They all gave out a good laugh. "Ahem, Anyways, good night everyone! Oh, yeah?" Cyclosword could then be heard calling Centuria over her microphone.
"...Centuria? Oh great, now you've revealed to everyone that she has a rare item. Pretty sure you haven't done it with your brother and Webby's team, right? Oh my-" he scolded, and his voice was cut out after realizing what he had done.
"Wow, Scissors has one of those weapons now?" wondered Pixel. "We should look out for them, and probably hunt them down before they do to us."
"Yeah, let's catch some rest, and let's wake up early tomorrow." suggested Arianna, while handing over everyone their sleeping bags. "Good night, guys." she then tucked herself in hers comfortably, already falling asleep from exhaustion.
Sterloin lit up a campfire and then slept between his two friends. "Good night, and good luck on what awaits us tomorrow."
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