NT: Chapter 108

Immediately, I janked to the side at top speed, managing to dodge the burst of rounds that the ED-Two-Oh-Nine fired at me. The rounds punched into the ground where I had been standing, throwing up sand as they did, and that gave me an idea. I dodged another couple of bursts, waiting for enough sand to be in the air before I struck. When that happened, it camouflaged my next move as I blurred forward and into the Senkugoshoha of the Ansatsuken Style, slipping past a burst of wild gunfire as I surged forward and hammered a Chi-powered punch into the joint of the ED-Two-Oh-Nine's right leg.

Unfortunately, between the Trinium Reinforcement, Enchantments layered on the structure, and what looked like support struts that seemed to be made of some greenish-blue advanced plastic, I was unable to cripple the damn thing like I'd planned, though I did damage it. A burst of Gunfire had me leaping backward and flinging a Shou Ha of Master Tung Fu Rue at the Robot's Front. The Chi Blast scorched the metal, and I landed in a crouch, waiting to see what it would do. I wouldn't be waiting too long to find out.

"Warning! Lethal Threat Detected! Switching to Westinghouse Phased Plasma. Forty Megawatts." Droned the Robot.

As it did so, the double underslung cannons that were mounted under the chassis rotated to reveal a third weapon. There was a whine and the smell of ozone as it fired a pinkish purple burst of energy bolts at me. I was forced to jump away as the bolts of pinkish purple energy glassed the sand around where I had been standing. Thankfully, my powers of Analysis kicked in, and I realized that I could render that weapon useless with enough heat, and I could also throw off its aim with a surge of electricity. As I reached the Apex of my jump, I flipped over, planting my palms on the top of the ED-Two-Oh-Nine's Chassis to channel a First Circle Spell of Shocking Grasp into the Chassis. Bolts of Mystical Electricity surged into my Robotic Opponent as I gave it both palms of mystical lightning before flipping off its chassis and landing behind it.

"Error! Error! Visual, Audio, and Targeting Sensors Disrupted! Switching to Manual Control!" Intoned the Robot.

As it did so, I noticed panels on the legs open up and filaments of a sort of silvery metal extend outward, just brushing the ground. I frowned as I began to turn to face me, realizing that my Robotic Foe had just deployed some sort of tremor sensor that acted similarly to how Graboids hunted in order to target me. Whoever the mysterious interdimensional Benefactor was who had put the T-Eight-Hundred, ED-Three-Oh-Nine, and B-One Battle Droids into the Arena had clearly put a lot more work into the ED-Two-Oh-Nine than he had into either of the other two entries. However, the brief moment of sensor disruption had given me the time I needed to summon the Dragon's Fire Technique of the Great Kung Lao, and as the Plasma Weapon began to charge up, I flung my technique at my opponent, aiming right down the barrel of the plasma weapon.

A burning dragon of Chi-powered flames surged forth and slammed into the undercarriage of the ED-Two-Oh-Nine. As it did so, it slagged the barrel of the already primed Phase Plasma Weapon, along with heating an entire patch of the Undercarriage up with a cherry red glow. The Robot did not seem to enjoy this one bit, as it flailed about, suddenly unable to fire what it wanted to fire at me. It stomped backward on its chicken legs as it let out another warning message for anyone in the whole arena to hear.

"Error! Westinghouse Forty Megawatt Phased Plasma Rifle Forced into Emergency Shutdown! Aquatoid Aqua Plastic Struts Melted On Thirty-Five Percent of Undercarriage! Twin-Linked Miniguns Offline! Switching to BLR-Oh-Six Hadra Rockets!" Blurted out the Robot.

As it did so, the pods on the sides of the Chassis that I had taken to be vestigial remnants of the original design retracted to reveal a pair of triple-barrelled Rocket Launchers. I frowned, preparing a Fifth Circle Teleport Spell to take me to the top of the ED-Two-Oh-Nine's Chassis again, but instead of the volley of six rockets I had expected, it seemed the ED-Two-Oh-Nine had begun to try something more tactical in approach than just blasting away like it had been doing up until now.

"Deploying Maltex Corporation Smoke Munitions!" Warned my Opponent.

It was nice enough of him to warn me, mind you, but I didn't need my eyes to locate the damned thing thanks to the enhanced senses that I had as a quirk of Ba'al's genetic engineering and Oma Desala's further empowering of said genetic engineering. The smoke warhead shot out from the launchers, exploding into thick clouds of smoke that did absolutely nothing to hamper the accuracy of my teleport as I let rip with my spell, disappearing and reappearing on top of the ED-Two-Oh-Nine just as it fired a barrage of six explosive warheads at where I had been previously. In the six seconds it had taken me to cast that, my Robotic opponent had moved to the right a good three meters, or roughly just under ten feet. That would have screwed with any other Sorcerer's Teleport, but not mine.

As I reappeared, I summoned mystic power from my core, chanting and thrusting my hands out as I cast a fifth circle spell of Lightning Lash at the Robot, leaping up to avoid conductive blowback from my spell, a whip of crackling electric power appeared in my hand and snapped out, striking the Robot with the force of a thunderbolt even as the missles exploded behind me, covering the sound of the spell striking. Millions of volts of electricity surged through the ED-Two-Oh-Nine as the equivalent of a lightning strike was conducted through the Robot. I landed on the ground behind my opponent, lash dissipating as it finished its job, and the force of the six missile barrage blew the smoke clouds away.

"Error! Error! Error! Systems Compromised! Emergency Shutdown Imminent! Error! Err. . . or!" Cried my Robotic Opponent before collapsing to the floor.

I looked up at Bellona, waiting for her to pronounce me the winner. She sighed as she nodded before standing up and making that announcement. She did not look enthused at the damage that had been caused to the arena again. Sections of the ground had been turned to glass, and whole other sections near the retaining wall were demolished or scorched from missile strikes.

"Ulysses has won this bout! We will take a brief moment once again to repair the ring! I will warn you to refrain from damaging my arena this badly a third time, or I shall have to ban you from the fighting pit!" Pronounced Bellona, warning me off at the same time as she announced my victory.

I just nodded and made my way out of the arena for a smoke. I pulled a battered packet of Red Apple Cigarettes out of my Coat Pocket as I made my way out, only to suddenly be accosted by Xander and Faith as I lit up. Both seemed to be excited, though I could tell neither was exactly pleased with the end of the bout. Oz, like always, seemed to just be dragged along in their wake, a leaf on the wind.

"That was nuts!" Exclaimed Xander.

"Yeah, Uly! I heard a bit about you back home, but I ain't ever heard about you being able to take down some kinda super-tech tank like that!" Nodded Faith.

"Oh, that? That was nothing." I smirked before taking a long drag on my cigarette.

"I dunno if I'd say that. That thing had to be worth like at least eight Modern Tanks with all the fancy supertech it had." Insisted Xander.

"The end of the fight was a bit rushed." Offered Oz.

"Yeah, what was with that?" Questioned Faith.

"Blame whoever programmed the Mech. It's not like I was the one to launch smoke warheads." I defended, exhaling smoke.

"Still, we didn't get to see how you beat it." Pressed Xander.

"Yeah! Spill! How'd you kill the damn thing?" Queried Faith.

"Fifth Circle Spell of Lightning Lash. The power of a lightning strike condensed into a whip." I answered, taking another drag.

"Smart." Mused Oz.

"Yeah, you know, there's a buncha video games with Robot Enemies. They're usually weak to lightning magic in those, too." Pointed out Xander.

"Uly doesn't play video Games, X. You oughtta know that by now." Reminded Faith.

"It's true. I just figured it would work since my First Circle Shocking Grasp Spell managed to short-circuit the thing's primary sensors." I shrugged, exhaling a ring of smoke.

"Yeah? Still. Pretty sharp, Uly." Grinned Faith.

"And on the fly like that, too." Mused Oz.

"What can I say?" I asked, rhetorically, exhaling.

"Anyway, Oz was telling us about the whole Shooting Trial he did while you were fighting that Bronze Golem with the Divine Mojo. Did you seriously take on the Colossus of Rhodes? I thought that thing'd been blown up centuries ago?" Questioned Xander.

"It was a copy of the Colossus. The Real thing was a lot bigger than fifteen feet. More powerful, too. Now what's going on with Oz? He only told me he set the record before we got distracted by the next fight. Did he tell you guys about it in detail?" I queried.

"He beat some guy named Snake and another named Plissken to set the new record! Apparently, they hadta clear a buncha Evil Elves from a town in a short time to get the win, and he was the only one to do it!" Affirmed Faith.

"Yeah. It was weird. The two could have been brothers. They looked a lot alike. Fought like brothers, too." Shrugged Oz.

"Were they brothers?" Asked Xander.

"And what sort of reward did you get? You never mentioned." I questioned.

"No, they clearly didn't know each other. As for my reward, Bellona's going to enchant my Colt Revolver with Divine Magic." Answered Oz.

"That oughtta come in handy." Opined Faith.

"Yeah. No more big-ass ammo bills." Agreed Xander.

"Anyway, what happened with Giles and Willow?" I queried.

"They were geeking out over some sorta rare books they found in the Market." Responded Faith.

"Yeah, the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. Kinda morbid if you ask me." Frowned Xander.

"Both of those can be extremely dangerous. You don't want them in just anyone's hands. That's how the North Michigan Kandarian Incursion Incident of Eighty-Two Happened." I intoned.

"The what?" Asked Oz.

"It was an incursion of Kandarian Demons in the woods of Northern Michigan in the early eighties. Both the Vatican and the Watcher's Council cooperated with a couple of independent hunters to clean up the act. That's a rare thing, but when the independent Hunters include both a Quickened Immortal and a Member of the Shaolin Order of Light, that can happen." I informed.

"Huh. So what happened?" Questioned Xander.

"Nobody knows. There was a partial transcription of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis found in the wreckage of the cabin, along with several Kandarian Demon Corpses that may once have been normal people. However, the main incursion seemed to have been dealt with beforehand, and the Clean-up team only had to deal with a bunch of possessed trees and wildlife in the woods around the Cabin. The official line was that Professor Raymond Knowby, an archaeologist who owned the Cabin, managed to summon a bunch of Kandarian Demons to possess his family while transcribing the Necronomicon Ex Mortis in an attempt to translate it. Things apparently spiralled from there, though nobody knows who cleaned up the primary incursion." I explained.

"Then I guess it's good that G-Man and Wills went to buy it instead of some random guy, huh?" Queried Faith.

"Or worse, some evil guy." Agreed Oz.

"Right." Nodded Xander.

"That depends. Did Willow fix her overconfidence issues?" I asked.

Before I could get an answer to that, however, the Arena had finished being repaired, and both Zhang Chun-Li and Cassie Cage made their way down into the Arena. From the Gallery, the Champion Team watched on, Kad Bralor, Korg, Son of Rel'gak, and Nak'an'uub gazing down at the potential challengers. It seemed the Mandalorian Bounty Hunter, Klingon Warrior, and Yautja Hunter, as I had learned they were, didn't want to miss the chance to study a potential opponent. If it was what the Champion Team was doing, I knew I didn't want to miss this, either. It was just good tactics to scope out your opponent first, after all.

The fight was fast and furious from the Get-Go, with Cassie Cage pulling out all the stops, using an advanced gun drone that detached from a harness on her back, along with a pair of Cougar Magnum Revolvers to try and end the fight early. Chun-Li, however, wasn't deterred by weapons or fierce fighting. She dodged the bullets in bursts of Chi-enhanced speed and acrobatics, striking back in a Masterful Display of Martial Arts. Cassie Cage was clearly no slouch in the Martial Arts department either, but her technique was much less refined than her opponent's. Little wonder, after all, Chun-Li was the current Grandmistress of the Zhang Family Hongquan Style.

Eventually, after being kicked out of a Chi-enhanced Jump and thrown to the arena floor, before getting punched in the face, Chun-Li had had enough. She kipped up to her feet as Cassie Cage skipped backward and let out a shout, rippling her Chi through both palms. This produced a ball of Chi that blasted forward from both hands and managed to destroy the Drone, the famed Qigong Fist of the Zhang Family Hongquan Style. Reeling from the explosion, Cassie Cage was disarmed of her Pistols by Chun-Li in a blazing series of kick combinations, put on the backfoot, and had her nose broken by a kick to the face, and her lip busted by a second kick.

Aside from an elbow strike that she got in, which bruised Chun-Li's ribs a bit, the next phase of the Match went largely Chun-Li's way. Cassie Cage was battered about the sands and was finally forced to pull out her trump card, the Mysterious Green Energy that seemed to be some sort of combination of Chi and Mystical Energy smashed together. She blasted it out in a wave that forced Chun-Li to jump up in a Chi-powered leap, bounce off the retaining wall behind her, and use the momentum to launch herself upside down toward Cassie Cage. As she flew toward Cassie Cage, Chun-Li rippled her Chi and began to rotate, and I realized what I was seeing. The Spinning Bird Kick of the Zhang Family Hongquan Style, though performed at a diagonal angle instead of horizontally.

Chun-Li smashed into Cassie Cage as the wave of green energy dissipated behind her, being seemingly incredibly short-ranged. A flurry of helicoptering kicks smashed into Cassie Cage, one after another. To the point where it seemed as if only her Combat Harness was keeping Cassie Cage from having her ribs and collarbone staved in like a crushed can of Jooky. When the dust settled, Cassie Cage had to be half-carried out of the Arena by a Black Girl in similar combat outfits and a Chinese Guy with a bow slung across his back. Chun-Li was proclaimed the winner. She was also my next opponent.

As I stepped into the Arena, it dawned on me that this would be only the second time in my life so far that I had faced off against a Grandmaster-level opponent. The last time had ended with me in a healing Coma for six months. Hopefully, this time would go a Hell of a lot smoother than that. I was stronger than I had been back in New York City, after all. Still, it never hurt to pay your respects to a Grandmaster. As I stopped in front of Chun-Li, I bowed to her. She seemed pleased that I was observing the formalities and bowed back. As we straightened, I spoke first.

"Thank you for this match, Grandmistress Zhang. I hope it will be a good one." I offered in Cantonese.

"You know me?" Questioned Chun-Li, speaking the same language.

"I do. You are the Grandmistress of the Zhang Family Hongquan Style and an Inspector with Interpol. Certain people are due respect, and it always pays to be polite to those who trod down the path of Martial Arts for years before you were even born." I offered.

"Just how old do you think I am?" Queried Chun-Li.

"Older than me. I am only seventeen, after all." I responded.

"You look older. In your early twenties." Blinked Chun-Li.

"Unfortunately, no. Some of us simply seem to mature earlier than others." I shrugged.

"Well, then. Let's have a good match. I promise not to go as hard on you as I did on the other Girl. She was rude, after all, and brought weapons to a fight between martial artists." Nodded Chun-Li.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." I grinned.

"You will, of course, do likewise with your magic, yes?" Asked Chun-Li.

"Of course. It would be inappropriate of me to use Magic in an exchange of pointers." I confirmed.

"Great! Let's have a good match!" Grinned Chun-Li.

"Please!" I returned, making the Bao Quan Li hand-in-fist salute that all practitioners of Chinese Martial Arts were taught to do for etiquette. Then, Bellona called for the match to begin, and the time for pleasantries and etiquette had ended.

There was only time for the fight. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. As you can see, Ulysses manages to take apart the ED-Two-Oh-Nine without taking a single shot, though their fight wrecked the arena, and his victory was a touch more involved than his fight against the Knockoff Colossus of Rhodes. Meanwhile, Chun-Li beats Cassie Cage like a red-headed Stepchild. She clearly has her updated moveset at this point, though she's not Street Fighter Four level yet. At the same time, Xander and Faith reveal what it is that's keeping Giles and Willow. A Copy of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis is up for sale at one of the Booksellers in Ayizan's Bazaar. Giles wants to buy it so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Other nineties stuff in this chapter includes mentions of Trinium, Ba'al, and Oma Desala from Stargate, The Shou Ha and Master Tung Fu Rue from King of Fighters, Chun-Li, her techniques, and the Ansatsuken from Street Fighter, The Great Kung Lao, Shaolin Order of Light, and Cassie Cage from Mortal Kombat, Red Apple Cigarettes from the Works of Quentin Tarantino, Aquanoids and Aqua Plastics are From X-Com: Terror From the Deep, while Circles of Magic and the spells therein are from Second Edition Dungeons and Dragons, Graboids from Tremors, Quickened Immortals are from Highlander, and Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Finally, Xander, Faith, Oz, Giles, Willow, and the Watcher's Council are from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Eighties Stuff in this Chapter Includes Mentions of the Westinghouse Phased Plasma Rifle and T-Eight-Hundred from Terminator, Yautja from Predator, Kandarian Demons and the Necronomicon Ex Mortis from Evil Dead, Klingon Warriors from Star Trek: The Next Generation, ED-Two-Oh-Nine from Robocop, The Maltex Corporation from Battletech, and Snake Plissken from Escape From New York. Two-thousands stuff in this Chapter includes mentions of B-One Battle Droids from the Star Wars Prequels, BLR-Oh-Six Hadra Rockets from Killzone, and Mandalorians from the Star Wars EU Novels, Games, and Comics. Finally, the Divinely Empowered Colossus of Rhodes is from God of War Two.

At any rate, the next chapter will include the Chun-Li versus Ulysses Fight. Then we'll have the fight with the Champion Team, followed by the aftermath of the Compass and Clock Arena to finish out this interdimensional mini-arc.

Stay tuned. . .