The Mech

I continuously break my back mining all these rocks for two hours. After, I head on up to the dojo. I reached the training room and stared at the mech for a bit. The design is very different from the ones that attacked my home but it has a sense of familiarity. I'll just train until the day where I'm confident enough to take it down.

I make my way back to the dojo after being in thought for a bit.

"Haha, I think you know what you must do?"

"Yes, master. 200 right?"

'"Haha! Exactly. I would've preferred you just mine and to do the push-ups in your spare time but you should be thankful for how benevolent I am" he says proudly.

"Yes, master".

You should always take crazy people seriously to get the best outcome.

_

I finish up doing all 200. It's now 7:03 pm. It used to take me all two hours but now I can just barely finish in one. The old dude didn't doze off surprisingly. He seems impressed at my rapid progress during these few months. I still remember the first day of doing these clearly. Man, I would take lots of breaks. Now, it's just a breeze. I have to hand it to the old man, all these training sure is worth it in the long run. Especially with his special concoction that works wonders.

"Haha, good, my disciple! Now, since you have quite some time before dinner, do you feel like challenging 'that'? I believe you are now worthy to fight on what they call equal terms. Somewhat".

Oh, yes. I've been waiting for this. I was getting sick of not getting any action. I have to take this chance. I can't waste all my training to get here. We both enter the training room.

"Do you need this?" says the old man has he hands me a metal bat.

"Nope"

"Haha, confident are we? Marvelous!" he says as he leaves for the observation room.

The old man presses some buttons. The mech boots up, whirring noises and all. Its sort of eyes light up and it looks in my direction.

"Target locked".

Here we go again.

I think I should try my old strategy for beating it. I think I somewhat got the plan nailed down but I didn't have the physical capabilities to execute it properly last time. The mech charges in my direction. I dodge to the side. It quickly turns to my direction again and quickly launches another attack.

Is it me just me or does this thing seem faster? Just as I was about to get ready for the attack, the mech suddenly appears before me.

"What the fu-?!" I tried to yell as it launches me in the air.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you! I increased the speed and power of the mech for you! Just think of it as an equalizer! You're welcome!" the old man yells through the speaker.

What?!! I quickly try to stand up. Good thing I built all that muscle. I managed to absorb a bit of the impact to reduce any critical damage. My body still stings though.

I try making some small movements. Good, everything still works. I see the mech rushing my way again. I slide underneath, between its legs. There it is! The battery! But just before I jumped on its back, I hesitated. I remembered what happened to me previously. What if that thing grabs me again?

That single moment of hesitation costs me dearly. The mech rapidly turns around and grabs me in its clutches. After suffering for a bit in its vice grip, the mech throws me across the room again. I skid and roll a few time before stopping. Man, that hurts. This is just like last time. Nothing changed. I'm still weak. F*ck!! I slowly try to get up. The mech is stood still for some reason.

"Ohh, that's got to hurt! Don't worry, I'll let you recover for a minute!" the old man announces.

At least he's not that inhumane. I stand straight, stretching all of my limbs. I stretch my body a bit as well. Good. There's no significant damage. I might've cracked a few ribs as well as a bit of my left forearm but it's still bearable. I can do this.

"Okay, time's up! Have fun!" the old man yells as the mech rushes towards me yet again.

Okay, now, think! It still has a bit of a delay in-between each movements. The overall speed gives off the illusion that it moves continuously but the delay is still there. Okay, so first, I have to somehow get rid of or disable those arms.

As it charges and launches its attacks towards me, I carefully dodge each of them while observing it. Then I noticed it; the shoulder plating. It was a sheet of metal bent to the contour of the mech's shoulders. It looked like it was hiding something underneath. I think I can somehow remove it expose the possible vital parts.

I got this. I just have to time it perfectly. Every time it attacks, the shoulders move and a small opening is revealed. That is my chance to attack. I wait patiently for it to attack. Sometimes it just does a full charge without using its arms to attack. No, not yet. It launches an attack to me but I accidentally dodged to the opposite side. No, not yet.

Then, the mech launches an attack where it pounds its arm into floor trying to crush me. I barely dodged by a hair's breadth. This is my chance! I quickly hopped on to the arm, swiftly making my way up to the shoulder. I quickly slotted my fingers through the metal plate and yanked it out as fast as I could. There! A bunch of wires are now exposed!

I quickly grab a handful and tear apart the wires inside. Yes! This seems to work! The right arm is now unresponsive!

"Haha, congratulations! Seems like training was worth it! But don't get your hopes up just yet!"

"What do you mean by-".

The mech stands up with me holding on the the shoulder still. The left arm tries to reach me but isn't long enough. The mech then spins around rapidly on the spot. I cling on as hard as I could to its arm but the centrifugal force made my whole body lift up. The force is getting really strong and I couldn't hold on any longer. I eventually let go and went flying.

What did I expect anyway? I should've let go immediately when it started doing that.

Well, at least I have a plan of attack now. One down, one to go. I doubt the mech would do something like that again. I have to think of another way to get rid of that pesky arm. Right now we're roughly at the center of the room.

Maybe I can do something if I lure it to a wall. I quickly turn the opposite direction and sprint as fast as I could. Man, my stamina really improved lots. After running around and taking a few beatings, I'm not that out of breath. After reaching the wall, I turn around, seeing the mech heading at me at full speed.

The mech has its left hand extended, trying to attack me. I dodged at the very last second, making the mech hit the wall, then have its hand stuck inside. I quickly climb on to its shoulder and pulled off the plate. The, I destroyed the wiring inside. Nice! Both hands are now unresponsive!

The mech seems like it's still stuck in the wall. I take this chance to remove the battery. I look behind its neck. There it is, just sitting there. I grabbed it and pulled as hard as I could. I could feel it slowly tearing apart as well as vibrations from the surges of electricity going in and out of it. I accidentally touched an exposed cable. My body shakes violently as my vision slowly becomes blurry...

No! I can't pass out now! I'm so close! I quickly let go of the battery and my spasm come to a halt. Too bad all that wasted time allowed the mech to break free. I quickly jumped off and hopped a few feet back. Though the battery is semi-detached, the mech still looks like it's running at full power.

Damn. It charges straight at me, trying to ram me over. I keep dodging its attacks. Weird. This seems too easy. Is the mech just desperate? No, it can't be. Machines don't have emotions. It was then that I realized.

The mech charges another attack at me. I dodge to the side. Well, at least that's what I thought. I looked to my sides and behind me, only to find myself cornered with the mech blocking my only exit. No wonder it seemed so easy. I got trapped in its plan! Damn. What do I do now? The mech charges rapidly at me. Dammit! I brace my hands in front of my body, trying to absorb the impact from the mech. Oof! It makes contact. I could feel my hands as well as my chest sort of caving in. Feels like when drop a heavy object onto a turkey breast. There goes my ribs.

The pain is still bearable, somewhat. I slide down on the floor, trying to catch my breath. I hope my cracked ribs don't puncture any organs. Man, this hurts like hell. The mech tries to stomp me to finish me off. I quickly roll my body over to avoid it. As I was laying flat on my chest, there I saw it.

One of the metal plates that I took off. I quickly grab hold of it, roll over, and look at the mech. It seems like its movements are slowed down significantly, thanks to the battery dangling around on its back. I then try to throw the metal plate towards the battery with utmost precision. This is my one and only chance.

There it goes, as it flies through the air, barely hitting the battery. Nothing happened. Well, f*ck me. Too bad I guess. Better luck next time. The mech heads in my direction. It raises its foot up high and just as it was about to finish me off, it stops suddenly.

"Congratulations! You stalled the mech long enough for it to run out of juice! Haha, good for you!" the old man exclaims.

I tiredly raise my hands triumphantly, as a symbol of my victory before fading out of consciousness.

I wake up and stare at the dojo ceiling. My body's aching all over. I feel a cool, wet towel rubbing against my body. I turn over to see Ayaka wiping me down.

"What?" I ask her tiredly.

She looks my way. She then blushes.

"B-b-baka!" she yells out as she smacks my head. I fade back asleep.

_

I wake up and stare at the dojo ceiling. My body's aching all over. Why does this scene feel so familiar? I then feel a sharp pain in my head. Arghh! I sit up and see my body mostly wrapped in bandages. I suddenly remembered that I just barely won against the mech. But why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? I just can't help but worry as I try to remember.

Well, forget it. If it was truly important I would remember sooner or later. I get up and head outside. It's in the late evening, around dinner time. I find Ayaka and the old man drinking some tea.

"Well, someone looks peaceful" I roll my eyes.

"Haha, we were just waiting for someone to wake up, right Ayaka?".

Ayaka looks at the old man with a surprised expression. Her cheeks then turn red as she swiftly went back to drinking tea. What's up with her?

"Haha, care to join us?" the old man asks, ignorant of Ayaka's reaction.

This might be my chance to get back at her some.

"Yes, why not" I say cheekily as I join them.