Exploring Wheelz   

BOOM! An entire barrel became flattened instantly under the massive pressure of a mechanical adversary known as Wheelz.

"Wow!" Hao was impressed by the new calibration added to his left arm. It was enlarged and could withstand a few more powerful flexes without capping out. "This is much better than the last time. It is lighter and easier for me to operate." Hao shared his insight with the onlookers gathered around in the warehouse clearing to witness his training. These were the children, the Sword Fishes, Vicky and Lanor.

Vicky commented on Hao's exhibition, "I've expanded the loading valve to facilitate an extra Steam Splinter Cell. With this addition, the arm won't clunk out after a successful release of the expansion. I've also switched the trigger to a responsive neural network that activates based on intention. There's also a grappler installed in the palm."

"A grappler, for real?" Hao acted amazed upon hearing this.

Lanor entered the conversation saying, "Yes, there's a grappler. During our last session, we didn't get to explore that feature, but now we can." She came over and directed Hao's attention to the central port of Wheelz. "This is where it will extend from when active. It's also capable of detaching from the wrist if that's your preference. The length of the tether is about 7 metres, right mum?"

"Almost." Vicky corrected her, "It is approximately 9.2 metres. The tether is made from Stiopus Vine, so it's quite sturdy. Go ahead and test it out."

"Ok." Hao was eager to try all of Wheelz's functionalities. "Give me some room." After telling Lanor to step back, he used his keen hearing to hone in on a structure up high, a metallic beam that had seen better years.

"Is he aiming for that up there?" The kids whispered among themselves as they watched how Hao positioned his body.

"That's the spot." Locking on to his target, Hao pushed his left arm forth. His thumb acted as a trigger to initialize the grappler. "Go!" WHOOSH! The circular port present in Wheelz's palm opened with a gust of steam followed by the quick burst of the Stiopus Vine. It snaked upwards until it latched onto the beam. Seconds later, Hao was being pulled in.

"Who-hoo!" He offered no resistance to the compelling force. He enjoyed being reeled in like a fish on a line. Upon reaching the beam, Hao grabbed onto it, but he soon found out the unfortunate circumstance he pulled himself into.

Creak!

"Huh, what the…?" Hao was shocked to feel the rusted beam collapsing beneath his grasp. "Ah!" He quickly let go and tried to fire off Wheelz's grappler again amid his fall but to no avail. "Why isn't this working? Oh blimey!" He yelled as he plummeted to the ground.

"He's falling!" The children also were alarmed. Nancy already had her hands covering her face to avoid an explicit view of Hao's downfall. However, in a moment, she and the others felt something swift rush passed them. They witness Euphy rescuing Hao from splattering all over the warehouse's floor.

"Euphy!" Hao was overjoyed to be saddled on the scales of safety. "Quickly!" He urged the Sword Fish to scamper from beneath the crumbling beam before it fell on top of them. Euphy did just that, she easily and skilfully avoid getting crushed, moreover, she lowered herself to the centre where Hao dismounted.

Now that his feet were safe and sound on solid ground, he directed his displeased tone towards the expert mechanic. "Why didn't you warn me that this grappler only has one shot? While I was falling, I tried releasing it a second time, but it wouldn't budge. Some engineer you are."

"Hey, now you're just being rude and ungrateful." Lanor began approaching Hao with her arm already grasping the hilt of her Blade Edge. Before she could cut some manners into Hao's demeanour, Vicky commented:

"It's your fault for not keeping track of Wheelz Loader. I'm sure Lanor already explained to you that the arm is powered By Steam Splinter Cells. If depleted, you can expect the arm to be unresponsive until it gets a refill. Here, take these as backup." Vicky tossed a leather bundle of Steam Splinter Cells towards Hao.

"Hmm?" He listened to the wind's shifting density to locate the trajectory of the item coming his way. He reached out with his biological arm and grabbed it successfully. "Next time give me a heads up. Is there anything else about this arm that I need to know?"

"I'm sure you'll figure out that yourself. Aren't you also an expert engineer?" Vicky sounded mocking saying this.

"I'm a Blade Engineer." Hao held up Wheelz, "This is clearly not a Blade Edge."

"Superfluous excuses." Vicky added, "Just admit that you're not as skilled as you profess to be. Skilled Blade Engineers know their way around all sorts of machinery and not just swords. You are pathetic."

"What did you just say to me, big bitch?" In his anger, Hao reached at his rear for Judgment Day, however, he discovered that Lanor's Rapier was already sitting on his fingernails.

"Try it." She dared him to remove the X-Class sword.

"Hmm?" Hao bent his neck slightly. He recognized that he was at a disadvantage, so he removed his hand from Judgment Day and rest it at his side.

"Good boy." In return, Lanor also sheathed her Blade Edge.

"Are you two done monkeying around?" Vicky broke the tension between Hao and Lanor. "If you are, go and practice. Now get out of my sight." She commanded while rolling her wheelchair around her workbench. She didn't bother to address Hao's blatant insult. "I have important matters to attend to."

"But we still haven't discussed that thing yet." Hao was reluctant to leave but Lanor dragged him along.

"You heard her, she said to leave. Now come on." Lanor led Hao outside. The children noticed that the area of interest was shifting so they too changed locality.

A heavy downpour was currently assaulting the Wranglers District with cynical droplets capable of slicing through the air and cracking concrete. Yet, this wasn't an issue for the residents who lived here. They were used to it.

Coming outside, the children commenced playing a water war. Their game was too exciting for the Sword Fishes to sit idly by. Euphy and Symphy joined them in their fun time, loading their water tanks and spitting out frosty bubbles for the kids to skate on.

"Wow! Amazing! Do me next, please! Please!" The children begged for a custom-crafted ice board to skate around in the puddle. Understanding their demands, both Sword Fishes willingly complied, creating ice skates for all.

"They're surely enjoying themselves." Commented Lanor as she settled in the rain. Beside her, Hao complained:

"Is there ever a day that this place doesn't rain? For the past week since I've been here, it's been raining nonstop."

"This is the Wranglers District for yah." She remarked.

"So many low life resides here that the rain is trying to cleanse them all. Apparently, it's not doing a good job."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lanor sensed condescension in the way Hao spoke and called him out for it.

"It's nothing. Forget what I said." He quickly changed the topic as he reloaded Wheelz with fresh Steam Splinter Cells and clamped the leather strap to his waist. "So… what are we doing for practice today? More arm training? I think I've got the hang of it now."

"I admit you've grown accustomed to flexing Wheelz, but you haven't used it in an actual sword fight." She removed a Common tier sword she had dangling at her waist and handed it to Hao. "Take it."

Hao slowly reached out and grabbed the weapon. "Are you challenging me to a Duel of Crossblades?" He queried.

"Hardly, without your signature Blade Edge, it wouldn't be a fair duel." She acted sure of this. "We'll only be having a little sparring match to get you familiar with wielding again."

"Eh." Hao cracked a smile and commenced unsheathing the sword with his right hand holding the hilt. "Even though I've lost an arm, my skills haven't dulled."

"I shall be the judge of that." Lanor also began releasing her Rapier from its scabbard. Seeing how Hao held the sword, she told him, "Switch your grasp."

"My what?" Hao was confused.

Lanor clarified, "In this sparring session, you'll be wielding the blade with Wheelz instead of your biological arm that you're already used to."

"But I usually operate at optimum with my right arm." Hao explained flexing his muscles, "I hardly use my left arm to wield a blade, let alone this mechanical one."

"Well, today you shall learn. An ambidextrous swordsman is far superior. Now switch. I'm coming to attack you." Lanor didn't wait until Hao had fully switched over the weapon, she dashed ahead light a blur.