18. Rivalry (Part 2 of 3)

The sun was just before its earliest stage of setting, now casting a deeper tint of orange on the burnt battleground. Some shadows now emerged from the tall trees around the clearing. Everything was beginning to look less like an average day and more like an obscure dream.

Deon and Phillip faced each other in the late sunlight.

So he doesn't think I can handle his strongest move, huh? thought Deon. Yeah right—I got this. I'll be the reason Skrili gets her picture back, and then she'll wanna be a real team with me!

He smirked at Phillip. "If you're not gonna show me your final attack, I'll just prove to you that you'll need to!"

Phillip said nothing.

Time to bust out one of Lammy's ideas, Deon decided. He imagined a wooden rod twirling in a rapid spiral. He brought it into reality in front of Phillip and sent it at him rapidly. Phillip rolled to the side to avoid the attack.

He dodged it, noticed Deon. That means he's not an ill—

A fist slammed into Deon's upper back, followed by a kick to his lower. Deon tripped to his knees but quickly stood back up. The Phillip he was attacking faded away. Deon turned around to see Phillip's fist heading for his face. He managed to bring his hand up just in time to block the punch.

Phillip continued his advance, punching and kicking skillfully as Deon blocked, dodged and backed away.

"That was a nice trick," commented Deon between punches. "But it's nothing too different. Let's see something new…I know: your finishing blow!"

Phillip found an opening and, with a leap, kicked Deon in the chest. It launched him to the ground and he slid on his back to a stop.

"You're in no position to be taunting me," Phillip told him calmly. "This is the sixth time I've knocked you over."

"I guess it's my turn, then!" Deon declared. He rolled onto his hands and propelled himself to his feet. This time, Deon imagined a much larger spinning wooden rod and brought it to existence right over his head, with the midpoint just above him. Its length spanned twenty steps in all directions, serving as a wide-radius weapon that was constantly attacking and defending.

Perfect, thought Deon: this would help him determine whether or not Phillip was using illusions. If they came near the rod, it would pass right through them.

Phillip stood silently once more, with no evident reaction.

Skrili and Pang's duel intensified with every second, their fists and feet flying like a crowd of angry hornets. Neither showed signs of fatigue.

Any second now…she'll go for a headshot once she sees an opening, Skrili thought as she observed Pang's attack patterns.

Their attacking and defending continued. Skrili kept waiting, keeping a keen eye on Pang's aim.

Then it came: a swift punch at Skrili's forehead. Skrili immediately tilted her head to the side, just avoiding it, and then she kept blocking as Pang's attacks continued.

Next came Pang's second try: another punch towards Skrili's cheek. Skrili turned her face away and leaned back slightly as Pang's fist zoomed right above her head, so close that it swept across some of her hair.

Pang's third attempt followed immediately after. With a fluid twist, she leaped into the air in a spinning kick much like Skrili's own. Skrili ducked, evading this one as well.

The attacks stopped. "Oh come on, Skrili. Don't you want to unlock Concussion?" Pang asked. "That can't happen if you don't let me hit your head."

Skrili didn't respond. Instead, she jumped at Pang, thus restarting the combat.

I'll need at least a stronger Power Rebound to beat her, Skrili thought. But Concussion…that's too dangerous. I have to be careful which attacks I let hit my head. If I'm not careful, she could knock me out. And if that happens, she'll be able to go help Phillip beat Deon and we'll be—

Something slammed into Skrili's forehead. She stumbled a few steps back, blinked, and brought her arms close in full defense mode as Pang continued to pound at her.

"I bet you felt your brain bounce around after that one!" Pang exclaimed as she attacked. "Do you feel an extra surge of energy yet?"

Skrili felt her Power Rebound energy building higher—but it was another normal power boost; the hit wasn't hard enough.

Hopefully this will keep me on par with her for now, thought Skrili.

As the wooden rod whirled above Deon, he crossed his arms and grinned, eager to see how Phillip would try and counter his technique.

To Deon's confusion, Phillip began to run at him.

What does he think he's doing? wondered Deon. He can't get near me without getting whacked, and if he's an illusion, I'll know instantly.

As Phillip ran, he moved a few inches to the left—and the right simultaneously. Phillip had split into two people, who were now running alongside each other in perfect synchronization. When they neared the spinning rod, they both cut to opposite sides of Deon.

"I get it, now I can't tell which one of you is real," Deon realized aloud. He chuckled. "As if that makes a difference."

The Phillips charged at both sides of Deon, staying low to avoid the spinning rod.

The instant they were in hitting distance, Deon leaned the rod towards the left Phillip. It simply spun through him as if he were an apparition. Nope, observed Deon. The real Phillip was about to attack, so Deon quickly shifted the rod to the right. A loud thwack! resounded as the pole collided with Phillip, who let out a grunt and rolled to the ground.

The rod halted after hitting Phillip, but picked up momentum again and continued spinning as Deon re-centered it above him.

Phillip crawled out of the pole's range and stood, clutching his shoulder.

"Your diversion wasn't fast enough," Deon told him.

Phillip simply backed away further, until he was the same distance from Deon as before. Then he ran again.

Really? thought Deon.

This time Phillip split again, but into multiple copies. Deon counted seven total. The crowd of Phillips charged at him and proceeded to surround the twirling wooden rod once more. Deon smiled.

Once they began to close in, Deon dropped to his hands and knees, allowing space for the entire pole to spin lower. He brought it down, thus attacking all of the Phillips at once. The pole whacked against something to the front right of Deon and ceased again. Deon stood, mentally lifting up the pole again as its spin restarted.

Phillip sat before him, now grasping his stomach and shoulder as the illusionary Phillips vanished again.

"It doesn't matter how many illusions of yourself you send at me," Deon started, "I'll be able to find the real you."

Once again, Phillip stood and backed away.

"It's not gonna work," Deon urged him, growing annoyed.

Phillip began running again—but this time to the side. He stuck his arm into his sweatshirt pocket, and split into two Phillips. They began circling Deon, both with a hand in their pocket. Next, both Phillips divided and continued circling Deon. Then those divided into more, and those divided…eventually Deon couldn't keep track of how many Phillips there were—enough that they formed a complete, rotating circle around him and his wooden rod. And all of them had a hand in their pocket.

What's he up to? Deon wondered.

Then all of the Phillips removed their hands. Each held a short dagger.

"WHAT THE?!" Deon shouted. "Hey, Phillip—whichever one you are—I don't know a lot about the fighting rules, but I'm pretty sure they don't allow DEADLY WEAPONS!!!!!"

A dagger shot past Deon, inches from his chest. His heart jumped.

I know only one of the daggers is real, but how the heck do I tell which one it is??? Deon wondered. It looks like I'll have to dodge and block all of them!

A second dagger flew towards Deon from the right, but he tilted the pole to deflect it just in time. However, it passed through the rod noiselessly, and then passed through Deon as well, with no effect.

This is just sick torture, Deon thought.

Skrili heard Deon shout something about 'deadly weapons' in the distance, but she was too preoccupied with her own situation.

She had been on the defense ever since Pang's first successful headshot, and since then Pang had landed plenty more minor blows to the head. With each painful hit, Skrili felt her strength continue to steadily rise.

Pang sent a powerful kick into Skrili's blocking arms, opening them up and breaking Skrili's defense. Before she could close it up again, Pang launched an uppercut into Skrili's chin.

A white light flashed in Skrili's eyes and she practically fell over. She blinked dizzily, and her vision returned.

Pang laughed at her. "Wow, that rattled you up a bit," she noted. "Still no Concussion though, huh?"

The unsteadiness in Skrili's vision remained. No, but it's coming, she thought. Her head was spinning and her vision unfocused—at any moment, Concussion could kick in.

Pang wasn't about to sit and wait. She started swinging at Skrili again. Dizzied, Skrili found her reflexes slower.

If I can just hold her off for a little, I can beat her with the Power Rebound she's giving me, Skrili thought. I just can't let her trigger Concussion…it's not ready…

But things weren't working in her favor: she could hardly keep up with Pang now.

Pang let out a single laugh. Now Skrili was acting entirely out of guesses; her vision couldn't follow Pang's movements. Out of nowhere, the backside of Pang's hand struck Skrili dead on the temple. Skrili collapsed, barely aware that she even hit the ground.

Pang crossed her arms. She watched the blue-haired fighter, who lay facedown. "Down and out, huh? That must have done it," she said. "Alright, don't take forever to wake up. I wanna have fun before Phillip beats Deon, so show me Concussion."

"Okay," said Skrili.

"Huh?"

Before Pang knew what was happening, she found herself flat on her back. Skrili now stood over her with her hands on her hips, and a subtle purple hue emanated around her body. Emotionless as ever, Skrili bent down and grabbed Pang by the collar of her shirt. She stood and lifted Pang, bringing her face close.

"Here it is," Skrili said.

Pang's golden eyes lit up and she smiled widely. "I'm so exci—"

In one fluid motion, Skrili ripped Pang off her feet, turned around and tossed her like a ragdoll. Pang flew across the burnt clearing before crashing into a tree at the edge of the fighting ground. She coughed up air with a puff and sunk down into a sitting position.

In a blink, Skrili was directly in front of her. "I warned you," she said. "You made a huge mistake awakening this on purpose."

Pang smiled again, and then winced as she tried to stand up. "Are you kidding?" she replied. "This is so much better."

She jumped up at Skrili, but Skrili immediately pushed Pang back against the tree and began a series of rapid punches and kicks, this time much faster than the speed they fought at before—faster than humanly possible. Pang attempted to defend herself, but almost half of Skrili's attacks were direct hits to her stomach, shoulders, and head.

This is…different than I expected, Skrili thought to herself while fighting.

Last time I unlocked Concussion, it was all a blur…I barely remember it. But I'm fully conscious right now. Does this mean I mastered the technique? No, that can't be right…Either way, this is my only chance!

Pang managed to roll to the side and avoid Skrili's thunderous kick, which left a footprint in the tree trunk. Skrili quickly followed Pang and her assault raged on.

Daggers continued to zip past Deon and his spinning wooden rod with every second as the Phillips surrounded him. So far, all of the daggers were illusionary.

Shouldn't his self-illusions have run out of daggers by now? Deon wondered. But then again, Phillip could just keep putting illusionary daggers back into their hands.

A dagger came spinning straight at Deon's face and he had no time to avoid it. Luckily, it was another illusion and flew through him. Deon sighed with temporary relief.

But he began to wonder: why hasn't Phillip just attacked for real already? It had been a while now…

Then it came to him: he knew why.

"I wish you could fight like this all the time!" Pang told Skrili gleefully as she attempted to evade Skrili's super-speed punches and kicks. Skrili had never seen Pang so thrilled, which was ironic, considering Skrili was now dominating the fight.

Skrili's movements had become so supercharged she was practically teleporting around Pang, planting devastating hit after hit. Even still, Pang continued to shriek with joy, like a child being tossed in the air by their father. Every now and then she narrowly dodged a blow, but it meant nothing when Skrili reappeared from an opposite angle with a hard kick.

It's time I wrap this up, Skrili decided. She had to finish her off before this Concussion wore off, or she'd be in trouble.

Skrili waited for Pang to risk an offensive move. Soon she threw a punch, and Skrili easily seized her arm in her hands. Drawing from her Concussion energy, Skrili tugged at Pang's arm, spun her off of her feet and flung her high into the air.

Straightaway, Skrili zipped up after Pang, who flipped and spun uncontrollably. Reaching her height, she kicked Pang hard on the side, and with both hands, bashed her on the back. Pang yelped from the pain as she hurtled towards the ground. She crashed onto her side, her hair falling over her face. Skrili touched down beside her.

Skrili took a few jumps back as Pang slowly rose to her hands and knees and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Skrili could tell she had ruined Pang's fun: her smile was gone, replaced by a sober frown.

Pang stood. She reflected the deepening orange rays of the sun in her now slightly disheveled red hair and matching clothes, giving her an even fierier appearance.

This is it, Skrili told herself. She zipped at the weakened Pang, aiming her final knockout punch. Meanwhile, Pang raised a single hand in defense. Skrili neared and threw her final attack.

But Pang blocked the punch.

Skrili stood in confusion, Pang's palm effortlessly holding her fist. As they maintained eye contact, Skrili noticed energy slipping away from her. She realized the comedown had started the moment she ran at Pang, but now its drain became rapid.

She knew the feeling immediately.

No! Skrili thought, I'm too late! How did the Concussion boost already run out?!

"I know you all too well, Skrili dear. It looks like you're out of time," Pang said. "I've fought with you long enough to know when your power boost is about to fade. You should've known better, too. Wishful thinking, I suppose…"

Skrili cursed in her head.

"Clearly that wasn't really Concussion. Just some stupid stage in between," continued Pang. "Like, how silly do I have to knock you to get you there? I hate your powers." She released Skrili's fist and dispassionately plowed her knee into Skrili's stomach. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

Skrili coughed and keeled forward as stars bounced in her vision. It's…it's over, she realized. Her energy continued to dissipate as her whole body grew sluggish and shaky.

"It's sad but true," continued Pang, "that this is one of the reasons I left you." She kicked Skrili in the thigh, knocking her to her knees. "In the end, you're just like all the other consciousnesses out here: weak and useless."

It's over…I failed…Skrili repeated in her head, fighting to stay conscious.

I failed Akri…

Another dagger lunged at Deon, but he didn't even attempt to avoid it. It simply passed through him like all the others. At this point, Deon had grown to anticipate illusions instead of the real thing.

Give it a bit longer…Deon thought. It's coming soon. I just have to keep focusing…

The many Phillips kept circling him, still full of energy, and still throwing daggers. But none of the knives pierced Deon or his rod.

He'll attack at any second…

The Phillips kept running. The daggers kept zooming through.

Keep focusing…

More fake daggers.

Focus…

The daggers stopped coming. Deon watched as all the Phillips circled him empty-handed.

"I didn't think I would have to use this," came Phillip's voice from a distance. It sounded like he was up in the air, behind Deon.

The illusionary Phillips surrounding Deon vanished. None remained—Phillip hadn't been among them.

Deon turned to where Phillip's soft voice was coming from. Phillip was squatting high up in a tree at the edge of the battleground, watching Deon.

Skrili's warning came to Deon's mind: "He'll use illusions to make you think you're fighting him, while he's hiding somewhere charging up the attack."

"You're very skilled for a beginner," Phillip told him. "But this needs to end now."

"So you're showing me your final attack after all," said Deon with a smirk. "Perfect—but first, I want you to see mine." He de-imagined the spinning rod.

"What?"

Right in front of Phillip appeared an enormous, cartoonish squirrel monster. Its pointed nose was inches from Phillip's face, and its large and furious black eyes glared into his. It was so tall that its burly, clawed feet rested on the ground beside the tree Phillip crouched in.

"Meet my new friend Twitchy," said Deon happily.

Phillip nodded nervously at the squirrel beast.

"I bet you're wondering how I could imagine something this profound just instantly like that," Deon began. "The truth is: I've been planning this since before the fight started. Skrili warned me about your final attack, so I wanted to have something up my sleeve. Once you did the whole dagger thing and they kept being fakes, I knew you were probably trying to distract me and prepping your finisher—and that's exactly what I was hoping for. I've been getting this counter ready the whole fight."

Phillip continued to stare at the furry fiend. "Impressive," he muttered.

"This has been the best fight I've ever had, Phillip. Thank you," Deon told him. "It's time to finish this. TWITCHY, ATTACK!!!!!"

The squirrel brought its head back, opened its mouth to reveal long, sharp fangs, and pounced forward.

Panicking, Phillip dove out of the tree, barely avoiding Twitchy's bite. He freefell a long way down, and then with a thump, crashed onto the ground under a heap of bushes.

"Ouch…" Deon commented upon Phillip's harsh landing. "That should do it. Good job, Twitchy!"

Upon his command, the squirrel vanished from existence.

Deon waited a little while longer, but Phillip didn't get up. Deon chuckled.

He really thought Twitchy was real…I guess I beat him at his own game, he thought. There's no way I could've actually imagined a huge, living monster—I'm not that good. It looks like the Illusionist was fooled by an illusion.

Satisfied with his hard-earned victory, Deon turned to check Skrili and Pang's fight.

He gasped.

Skrili was on her hands and knees, breathing heavily. Pang stood over her, and kicked Skrili in the side. Skrili fell over, rolling onto her back limply. She struggled hard to bring herself back to her hands and knees, but Deon could see her arms and legs shaking even from where he stood. Once again, Pang kicked her down.

"Crap—I better stop this," Deon said to himself. He started running across the fighting ground, eager to relieve Skrili from the beating, but reluctant to confront Pang.

As he arrived at Skrili and Pang's side of the clearing, Pang took notice of him. Once she made eye contact with him, he stopped in his tracks. Her eyes seemed to glow with curiosity.

"Wow…you beat Phillip?" she asked.

Skrili weakly lifted her head from the ground and looked up at Deon. Her eyes were heavy and her mouth hung open from exhaustion.

"That's right," said Deon as his heart began to race. "And you're next."

Pang laughed amiably as if Deon was flirting with her. "That's cute," she commented.

Skrili stirred. With a grunt, she climbed back up to her hands and knees. Still visibly void of energy, she tried to stand up again.

"What are you doing, Skrili?" Pang asked her." She grabbed Skrili's shoulder and effortlessly pushed her back to the ground. "Just stay down. You're done."

Deon felt an uncomfortable anger welling up in him as he watched Skrili fall. She briefly glanced up at him, and then pretended she hadn't as she looked away with desperate frustration.

"Alright listen," Deon uttered to Pang, as he continued to watch Skrili. "We're taking Skrili's bag back. We're taking her TeamTrack-thing back. And we're taking her—"

He stopped short when Skrili suddenly shot him an intense, wide-eyed glare.

Wait, should I not mention the picture? he wondered.

Pang looked between Deon and Skrili repeatedly, appearing confused for the first time. She laughed awkwardly. "Um…And you're taking her what?" Pang faced Skrili. "What was he going to say?"

Skrili stared back at her like she had just been exposed.

"What else is in that bag, Skrili?" asked Pang in an alarmingly low tone.

Deon had revealed something he wasn't supposed to.