Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Crimson ❯ Killing Time ( Chapter 6 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Esperati Nero 
Sparring Scene
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Sci-fi / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.04.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 114 | Status: Completed
Sparring Scene
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Sci-fi / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.04.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 114 | Status: Completed
The truth was, Eridde wasn't too bad at bandaging people up. Satin was reminded of that fact as she dealt a heavy punch to her sparring partner's chest, following up with a powerful roundhouse kick to the jaw. Even if it still hurt like hell, it wasn't as much of a hell as it were before. The kid was actually around her age, although older in appearance. Anyone her age would probably seem older. Satin hasn't changed since she was first taken into Sub-Zero. She caught him by the shoulders as he reeled back, heavily dazed. "Y'okay?"
"Mmf..."
Satin took that to be a yes. Turning to the trainer who stood beside her, she asked, "What's the time?"
"Fifty-two seconds." Satin cursed as the trainer continued in a scolding tone, "You shouldn't be taking more than 45 seconds. Go take a break. This kid needs some tutoring on his stance." She could still hear him chastising the poor boy. It's been a long time since anyone's yelled at her about any of her positions. Then again, there was no one to yell at her on the moor. Two months of pure isolation... it was torture in paradise. Sitting down against the wall, she picked up her white, plastic water bottle and poured water into her mouth while her mind replayed the spar. She should've used a low sweep when she had the chance. Sure, she was at a size and power disadvantage, but if use used enough momentum and hit him in the right place, it shouldn't matter. That wasted her nearly seven seconds. If she had done it right, she would've defeated him in time. That wasn't even a hard opponent. She was getting rusty again.
Suddenly reaching out, she caught a falling towel out of the air without even looking at it. "Thanks." She wiped the sweat from her face, looking up to see Eridde walking towards her. "What are you doing here? I thought you didn't have training assistance duty today." Taking another drink of water, she tossed the bottle to him. Eridde looked equally as worn out as she did, but his forest green eyes held more fire than her soft, amber-brown ones. He obviously had no trouble with his job. Satin looked back towards the gym and its occupants as he squeezed the bottle, letting a jet of water gush out from the nozzle into his mouth. "Thanks again for the bandaging. They almost don't hurt anymore." She murmured.
"Liar, you're bleeding." Eridde rapped her on the head as he knelt down, producing another roll of bandages from the pocket of his gym shorts. Little red spots were blooming on the bandages. "Aren't you supposed to wear your combat guards when you practice?"
"You still haven't answered my first question." Satin let Eridde work on her hand with his neosporn and gauze. "My guards are size P. They're too small to fit around bandages. The next largest size is S, but that's too big. I'm not getting a custom just for bandages."
Eridde carefully removed her old bandages to apply new ones. He was none the too gentle. "You should at least be wearing shin guards if not wrist or elbow guards." He tapped her calf, earning a sharp kick from her.
"Now tell me what you're doing here if you're not on assistance." She demanded.
"I'm keeping my skills up, unlike you." He smirked at her. "Two months without a proper sparring partner definitely ate through a year of your work. You're way behind."
Satin scoffed, flinching when he pulled the bandages too tightly. "Just you watch, mister I'm-so-perfect. I'll catch up to you again. I'll pass you, just watch me." She scowled. "I challenge you to a match right now."
Eridde snickered, "Now? You're kidding me. You can barely hold your own against a second year trainee."
"Pick your ground." Satin stood up as the trainee beckoned for her to return. "I'll be through in one hour. I'll meet you in the VR sims, first unoccupied room numerically."
Shrugging, Eridde returned to his punching bag. "If you insist on beating yourself up. You know you're going to be tired after one hour, right?" He asked again, reminding her that she had to kick some serious trainee butt before she can even try to spar with him.
"I'll be there." Satin called back to him as she faced her next opponent. Male trainees seem to get larger and larger with each year. It was getting to be an annoyance to a midget like her to fight with a strength and size disadvantage. She hated assistance duty with a passion, because losing a match meant possible temporary removal from the initiate level tasks. It meant she might be demoted and sent to train as a trainee again until she can fight against the same person and win. Of course, if she were defeated by a combat prodigy, she'd probably be excused. These men were average by standards set by normal people. She had no excuse to lose against them. Readying herself again, Satin crouched into her defensive stance, her hands forming half fists, ready for another brutal session of self humiliation.
Walking down the hall, Satin sighed, rubbing her wrists. It seemed like her problems kept piling up. First it was the fear of the color white, which caused her to be sent back from her original mission and transferred to station patrol. That resulted in her being caught in a bombing and getting burned, which led to her return to work in a less than healthy condition, not to mention the destruction of one of her outfits. She was wearing a similar ensemble now. The top was a navy blue turtleneck that was cropped too short on the bottom for her liking, revealing a good three inch strip of her muscular abdomen. She'd love to get a different sweater, but that was the only other one she had that wasn't burned up. It would be a week before she can receive her supply order. Over that, she wore white hoodie, cropped seven inches and shortsleeved. It had blue stripes on the shoulders and down the sides at the seams. It seemed to be designed after a sailor's shirt, except it wasn't. The zipper was disquised as a silver star, which she made sure to dull. On the bottom was a pair of dark blue shorts, secured with a belt. A leather strap was buckled tightly around her right thigh, holding a tiny black silencer the size of a credit card. The engineer must've had lots of fun compacting it. As usual, she wore her torn-up looking sneakers instead of boots, which were favored by most of Sub-Zero's inhabitants.
That last fight had her in a fright. It was the shortest of her fights, and she did manage to keep her cool, but at the same time, she felt like she almost screamed. Her opponent wasn't too tall of a person, but he was as fast as hell. It was obvious that he did his homework, seeing he nearly killed her in the first seven seconds. It took Satin all her power to keep him back while she looked for his weakness. The spar was over within sixteen seconds she she found his downfall was his balance. All she had to do was feint a punch for his abdomen while sweeping her opposite leg from the side to kick his knees out from under him. From there, she jumped on him, sitting on his ribs while her knees pinioned his arms to the ground and her hand poised to crush his windpipe. She didn't know if she had enough mental energy left to hold out her challenge with Eridde now. Oh well, it's not as if she had a choice anymore. Satin stopped at the open doorway of the third virtual reality room, finding Eridde fitting himself with what looked like two, ugly, gray bracelets. He tossed a set of them to Satin while she slowly entered the room, trying to decide what weapon she would choose from the racks of plastic prototypes in the sideline zone.
"What's the game?" Satin asked, selecting the plastic model of a handgun renowned for its stunning accuracy, the Foci 9mil. She already knew what it was going to be. Eridde was carrying a Desert Eagle. There was only one simulation that he used his favorite guns for.
"Maze hunt." He grinned, watching her place the bracelets around her wrists. "What else?" He spun his gun, regarding her from the corner of his eye. "You really shouldn't be doing something like this at all. I think the Axe is right, you should get a Med to check those cuts out."
"I'll go if you win." She scoffed, pressing the activation button on the wall of the sideline box. Satin watched as the small square tiles that covered the 200 meter square room began to rise. The room was tall, nearly three stories tall. What looked like walls and towers of multiple heights and widths ascended. Some made it halfway to the top while others achieved contact with the ceiling, forming the elaborate works of a pillarred labyrinth. The lights dimmed as they found their places on the playing field. When it came back on, it was an eerie blue tint that was barely enough for the viewing of scant sillhouettes. An average person would find themselves blind here. Only those chosen for the secret service can flawlessly pick their way through a maze like this.
The Sub-zero VR programs are highly advanced, using infrared detectors to calculate the severity of the 'bullet wound' according to the position and angle of a plastic model's invisible laser. Because only the players generated great quantities of heat, the ceiling detectors could easily pinpoint the pathway of a laser and determine whether or not it intercepted the heat mass. Then it was able to calculate the height at which the laser met a surface by monitoring its intensity from that distance. That enabled the program to determine where, vertically on the heat mass, the laser hit. The program sends a signal to the 'bracelets' the players wore, and enabled them to send a static electrical shock to the point where the laser made contact with the player. The strength of the shock depends on how much damage a bullet from that angle would deal on that part of the body and the question of the location of the vital organs. All that within one second. It was an ingeneous simulation.
While Eridde ducked behind a pillar, Satin melded with the darkness with ease. Stealth was one of her strong points because she could manipulate things throughout the entire 200 meter playing field. Best of all, it was dark. She had no visual hinderances in the dark. Within moments, she was far away from her original position, but she did leave her jacket hanging there, as if she were still there, a sleeve peeking from the side of the building, very artistical place for deception as well as planning. She was staging a trap for Kira, her silent motions not even stirring enough air to match the air movement from an infant's exhaling breath. Because was wearing very unreflective colors now without her white jacket, it was hard to see her in the shadows where she moved. Her speed carried her out of range before anyone could confirm that she had been there. Her only hinderance was the part of her face not covered by the visor. Her skin was stark white. At the moment, she was watching Eridde and his gun carefully. Her own gun in her hand. Her secondary strategy is only for if he goes out of sight. As long as he stays visible, she could only watch and wait.
Eridde's eyes were as sharp as daggers. That, or his mind had creepy, supernatural powers. No matter how well Satin blended into the scenery, he could always tell where she was going. He instantly saw through Satin's little trick, knowing that her jacket was only a decoy for him. Satin was aware that Eridde was a powerful assassin, but she was the more creative one. She could often see reason where he could not, and very often, she saw how dumb his tricks really were. The silly boy saw her and shot at a pillar, trying to ricochet a shot off it. Unfortunately, lasers don't reflect well off of rocky surfaces. That was one thing that couldn't be done in a VR simulation. She easily evaded it without being seen and darted behind a wall, keeping herself completely out of sight.
She took off one of her shoes and set it to the side so only the tip of one shoestring was visible, then placed tiny little grains of salt on the ground nearby. Satin kept the strangest things in her pockets. Salt and sugar packets were among the less bizzare, as was a paperclip and a length of string. Bending her paperclip into a hook, she quickly attatched it to her shoe, then tied one end of the string securely to it before she edged away towards a niche in the wall. Her sweatshirt came off, leaving her in a loose, black tank top and her bandages. Satin gently pulled on the string, causing the shoe to move out of sight and towards her quickly. Almost immediately she dropped the string and paperclip and steppe back into her shoe. This illusion should do it. Eridde wasn't exactly the brightest of the bunch. She hoped she fooled him, even though she continously kicked herself mentally for relying on her opponent's stupidity. She wouldn't be able to do that in real combat.
Eridde, as expected, was drawn immediately to the sound. He made his soundless way around the wall, his eyes immediately falling on the niche. With a smirk, he raised his gun. It was obvious that she was there all along. He knew she couldn't hear him or see him there. Hiding in a niche was the dumbest thing to do. He really didn't think she could be so dumb, but he knew she was there. What little light cast from overhead cast a shadow that she didn't take into account, and it was shifting uncomfortably. He was only one step away from the fatal shot when he heard a scraping beheath his feet. Eridde didn't have enough time to freeze in alarm before something dark was tossed into his face and three shots were made at him. He threw himself out of the way and tossed away Satin's jacket in time to see her jump swiftly over the wall. The sharp shock in his left shoulder forced him to further analyze Satin's movements. Her shots had all been within milimeters of each other. Her accuracy was stunning, and she would've killed him too, if he hadn't moved aside in time. Cursing at his own stupidity, Eridde picked himself up and gave chase after her.
Satin shivered with both cold and anticipation. They exchanged fire several times, each time a narrow miss for the receiver. Eridde was faster and much more experienced, but the damage dealt by Satin's previous trap slowed him down to her level. While he was physically able, Satin was an aspiring tactician. She used shadows and sounds to fool him many times, drawing him into deeper danger each time. Both of them moved with undefined grace and precision, Erride more so than Satin. But in brains, Satin definitely had the upper edge. She tripped him in a string trap and would've defeated him too, had he not shot at her in return and forced her into hiding again. In this ultimate game of hide-and-seek-tag, the two of them competed in perfect balance. If either of them missed a step, it would mean an instant loss.
Looking around him, Eridde could not determine where Satin was. The room had suddenly fallen into a death like silence. Edging his way slowly around the wall, he dared to peek his head around it, only to jerk it back in a spasmodic motion as his nose was almost 'blown-off' by one of Satin's shots. He stuck the gun around the corner and fired precisely to the source of the first bang. There was no returning shot, so Eridde concluded that she had dashed off again. Darting around the wall, he appeared in time to see her slip between two walls and shoot. The walls were so close together no light passed between them. He couldn't tell exactly where he hit her and if he made a clean shot or not.
He made his way there in full silence, deciding on whether or not he should take this risk... Risks usually find him before he can decide, like the fact that he found himself standing off guard by the opening of the two walls... All he could catch was the gleam of something flat and shiny. It resembled the eagle on Satin's choker. The simulation hasn't ended yet,but Satin hadn't made a shot either. The only reason he could concoct for this was that his last shot created a shock that temporarily paralyzed her. Raising his Desert Eagle, Eridde fired three shots at the gleam of faint light, waiting for the simulation to shut down.
Before he realized what was happening, Satin dropped down from above, shooting him four times square in the head before she dropped onto his back, knocking him completely to the ground. The simulation ended instantly and the entire playing ground returned to flat surface. "I win!"
Eridde rubbed his head. The fatal shots never get shocks attatched, or else he'd be paralyzed for a long time. "Holy steamin' shite, how did you get up there?" He coughed, still flat on the ground with Satin sitting on his spine.
"I rock-climbed the little bumps on the wall." She explained, "And I got onto a beam above you without you noticing."
"Oh, lovely... now please get off my back..." Eridde pretended to struggle with getting up. Satin knew he could easiily toss her off his back or carry her piggy-backed if he wanted to. But he pretended all the same. "You gained weight."
"Stop faking it, macho-man. Admit your defea-- hey! Put me down!" Eridde suddenly jumped up, holding Esperati under his arm with her elbows pinioned into her sides.
"You're still going to see the meds, whether you like it or not." He snapped off his bracelets and hung them on the side-line racks, then undid hers as well. "I'll personally drag you there if I have to. You may have won, but your movement is sloppy."
"But we agreed that I didn't have to go if I won!" Satin protested as he carried her down the hall in this very ungentlemanly fashion. "That's not fair!"
"Nuh-uh." Eridde shook his head slyly. "We never agreed on that. You said that you'd go if I won. You never said anything about not going if I didn't win, did you?"
Satin resisted the urge to try to bite him. Struggling did no good. Eridde obviously had great quantities of experiences with uncooperative people. "You know what, I freaking hate you sometimes."
Eridde smirked smugly as they headed down to the medical center of the complex. "I feel the love, girl. Don't deny it."
Satin looked down the desolate, gray hallway. It looked even longer than before...
Author's Note: Voila! That was an insight to some of the combat skills they learn. This was mainly stalking and stealth, not as exciting as real hand-to-hand combat nor as destructive as a gun-duel... but it's just to set the tone for skill level. I promise that there will be more later... There should be about four to six more 'scene-setting' chapters, but after that, it should have more action packed into it. There will actually be a 'social-life' for the SS, and the actual problem will appear. Stay tuned ^_^ Thanks! Reviews are always nice, to know how this thing's coming along to people's tastes... I'm starting to think my descriptions are lacking color. They're all plain, everyday actions now. It's just hard to describe with colorful diction.
~Esperati Nero
"Mmf..."
Satin took that to be a yes. Turning to the trainer who stood beside her, she asked, "What's the time?"
"Fifty-two seconds." Satin cursed as the trainer continued in a scolding tone, "You shouldn't be taking more than 45 seconds. Go take a break. This kid needs some tutoring on his stance." She could still hear him chastising the poor boy. It's been a long time since anyone's yelled at her about any of her positions. Then again, there was no one to yell at her on the moor. Two months of pure isolation... it was torture in paradise. Sitting down against the wall, she picked up her white, plastic water bottle and poured water into her mouth while her mind replayed the spar. She should've used a low sweep when she had the chance. Sure, she was at a size and power disadvantage, but if use used enough momentum and hit him in the right place, it shouldn't matter. That wasted her nearly seven seconds. If she had done it right, she would've defeated him in time. That wasn't even a hard opponent. She was getting rusty again.
Suddenly reaching out, she caught a falling towel out of the air without even looking at it. "Thanks." She wiped the sweat from her face, looking up to see Eridde walking towards her. "What are you doing here? I thought you didn't have training assistance duty today." Taking another drink of water, she tossed the bottle to him. Eridde looked equally as worn out as she did, but his forest green eyes held more fire than her soft, amber-brown ones. He obviously had no trouble with his job. Satin looked back towards the gym and its occupants as he squeezed the bottle, letting a jet of water gush out from the nozzle into his mouth. "Thanks again for the bandaging. They almost don't hurt anymore." She murmured.
"Liar, you're bleeding." Eridde rapped her on the head as he knelt down, producing another roll of bandages from the pocket of his gym shorts. Little red spots were blooming on the bandages. "Aren't you supposed to wear your combat guards when you practice?"
"You still haven't answered my first question." Satin let Eridde work on her hand with his neosporn and gauze. "My guards are size P. They're too small to fit around bandages. The next largest size is S, but that's too big. I'm not getting a custom just for bandages."
Eridde carefully removed her old bandages to apply new ones. He was none the too gentle. "You should at least be wearing shin guards if not wrist or elbow guards." He tapped her calf, earning a sharp kick from her.
"Now tell me what you're doing here if you're not on assistance." She demanded.
"I'm keeping my skills up, unlike you." He smirked at her. "Two months without a proper sparring partner definitely ate through a year of your work. You're way behind."
Satin scoffed, flinching when he pulled the bandages too tightly. "Just you watch, mister I'm-so-perfect. I'll catch up to you again. I'll pass you, just watch me." She scowled. "I challenge you to a match right now."
Eridde snickered, "Now? You're kidding me. You can barely hold your own against a second year trainee."
"Pick your ground." Satin stood up as the trainee beckoned for her to return. "I'll be through in one hour. I'll meet you in the VR sims, first unoccupied room numerically."
Shrugging, Eridde returned to his punching bag. "If you insist on beating yourself up. You know you're going to be tired after one hour, right?" He asked again, reminding her that she had to kick some serious trainee butt before she can even try to spar with him.
"I'll be there." Satin called back to him as she faced her next opponent. Male trainees seem to get larger and larger with each year. It was getting to be an annoyance to a midget like her to fight with a strength and size disadvantage. She hated assistance duty with a passion, because losing a match meant possible temporary removal from the initiate level tasks. It meant she might be demoted and sent to train as a trainee again until she can fight against the same person and win. Of course, if she were defeated by a combat prodigy, she'd probably be excused. These men were average by standards set by normal people. She had no excuse to lose against them. Readying herself again, Satin crouched into her defensive stance, her hands forming half fists, ready for another brutal session of self humiliation.
Walking down the hall, Satin sighed, rubbing her wrists. It seemed like her problems kept piling up. First it was the fear of the color white, which caused her to be sent back from her original mission and transferred to station patrol. That resulted in her being caught in a bombing and getting burned, which led to her return to work in a less than healthy condition, not to mention the destruction of one of her outfits. She was wearing a similar ensemble now. The top was a navy blue turtleneck that was cropped too short on the bottom for her liking, revealing a good three inch strip of her muscular abdomen. She'd love to get a different sweater, but that was the only other one she had that wasn't burned up. It would be a week before she can receive her supply order. Over that, she wore white hoodie, cropped seven inches and shortsleeved. It had blue stripes on the shoulders and down the sides at the seams. It seemed to be designed after a sailor's shirt, except it wasn't. The zipper was disquised as a silver star, which she made sure to dull. On the bottom was a pair of dark blue shorts, secured with a belt. A leather strap was buckled tightly around her right thigh, holding a tiny black silencer the size of a credit card. The engineer must've had lots of fun compacting it. As usual, she wore her torn-up looking sneakers instead of boots, which were favored by most of Sub-Zero's inhabitants.
That last fight had her in a fright. It was the shortest of her fights, and she did manage to keep her cool, but at the same time, she felt like she almost screamed. Her opponent wasn't too tall of a person, but he was as fast as hell. It was obvious that he did his homework, seeing he nearly killed her in the first seven seconds. It took Satin all her power to keep him back while she looked for his weakness. The spar was over within sixteen seconds she she found his downfall was his balance. All she had to do was feint a punch for his abdomen while sweeping her opposite leg from the side to kick his knees out from under him. From there, she jumped on him, sitting on his ribs while her knees pinioned his arms to the ground and her hand poised to crush his windpipe. She didn't know if she had enough mental energy left to hold out her challenge with Eridde now. Oh well, it's not as if she had a choice anymore. Satin stopped at the open doorway of the third virtual reality room, finding Eridde fitting himself with what looked like two, ugly, gray bracelets. He tossed a set of them to Satin while she slowly entered the room, trying to decide what weapon she would choose from the racks of plastic prototypes in the sideline zone.
"What's the game?" Satin asked, selecting the plastic model of a handgun renowned for its stunning accuracy, the Foci 9mil. She already knew what it was going to be. Eridde was carrying a Desert Eagle. There was only one simulation that he used his favorite guns for.
"Maze hunt." He grinned, watching her place the bracelets around her wrists. "What else?" He spun his gun, regarding her from the corner of his eye. "You really shouldn't be doing something like this at all. I think the Axe is right, you should get a Med to check those cuts out."
"I'll go if you win." She scoffed, pressing the activation button on the wall of the sideline box. Satin watched as the small square tiles that covered the 200 meter square room began to rise. The room was tall, nearly three stories tall. What looked like walls and towers of multiple heights and widths ascended. Some made it halfway to the top while others achieved contact with the ceiling, forming the elaborate works of a pillarred labyrinth. The lights dimmed as they found their places on the playing field. When it came back on, it was an eerie blue tint that was barely enough for the viewing of scant sillhouettes. An average person would find themselves blind here. Only those chosen for the secret service can flawlessly pick their way through a maze like this.
The Sub-zero VR programs are highly advanced, using infrared detectors to calculate the severity of the 'bullet wound' according to the position and angle of a plastic model's invisible laser. Because only the players generated great quantities of heat, the ceiling detectors could easily pinpoint the pathway of a laser and determine whether or not it intercepted the heat mass. Then it was able to calculate the height at which the laser met a surface by monitoring its intensity from that distance. That enabled the program to determine where, vertically on the heat mass, the laser hit. The program sends a signal to the 'bracelets' the players wore, and enabled them to send a static electrical shock to the point where the laser made contact with the player. The strength of the shock depends on how much damage a bullet from that angle would deal on that part of the body and the question of the location of the vital organs. All that within one second. It was an ingeneous simulation.
While Eridde ducked behind a pillar, Satin melded with the darkness with ease. Stealth was one of her strong points because she could manipulate things throughout the entire 200 meter playing field. Best of all, it was dark. She had no visual hinderances in the dark. Within moments, she was far away from her original position, but she did leave her jacket hanging there, as if she were still there, a sleeve peeking from the side of the building, very artistical place for deception as well as planning. She was staging a trap for Kira, her silent motions not even stirring enough air to match the air movement from an infant's exhaling breath. Because was wearing very unreflective colors now without her white jacket, it was hard to see her in the shadows where she moved. Her speed carried her out of range before anyone could confirm that she had been there. Her only hinderance was the part of her face not covered by the visor. Her skin was stark white. At the moment, she was watching Eridde and his gun carefully. Her own gun in her hand. Her secondary strategy is only for if he goes out of sight. As long as he stays visible, she could only watch and wait.
Eridde's eyes were as sharp as daggers. That, or his mind had creepy, supernatural powers. No matter how well Satin blended into the scenery, he could always tell where she was going. He instantly saw through Satin's little trick, knowing that her jacket was only a decoy for him. Satin was aware that Eridde was a powerful assassin, but she was the more creative one. She could often see reason where he could not, and very often, she saw how dumb his tricks really were. The silly boy saw her and shot at a pillar, trying to ricochet a shot off it. Unfortunately, lasers don't reflect well off of rocky surfaces. That was one thing that couldn't be done in a VR simulation. She easily evaded it without being seen and darted behind a wall, keeping herself completely out of sight.
She took off one of her shoes and set it to the side so only the tip of one shoestring was visible, then placed tiny little grains of salt on the ground nearby. Satin kept the strangest things in her pockets. Salt and sugar packets were among the less bizzare, as was a paperclip and a length of string. Bending her paperclip into a hook, she quickly attatched it to her shoe, then tied one end of the string securely to it before she edged away towards a niche in the wall. Her sweatshirt came off, leaving her in a loose, black tank top and her bandages. Satin gently pulled on the string, causing the shoe to move out of sight and towards her quickly. Almost immediately she dropped the string and paperclip and steppe back into her shoe. This illusion should do it. Eridde wasn't exactly the brightest of the bunch. She hoped she fooled him, even though she continously kicked herself mentally for relying on her opponent's stupidity. She wouldn't be able to do that in real combat.
Eridde, as expected, was drawn immediately to the sound. He made his soundless way around the wall, his eyes immediately falling on the niche. With a smirk, he raised his gun. It was obvious that she was there all along. He knew she couldn't hear him or see him there. Hiding in a niche was the dumbest thing to do. He really didn't think she could be so dumb, but he knew she was there. What little light cast from overhead cast a shadow that she didn't take into account, and it was shifting uncomfortably. He was only one step away from the fatal shot when he heard a scraping beheath his feet. Eridde didn't have enough time to freeze in alarm before something dark was tossed into his face and three shots were made at him. He threw himself out of the way and tossed away Satin's jacket in time to see her jump swiftly over the wall. The sharp shock in his left shoulder forced him to further analyze Satin's movements. Her shots had all been within milimeters of each other. Her accuracy was stunning, and she would've killed him too, if he hadn't moved aside in time. Cursing at his own stupidity, Eridde picked himself up and gave chase after her.
Satin shivered with both cold and anticipation. They exchanged fire several times, each time a narrow miss for the receiver. Eridde was faster and much more experienced, but the damage dealt by Satin's previous trap slowed him down to her level. While he was physically able, Satin was an aspiring tactician. She used shadows and sounds to fool him many times, drawing him into deeper danger each time. Both of them moved with undefined grace and precision, Erride more so than Satin. But in brains, Satin definitely had the upper edge. She tripped him in a string trap and would've defeated him too, had he not shot at her in return and forced her into hiding again. In this ultimate game of hide-and-seek-tag, the two of them competed in perfect balance. If either of them missed a step, it would mean an instant loss.
Looking around him, Eridde could not determine where Satin was. The room had suddenly fallen into a death like silence. Edging his way slowly around the wall, he dared to peek his head around it, only to jerk it back in a spasmodic motion as his nose was almost 'blown-off' by one of Satin's shots. He stuck the gun around the corner and fired precisely to the source of the first bang. There was no returning shot, so Eridde concluded that she had dashed off again. Darting around the wall, he appeared in time to see her slip between two walls and shoot. The walls were so close together no light passed between them. He couldn't tell exactly where he hit her and if he made a clean shot or not.
He made his way there in full silence, deciding on whether or not he should take this risk... Risks usually find him before he can decide, like the fact that he found himself standing off guard by the opening of the two walls... All he could catch was the gleam of something flat and shiny. It resembled the eagle on Satin's choker. The simulation hasn't ended yet,but Satin hadn't made a shot either. The only reason he could concoct for this was that his last shot created a shock that temporarily paralyzed her. Raising his Desert Eagle, Eridde fired three shots at the gleam of faint light, waiting for the simulation to shut down.
Before he realized what was happening, Satin dropped down from above, shooting him four times square in the head before she dropped onto his back, knocking him completely to the ground. The simulation ended instantly and the entire playing ground returned to flat surface. "I win!"
Eridde rubbed his head. The fatal shots never get shocks attatched, or else he'd be paralyzed for a long time. "Holy steamin' shite, how did you get up there?" He coughed, still flat on the ground with Satin sitting on his spine.
"I rock-climbed the little bumps on the wall." She explained, "And I got onto a beam above you without you noticing."
"Oh, lovely... now please get off my back..." Eridde pretended to struggle with getting up. Satin knew he could easiily toss her off his back or carry her piggy-backed if he wanted to. But he pretended all the same. "You gained weight."
"Stop faking it, macho-man. Admit your defea-- hey! Put me down!" Eridde suddenly jumped up, holding Esperati under his arm with her elbows pinioned into her sides.
"You're still going to see the meds, whether you like it or not." He snapped off his bracelets and hung them on the side-line racks, then undid hers as well. "I'll personally drag you there if I have to. You may have won, but your movement is sloppy."
"But we agreed that I didn't have to go if I won!" Satin protested as he carried her down the hall in this very ungentlemanly fashion. "That's not fair!"
"Nuh-uh." Eridde shook his head slyly. "We never agreed on that. You said that you'd go if I won. You never said anything about not going if I didn't win, did you?"
Satin resisted the urge to try to bite him. Struggling did no good. Eridde obviously had great quantities of experiences with uncooperative people. "You know what, I freaking hate you sometimes."
Eridde smirked smugly as they headed down to the medical center of the complex. "I feel the love, girl. Don't deny it."
Satin looked down the desolate, gray hallway. It looked even longer than before...
Author's Note: Voila! That was an insight to some of the combat skills they learn. This was mainly stalking and stealth, not as exciting as real hand-to-hand combat nor as destructive as a gun-duel... but it's just to set the tone for skill level. I promise that there will be more later... There should be about four to six more 'scene-setting' chapters, but after that, it should have more action packed into it. There will actually be a 'social-life' for the SS, and the actual problem will appear. Stay tuned ^_^ Thanks! Reviews are always nice, to know how this thing's coming along to people's tastes... I'm starting to think my descriptions are lacking color. They're all plain, everyday actions now. It's just hard to describe with colorful diction.
~Esperati Nero