Science and Sorcery Box Set

by Ryan Tang

  "Almost! Almost!"

  Scry True shouted.

  "She's here! She's here!"

  Lonely didn't look. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted, not now. They'd deal with whoever it was later.

  "Just focus on firing! Just make sure she fires at him!"

  The Tooth Man was utterly oblivious to even the arrival of his ally. He just continued desperately chasing after Lonely, squealing curses after him.

  Ten more seconds.

  That was all he needed to bring The Tooth Man into range of Forever.

  Eight more.

  He ducked a whirling fist that was more metal than teeth. Lonely smiled. There was no way The Tooth Man could survive the attack. He'd done it. He'd finally won.

  Six more.

  "Drowsy! Get ready! Get ready!"

  But then a voice he knew broke clean through his concentration.

  "Big Bro! Big Bro! I'm here to help!"

  ____

  The chorus was unanimous.

  "Big Bro?"

  "Big Bro?"

  Only idiotic The Tooth Man continued attacking. Lonely easily swerved around his feeble swing. Then even he realized what was happening. The masked pilot groaned.

  "Big Bro?"

  Lonely didn't need to glance back to know that everyone was staring at his sister's machine. Gallant's Aspect was Vanity, and her Paragon was accordingly beautiful. A row of tassels flew behind her pink and white machine. The distinct appearance, more jellyfish than human, made it painfully clear to everyone who exactly Eternium Wit was. His sister's appearance might ruin everything. Gallant was proud to know him, but nobody else was.

  Forever screamed.

  "It's here! It's here!"

  There was a tremendous bang, and an almost transparent bubble streaked towards them at breakneck speed.

  "Shit!"

  Scry True had turned to stare at Gallant. He hadn't aimed Forever properly.

  There was only one thing Lonely could do.

  The young pilot lunged forward and grabbed The Tooth Man. A few feeble white teeth emerged and locked their machines together. Lonely snickered. In this case, The Tooth Man's instinctive defense mechanism was exactly what he needed.

  He yanked the two of them into the path of the bubble, angling himself so that the gray and indigo machine would shield him from the blast. The Tooth Man literally did not know what hit him. The nearly transparent bubble was perilously difficult to see. The Tooth Man screamed in shock and pain as the blast obliterated his machine. Lonely screamed with him. The Tooth Man suffered the full brunt of the explosion, but even with the shark-like Paragon as his shield, Lonely felt like he was going to die.

  The two Paragons shook and shook as the sheer force of the bubble carried them far into the void of space.

  Gallant screamed.

  "Big Bro! No! Big Bro!"

  "I'm fine! I'm fine! Stay away!"

  His sister was brave and strong, but she was only a child. Lonely didn't want her anywhere near an attack like Forever's. Lonely knew he'd survive. He had The Tooth Man as his shield.

  There was a terrible cracking noise, and Lonely gaped as the Eternium on his arms began to splinter. Forever's strength was truly incredible. In the right context, she was even stronger than The Tooth Man. Above him, his longtime foe's machine had been reduced to a smoldering ruin – loose teeth on scrap metal.

  Then the teeth crumbled all at once.

  Lonely and The Tooth Man jerked apart. The masked pilot kicked off from the devastated gray and indigo machine. It was time to finish him.

  Lonely stepped forwards then cursed when he realized the impact had destroyed his hands. He brought his foot back for a kick instead. All he had to do was knock The Tooth Man out of his cockpit.

  "World of Doze!"

  His foot stopped in mid-air.

  "What? What are you doing?"

  Drowsy's voice was filled with anger.

  "You! You tricked us! You said you'd beat him without a Familiar!"

  "I did."

  The Tooth Man's machine was battered and broken beside him. A few kicks later, and he'd be gone for good. Lonely needed to break his machine before his Familiar recovered.

  What the hell was Drowsy doing?

  "No! You don't have a Familiar! You're that No Familiar Freak!"

  Drowsy's voice turned even angrier when he turned to Gallant.

  "And she's the wunderkind nobody will shut up about!"

  Forever was beginning to recover from her attack.

  "What? The No Familiar Freak? But...but..."

  Scry True's flat voice was filled with anger and disdain.

  "I should have seen. Why didn't I see!"

  Lonely tried to get them to focus.

  "We need to finish off The Tooth Man. Let me move."

  They just ignored him.

  "Come! You guys can get the last hit on him if you want! Just come and finish him!"

  His enemy was shockingly resilient. Lonely thought that the blast from Forever would have been enough. But they were so close. All they needed was just another few light blows.

  Drowsy laughed.

  "We will! But we'll get you too! How about that? The Tooth Man and the No-Familiar Freak!"

  Lonely struggled and struggled, but his foot could not move.

  How could this be happening?

  "Stop calling him that! Stop calling him that!"

  His sister charged forward.

  The white and pink machine drifted through the air with no discernable propulsion. Gallant's Paragon was unique among all the Lords. It flew solely through her willpower.

  Not even the Singer - who might have been the greatest pilot of all-time - had a machine like Gallant's. Gallant was just a girl, so she shouldn't have had a Paragon to begin with. All the kids were given training models, nondescript one-eyed machines that were weaker than even the Sinsworn. His sister was so powerful that she'd overpowered the binds set on the training unit. She'd melted down the plain machine and reforged it into the most unique Paragon any Noble had ever seen.

  Lonely screamed again for Gallant to leave. It wasn't worth the risk. Her will was too powerful even for Eternium. He'd seen it happen before. Her machine would dissolve and send her drifting off into space.

  They were so close to winning. Lonely just needed someone else to come and do their job. He just needed Drowsy to let him go.

  "Come! Someone come help finish him off! Gallant! Not you! Get out of here!"

  Forever cackled.

  "Is the girl wonder trying to fight us? Can't she see what we just did to The Tooth Man? What does she think she can do to us?"

  Drowsy shouted eagerly.

  "We can beat him the same way! And we won't have some No Familiar Freak holding us down!"

  "Yes! Yes! Let's get them both! The Tooth Man and the Freak! We'll have it all!"

  Forever giggled excitedly.

  "Let's get her! I need to charge up again! Hold her off!"

  No! They hadn't beaten The Tooth Man yet! What were they thinking!

  "No! Stop! He's just going to destroy you after! We need to finish him off! We need to destroy The Tooth Man!"

  Lonely strained and strained, but his foot would not move. He thought he could see the flickers of white returning on the tank-like machine's armor. He winced as he opened his mouth. It hurt to speak, but he forced himself to hurtle insults at his crumbling opponent.

  "You lost to the No Familiar Freak! You got beaten by some of the lowest-ranked pilots among all the Nobles! You're weak!"

  He scrambled to think of something else to say.

  "You'd never beat my sister!"

  The Tooth Man moaned. He sounded badly injured. The white stopped returning quite as quickly, but Lonely still saw the flickers. The bond would eventually be re-established.

  Lonely cursed. How much time had they wasted?

  "Someone! Come here! I need help finishing this guy off!"

  Gallant was the only one wh
o came. The jellyfish streaked for The Tooth Man, but the other machines chased after her. Drowsy dove in the way.

  "Stop! That's our kill! We'll take The Tooth Man's ransom and yours too! That's three ransoms! The No-Familiar Freak, The Tooth Man, and the girl wonder!"

  There was an echoing snick as one of the jellyfish's tendrils transformed into a sword.

  "What?"

  Drowsy screeched in surprise and fear. It surprised everyone who saw it. Before Nobles flew into battle, they always transformed a block of raw Eternium into a Paragon, a legendary humanoid machine with the strength of a thousand people. But once you entered combat, Eternium was supposed to become rigid again. The weapons you chose were the weapons you won or lost with.

  But Gallant's Paragon was as free-spirited as its pilot. The jellyfish machine transformed whenever she needed it to.

  Two quick cuts and Drowsy's machine was disarmed.

  A second tendril morphed into a leg and kicked Drowsy aside.

  "I'm coming! Big Bro! I'm coming!"

  Why weren't his allies helping? Didn't they realize what would happen?

  "Get over here! Get over here and finish him off, or I'll haunt you the rest of your lives!"

  It was an empty threat, and they knew it. Lonely was strong enough to defeat all three of them at once - he wasn't idiotic enough to fly into Forever's narrow range. But without a Familiar, he'd always be ranked at the bottom of the standings. They considered him little more than an Ignorant, the rebels of Old Earth who hadn't known or worshipped the sinful gods and their Familiar children. The Nobles' customs meant there was no need for any of them to accept his challenges. A challenge from a higher ranking Lord was an honor than must be accepted, but a challenge from your lesser was nothing more than a hopeful request for your time.

  The teeth continued to reappear, flickering in and out as The Tooth Man tried to recover his Pride. The defeated pilot chanted over and over.

  "Their place. Their place. I will teach them their place. Their place is beneath me."

  Lonely strained at the controls, but there was nothing he could do. His machine had suffered severe damage, and Drowsy's Finisher was still holding it in place.

  Drowsy screeched as Gallant flew closer and closer.

  "What are you doing? Why would you turn your back on me! World of Doze!"

  His sister's machine was abruptly forced to a halt. Gallant's jellyfish Paragon shimmered as her Familiar nullified the attack.

  With Drowsy distracted, Lonely's machine was now free. He turned and brought back his leg. All he needed were a few solid kicks.

  But by now, The Tooth Man's teeth were no longer flickering. They grew and grew, slowly but steadily.

  The Tooth Man cackled.

  "Men will never follow you. You only got lucky, you stupid Freak."

  Lonely screeched insults back at him, but his words lacked the conviction. His allies had abandoned him mere seconds from the finish line. And without a Familiar, he'd never penetrate that line of teeth.

  The Tooth Man's Eternium rippled and glowed as the Liquid State slowly returned.

  "Alright. Who will I put in their place first?"

  Gallant's machine flew and flew. The countless tassels flowed behind her, blowing wildly even though there was no air in space. The machine glowed brighter and brighter. By now the Paragon no longer resembled a jellyfish. It was nothing more than an amorphous blob of water, a surging tide streaking through the stars.

  Oh no.

  Oh no.

  Lonely forgot about even The Tooth Man.

  "Gallant! Calm down! Calm down! You're doing it again! Calm down!"

  Scry True's machine leaped out of its hiding place.

  "Surrender! The three of us have won here! You and The Tooth Man need to sur -"

  Two tendrils transformed into needle-like rapiers. Ever since she saw the Surgeon fight, Gallant had been captivated with the elegant weapon. The third formed into a fist.

  Gallant was so fast that Scry True couldn't even draw his weapon.

  The two surgical stabs from the swords crippled Scry True's machine. The savage uppercut smashed his Paragon into the asteroid-like Castlecraft, shattering the head.

  Forever screeched.

  "Two days! Give me two days, and then I'll be ready! Two days and then the Freak and his sister will be paying ransoms to us until the Conquest!"

  What were the idiots doing?

  Forever didn't even need to use her Finisher. She just had to push her machine into its Liquid State and give The Tooth Man a good smack on the head.

  The fists reformed. With the base machine so damaged, the teeth arranged themselves in a hideous and discordant pattern, replacing the mechanical parts so the tank-like Paragon could fly again.

  The Tooth Man chuckled.

  "Nice try Freak. But a useless Freak is always a useless Freak."

  No.

  No.

  This could not be happening.

  By now, Gallant's machine was nothing more than a blur. Lonely wanted to scream. She was pushing herself harder than he'd ever seen before. It would only end in disaster.

  "Gallant! Stop! Stop!"

  The Tooth Man turned around.

  "Holy shit! What am I looking at?"

  The wave bore down on him.

  "Thousand Teeth: Punch Supreme!"

  The white sprouted all at once. For a moment, it seemed like The Tooth Man was going to turn and fight with Gallant; but instead, he directed his machine straight toward Lonely's ruined cockpit.

  The impact caused space itself to scream.

  Lonely was flung from his chair. The force of the point-blank hit caused the sturdy straps of his pilot chair to snap completely. He crashed into the front of the cockpit. The glass of his screen shattered and cracked, marring his face with a hundred cuts. His mouth filled with blood as he slumped uselessly down into his split and battered chair.

  He grabbed the controls, but predictably nothing happened.

  His machine was useless.

  The Tooth Man grabbed him.

  "Stop! Stop, or your brother gets it!"

  It was a Ransom battle. The Tooth Man wasn't allowed to kill him. What was he saying?

  "No! No! Let him go! Let him go!"

  The aqueous Paragon flared like a bonfire. Then it fizzled for a moment and froze completely. Gallant had gotten too excited. Her machine was mere moments away from dissolving. Lonely could imagine her frozen at the controls, her jellyfish Familiar wrapped around her in a tight embrace.

  Not realizing what had happened, The Tooth Man giggled. He thought she'd frozen because she was surrendering.

  "That's right. That's right. You knew your place. Oh yes, you did."

  The Tooth Man rose, his machine horribly damaged but somewhat operable again.

  It only took moments for him to mop up Drowsy, Scry True, and Forever. They surrendered, but The Tooth Man still attacked their machines. He smashed and smashed their Paragons until they were broken ruins. Before long, he had six broken cockpits tied up all behind him – Lonely and his sorry team as well as the two brothers.

  The Tooth Man's voice was angry and bitter.

  "Going to take you all to the Namers for what you just did. Bet you were all part of the same conspiracy. Bet you guys wanted to blow up my machine too."

  Lonely's blood ran cold.

  "Oh, yes. I'll have you all killed. That will be one, two, three..."

  He gave up counting and shook his head.

  "It'll be a shitload of Castlecrafts for me, that's what it'll be. I'll have them execute you all. They'll know what happened."

  Lonely's traitorous companions screamed and begged, but it all fell on deaf ears.

  He grabbed Gallant as her Paragon drifted through space.

  "You better come with me too. Who knows if you were part of it?"

  CHAPTER 3: THE NO FAMILIAR FREAK

  "This is crap! You know I wasn't involved in that!"

  "We didn't know!
He did! The No Familiar Freak!"

  "Yes! Yes! He planned this! He threatened us! He made us go along with him!"

  "He said we'd become Freaks too!"

  "That's a lie! That's a lie! If it weren't for my brother, you never would have beaten him! He won! Lonely won!"

  The Tooth Man ignored all their arguments. He turned quickly when Gallant mentioned Lonely beating him, but then he flinched and looked away. After Gallant's incredible display of power, The Tooth Man was scared. He didn't realize why the Paragon still wasn't moving. He thought she was just surrendering.

  Drowsy, Forever, and Scry True wailed and protested, but it was useless. They were all at The Tooth Man's mercy now. He was one of the ten greatest fighters in the Constellation, and the four of them were nobodies. The only one who might save them was Gallant. She was the only other reputable Noble.

  Lonely sighed. He'd tried protecting his sister, only now she might need to save him.

  The Tooth Man cackled.

  "We'll let the Namers decide everything."

  His sister's voice was high and squeaky. When she didn't get overexcited, she could fight nearly as well as any grown pilot, but she was just a child.

  "The Namers? Why are you taking them to the Namers?"

  The Tooth Man laughed even harder.

  "Them? What do you mean them? I'm taking you there too! Toothy Boy is going to have four Castlecrafts by the end of today!"

  It was five - six, counting his own - but Lonely didn't bother correcting him.

  The jellyfish Paragon's tendrils slowly turned into swords. Lonely could almost imagine his sister at the cockpit, tentatively touching the panel and hoping the machine wouldn't fall apart. It might have turned to violence, but The Tooth Man's massive mitt was tight around Lonely's cockpit. The brutish man shook Lonely's ruined Paragon like it was a bottle of soda. The masked man's head slammed into the top of the roof, and he let out a started cry of pain.

  "You're just doing this because he almost beat you!"

  The Tooth Man just shook Lonely's cockpit again. This time, the masked pilot was ready. His arms were wrapped tightly around his head.

  It still hurt like hell.

  The swords disappeared.

  The Tooth Man sniggered.

  "That's right. Remember your place."