CARNIVAL (The Spark Form Chronicles Book 2)

by Doyle, Matt

  "John Forrester now leaving the arena to a round of cheers from the crowd, the Connection Team helping Carnival to the back with him ..."

  "John has been a Helluva champion Dirk, an' you can bet that he'll be back, fightin' to regain the title next year. This year though belongs to that woman right there. Speakin' of which, I'm gonna get down there. I'm drinkin' champagne tonight man!"

  Dirk laughs. "OK, we're gonna discuss Fahrn's win in a lot more detail in the round-up show. Until then though, I'm being told to wrap this one up. So. Ladies and Gentlemen, this has been the forty third annual Spark Form World Championships. I'm Dirk Wylder and I'm gonna throw this one over to Sam North with the first ever Offlander World Champion in Spark Form history, Fahrn Starchaser!"

  The video cuts to Sam standing by with an exhausted Fahrn.

  "Listen to that crowd man, they're lovin' ya!"

  Fahrn smiles and acknowledges a few of the fans cheering loudly.

  "We're gonna have a lot to talk about later," Sam continues, "but until then, ya got any words to close the show?"

  Fahrn looks to the crowd again then leans into the mic and says, "To all those like me ... and those who treat us as equals. No matter what Colony or hunk of metal you call home ... this one is for all of us. Thank you."

  The video fades to black as Sam shakes Fahrn's hand, the fans cheering loudly.

  JOHN FORRESTER - 17:39

  What have I done?

  I was so preoccupied with what was coming after the match that I didn't do the math right. If I'd used the lunge, it would have taken Fahrn too far past the zero to boost her attack and Carnival would have been walking out of here rather than being carried out by the fake staff. The Spinal Implant. It let me run through all the worst case scenarios as I went along and they just took over. I couldn't stop them. I knew the lunge would probably finish Fahrn, but I also knew that she could potentially reverse it after one bite so I went with the Leaping Slash, but if I'd thought about what she had as her Fragment I would have considered something like The Phoenix Rite and gone for the lunge anyway but I didn't because I was thinking about this.

  Breathe John. Breathe. Stop thinking about your parents. Stop thinking about Carnival playing dead. Stop thinking about how you're going to get her out of here. Stop thinking that it all ends now and you won't see her again because they'll change her or not let her come back.

  "Surge levels are rising," says a voice behind me.

  "Keep monitoring," replies a voice that sounds like Lana.

  Lana. We trusted her. Carnival trusts her. This is all part of the game, the pretence. We have to keep it up until we're out of sight or everyone'll know what's going on, and the deal's off. Carnival isn't really unconscious; she can still fight. I know that. We had that before. She wasn't taken down though. We don't know how far she can be pushed yet.

  "Another spike," someone mutters as we turn the corner.

  Someone clicks their fingers in front of my face and I turn to look at Lana. "John," she says, "we're going to the secondary interview block. The inner walls in there are fake, so we took them down and opened the four rooms out into one. The outer walls are already sound proofed so that'll help us make sure that no one drops in unexpected. Just in case though, we're gonna post some guys at the entrances and cordon the area off for cleaning."

  I nod, but I'm only half listening and my eyes keep darting back to Carnival.

  "There are a lot of things happening right now John, and I can't even begin to go into them yet. I'm not an enemy though. I need you to try to believe that."

  Up ahead, Finn McCourt is waiting. When he spots us, he opens the door to the interview room and leads us through. It's bigger than it should be. Did Lana mention that? Lana's still here, isn't she? We're supposed to trust her. She's next to me. And Finn's behind us at the door, I can hear him. Is that Hong Chan? Yes. Hong Chan is standing at the opposite end of the room, his Spinal Implants hooked up to something. A generator maybe? Is he fighting Carnival? Did Lana tell us that too? I can't remember. There are two Data Wicks in the middle of the room though. A spare?

  The door shuts and I hear two sets of steps walking towards us. Carnival. One set is Carnival. She's OK.

  Carnival walks passed me and comes to a stop a couple of steps ahead, the battle damage still visible. Up ahead, two screens flicker into life in front of Hong Chan and both Data Wicks rise up, their projection loading quickly and without fanfare, leaving two mannequins, both plain white apart from a blue number one on the forehead of one and a pink number two on the other.

  "Training dummies," Lana says beside me. "They're set with averaged stats so that any damage is limited, but they have their strengths and weaknesses the same as any Spark Form."

  Carnival isn't healing herself. She's just standing there, breathing heavily. "Heal," I murmur.

  "It's OK," Lana says. "She asked for this herself. She wants to test her limits a little. She'll be allowed to heal after that."

  "His heart rate is rising," Finn states. "The Surge hasn't died down yet."

  Lana looks at me and sighs. "Finn, please restrain Mr Forrester."

  I feel one of Finn's arms wrap around me, the other covering my mouth as I try to cry out in protest. I try to struggle free, but the arm he has pinning my arms to my sides tightens.

  Carnival turns, her eyes blazing, and looks right at me. She softens, looks to Lana and nods.

  "Just the one to begin with," Lana shouts across to Hong Chan and he taps one of his screens, sending the Spark Form with the blue number one forward. Carnival steps towards it, her body tense.

  She agrees with them holding me like this. Am I that useless to her right now?

  Yes. Yes, I am. I'm not thinking straight. I'm not calming down. I can still feel The Surge flooding me and it's stopping me from finding coherent thought. If they leave me alone, I'll run out there and then Carnival will get hurt trying to stop me getting hurt while trying to stop her getting hurt. Being held like this is suffocating and that's pushing The Surge up too, which means that they can't let me go. It's going to keep building and Finn will keep me held in place. Unless I calm down. Breathe. Try to concentrate John.

  Carnival and the mannequin start to circle each other, and I see how focused Carnival is. She's wants to win, but she's scared and unsure how to proceed.

  She's got to fight this one on her own.

  She's going to get hurt.

  I feel Finn tighten his grip, but it doesn't feel any tighter than it was a moment ago. Did he loosen it when I tried calming down? And why is he covering my mouth? No, that's obvious. I'd distract Carnival. There's no way Finn is going to let go now. The moment Carnival starts fighting that thing, The Surge is going to kick in again. I can feel it.

  Carnival dashes forward.

  17:53

  Carnival charges straight towards the faceless mannequin and connects with a right hook that sends it stumbling back, knocking it off balance. Seeing a potential advantage, she steps in close and fires off a hard punch to the gut, lifting her foe off the floor and dropping it onto its knees. She follows up with an axe kick, but the mannequin brings its arms up and crosses them above its head to trap her incoming foot and halt the attack. With a roar, Carnival tries to force her foot down, but as she does so her opponent forces its way to its feet and pushes her back.

  The moment her foot hits the floor again, Carnival starts to fall to the side, her face in shock. Before she can trip however, Number One roundhouse kicks her in the face, pushing her back the other way and straight into an enziguri from the opposite foot. The mannequin scoots its body around, rising to its feet and throwing itself forward with a jumping knee strike, cracking Carnival's jaw back with a loud thud.

  The Lopine falls slowly, her eyes closing just before she hits the floor, leaving her prone as Number One darts in for the kill. It proceeds to start firing off stomps, rocking her body repeatedly against the floor.

  "I think that's enough," calls Lana De La Cruz, ra
ising her voice over the sound of Carnival's howls of pain and John Forrester's muffled whimpers. "Hong Chan! Call off ..."

  A loud roar of rage builds quickly in Carnival's throat, cutting Lana off. She rolls to the side with frightening speed, rises to her feet and brings one hand to Number One's shoulder, the other to its waist. She steps in, lifts and twists, throwing the mannequin back towards Hong Chan. The mannequin skids across the floor with a screech as the Data Wick within the hologram scrapes the floor. It soon kips back up again though, and assumes a ready stance. Carnival meanwhile drops to one knee, panting heavily. Number One takes a step towards its exhausted foe, but stops dead in its tracks.

  "You'll kill him if you worry him much more," Lana says, her hand raised to halt Hong Chan.

  Carnival turns her head to glare in response but spots John shivering in Finn's grip. She drops her head with a sigh, pushes her way to her feet and clicks her fingers. The damage and tiredness quickly leave her body, the animations playing backwards as her body heals back to full strength. She stretches her shoulder out, clicks again, and her costume swirls and reverts to her more commonly seen first edition form.

  "You're stubborn," Lana smiles. "I get wanting to test your limits, but you have to know when to pull back."

  Carnival turns back towards her and raises a middle finger, blowing a raspberry as she does so, then switches her attention back to Number One. She points to Number Two and beckons it forward with a wave of her hand. Hong Chan looks to Lana, who nods, and he sends the second mannequin forward. Carnival smiles and steps out towards the two Spark Forms.

  18:00

  Sean Carlston could hear the sounds of the television before he opened the door to his office. He couldn't recall leaving it running before he left for the Observation Area, which meant that someone had likely come to see him and had taken it upon themselves to watch the finals while they waited. Most people would have called him to see when he would return, but he could think of at least person that would make themselves at home instead, if for no other reason than that it was damn rude.

  Sean sighs and opens the door. "Connor," he says, keeping his voice calm rather than give his tormentor the satisfaction of a reaction, but his voice fades off into a surprised 'Oh' when he realises that there is in fact no one else there. "Guess I must've left it on," he mumbles as he grabs the remote from his desk and clicks the screen onto standby.

  He drops the controller back into place and notices a folded sheet of paper in the middle of the desk, the word 'Carlston' scrawled along the visible side in thick, shaky letters. Sean's forehead scrunches involuntarily as he picks the note up and starts to unfold it, sitting heavily into his chair as he does so.

  "I win you bloody arse," he reads aloud.

  Sean looks up and recoils back, falling out of his chair as it slides noisily against the back wall. "Shit," he says once, then again but louder. He honestly hadn't noticed the smell until he'd seen Connor Ford slumped in the spare chair by the main door. Connor had obviously moved it so that he wouldn't be visible when Sean came back.

  Without thinking, Sean dashes around the desk and over to the aged competitor, checking for a pulse or any sign on breathing. Realising quickly that none can be found, he tilts Connor's head back, opens his mouth and exhales two deep breathes into his mouth.

  Connor's chest rises, and Sean tries to force the air back out but can't get enough force into the chest compressions to have an effect. "Damn it," he growls, and drags Connor from the chair, laying him flat on the floor. Dropping to his knees, Sean tries again and this time manages to force the air back out as he counts out loud.

  "Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen." Tilting Connor's head back and pinching his nose, Sean breathes in two more deep breathes and goes straight back to the chest compressions.

  "Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen." Two more breathes. Press, press, press.

  "Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen." Another two breathes. Press, press, press ...

  Lurching to the side, Connor Ford starts to cough violently, his body instinctually attempting to suck in air as Sean sits back onto his knees, pulls his phone from his pocket and hits speed dial. "Med team, my office, now," he orders.

  "You ... you absolute ... fucking ... bastard," Connor grunts, then vomits.

  18:13

  Number One and Number Two advance again. This time, Number Two moves in close and draws Carnival in with a relentless barrage of kicks while Number One darts around the side. Having fallen for several variations of the same trick already, Carnival swings a wild backfist into Number One's featureless head and sends it sprawling. As she does so, Number Two places a foot on her bent support leg, leaps and catches her with a knee to the jaw.

  Growling in frustration, Carnival whips herself back around and charges the mannequin, barging it off its feet. She then turns, spotting her other opponent's incoming hook just in time to duck under and position her foot before using her body to force Number One into the air. Undeterred, it rolls back over its shoulder, coming back up into a ready stance just as Number Two front kicks Carnival in the back and then catches her with an uppercut. Refusing to go down, Carnival roars and swipes at both SF's, her claws ripping into one then the other, shredding their image as they fall back.

  Hong Chan looks to Lana then hits the keys on his screen and both Number One and Number Two get to their feet, their damage healing instantly. Carnival gives a dissatisfied grunt and clicks her fingers, but the two mannequins are on her before her own damage can be undone and she is flung hard against the wall. John cries out and Finn tightens his grip on the former champion. Lana steps calmly to the side and squats down so that she can get a better look at Carnival as she forces herself up onto all fours. The Lopine snarls at her and darts back towards her opponents.

  A hard kick knocks Number One back and Carnival clicks her fingers, healing some light damage before elbowing Number Two in the ribs and clicking her fingers again. Number One steps back in and strikes the back of Carnival's head, but she shrugs it off and nips at its hip. She turns, slams her jaws down on Number Two's shoulder and tries to ragdoll it into its partner.

  "Do you see what she's doing?" Lana asks Finn and John. "It took three run throughs, but she's realised that they aren't going to let her heal fully, so she's switched to knocking them back and healing small amounts at a time. Smart girl, isn't she?"

  "In comparison to?" responds Finn.

  "Hmm?"

  "With all due respect Miss De La Cruz, the most recent SSF's would have likely taken this approach far sooner, certainly if they were designed for combat."

  "Perhaps," Lana smiles. "This isn't about when she learns though, it's about what she learns."

  Carnival ducks a backfist from Number Two and Number One catches her with a kneelift, forcing her up off the floor and dropping her flat on her stomach. "Her HP is below zero again," calls Hong Chan.

  "Keep pushing," Lana responds. "She's already adapted her style multiple times, so let's see how far she can go."

  Hong Chan nods, never taking his eyes off the Sky Control Screens in front of him. Switching between tapping both at once and moving quickly from one to the other, he sends his two SF's through multiple joined up attacks, each designed to minimise the time that Carnival can spend healing. Finally, he forces her to her limit.

  Number Two hits a hard roundhouse kick that spins Carnival straight into a hook punch from Number One. She drops slowly to her knees, her eyes glazing over and tongue lolling. Both mannequins lift their legs and drop axe kicks across the top of her head, slamming her face into the floor. They both move to continue the assault but freeze. Laying face down on the floor, Carnival has started glitching.

  With a terrified scream, John forces himself free of Finn and moves to dash towards his fallen SF, but Lana steps in the way and tries to hold him back, causing him to trip. He starts to run again before getting to his feet, stumbles, and Finn grabs him, pulling him back and wrapping his arms around his waist while Lana struggles t
o calm him verbally.

  A loud click cuts through the chaos and the room goes silent.

  Another click.

  Another.

  Panting loudly, Carnival forces herself onto all fours, her image still glitching and the damage still visible. She coughs, spits blood and clicks her fingers again.

  Nothing happens.

  Carnival's hands tense and her claws scrape loudly across the floor. Her eyes madden and a growl builds in her throat. She scrambles to her feet and clicks her fingers mid-charge, this time switching back to her third edition costume, albeit with the damage still intact. Number Two throws a high kick in her direction but she slides underneath, turning before she comes to a halt, and grabbing the mannequin in a waistlock. Carnival grunts as she deadlifts her opponent, then drops it onto the back of its head with a vicious German Suplex. She releases the hold and rolls to the side, coming up just in time grab Number One's arm as it drops a hammer fist. Carnival twists the wrist, letting a satisfying crack echo through the room before forcing the arm upward and ripping it outward, dragging a cracked and sparking metal tentacle with it.

  Hong Chan's twinned SF's quickly recover and move in on either side, Number Two aiming a low kick at the back of Carnival's knees while Number One throws a spinning backfist at her face. In response, Carnival bridges back under the swinging fist and kicks her legs up just before the kick can connect, sending herself into a backflip on the spot. Just as she reaches the height of the flip, she clicks her fingers and her costume warps back into her first edition outfit, this time with her teeth emitting the blue flames that we saw Connor Ford's Jariah use in the semi-finals. The moment her feet hit the floor, Carnival sinks into her knees and springs forward, forcing her teeth through the projection of Number One's chest and pulling out a clump of twisted metal, instantly extinguishing the image of its body. With a loud roar, the still glitching Lopine snatches the broken parts from her mouth and launches them at Number Two, embedding them in its Data Wick with a loud crack.