Rebel 2

by Riker Kane

  “Sabrina…” He slowly opened his eyes.

  “What?” She smiled with a slight confusion. But the longer Max remained silent, the more her smile faded. “Max… Max, what is it?”

  “I need to ask you a favor.”

  “Of course.”

  “I need more.”

  He said it bluntly enough to get his point across. But Sabrina didn’t respond, staring back at him as if she was struggling to find the words to say.

  The longer the silence between them lasted, the greater the tension grew.

  Sabrina turned her back to him, her head down as she stared at the floor.

  “My parents are gone because of loot. Lex is locked behind bars because he couldn’t fight his addiction. I made it. I don’t know how but I did. I’m surrounded by misery and pain and suffering but somehow I’m still here. I can’t make the same mistakes they did. I can’t forget that.”

  “Sabrina, you’re not forgetting them. If you help me—”

  “By overstimulating you?” She spun back around, her brow furrowed enough to make it clear to Max what she was thinking. “Max… I’m not about to give you more than your body can handle.”

  “What happens if you don’t use a Regulator? What happens if you just inject me with as many boosters as you can?”

  “You’re not seriously asking me that.”

  “Sabrina…”

  Max stared hard at her. He wasn’t leaving without getting an answer. She gritted her teeth in frustration and sighed.

  “Your body was only meant to perform at a certain level. You’re organic tissue, not a robot. If you take more than you can handle, your whole body will overwork. We’re talking complete organ failure while your body tries to flush everything out.”

  “But I’ll still get the boost.”

  Sabrina sighed softly through her nose. “You’ll still get the boost. But it’ll only last as long as your body can handle it. After that, you’ll shut down. You won’t be able to lift a finger.”

  “How long will I have?”

  “Max…”

  “How long?” he repeated.

  “I don’t know. Twenty minutes tops. Without using the Regulator, your body will already be overdosing. Any more after that and I can’t guarantee you’ll get any benefits.”

  “Sabrina… I need to do everything I can to win this battle.”

  “Because if you don’t, you’ll be stuck in Santa Fe for the next five years. And if there’s anybody who knows how shitty this city is…”

  Sabrina moved back to her workbench and picked up a syringe. She twirled it around between her fingers then dropped it back down.

  “This is what I was always good at,” she said. “Just a girl who wanted to be some kinda chemist.”

  “You are a chemist. And I wouldn’t trust anyone more than you.”

  She shook her head softly. “The Disciples have been running things in Santa Fe since before I was even born. I’ve been here more than twenty years and things have only gotten worse. They’re responsible for what happened to my family.

  “I thought I’d be spending the rest of my life at Neon Claws. I thought I’d have to deal with punks like Pablo just to make a living. Chasing a dream I could never get to. But I don’t care about my hopes and dreams. It’s my family I miss most. They were taken away from me. If there was some way I could fix everything, I’d do it…” She picked the syringe back up and eyed some of the blue stimulant still lingering inside. “…I guess this is the closest I’ll ever get to that.”

  She turned to Max. “I’ll administer it closer to the battle. That way it kicks in when you need it. I’ll try to measure it so it doesn’t overload you instantly.”

  He walked up to her and smiled. “Thanks. I won’t let you down.”

  “After everything you’ve done, you’ll never be able to let me down. Just go out there and fight like I know you can. Be the man I know you are.” She closed her eyes to hold back the emotions building up inside of her.

  Max put a hand on her shoulder to try and ease some of her tension. “C’mon. We’ve still got more preparing to do.”

  Chapter 32

  Max found himself back in the comforts of his suite. While Zigzag and Sabrina discussed tactics on one side of the room, Proxy sat next to Max and showed him the digital tablet.

  “Give it to me one by one,” he said.

  “All right… Let’s start with Slug.” She brought up the footage of the man in black armor. “It’s not complicated. When his hands turn red-hot like that, he’s activated Flame Fists. He hits harder. He hits faster. It’s not just his punches though. He’s got knees and elbows and kicks.”

  “He’s the fighter Pitt told me he was.”

  “He’s got some sorta charge move, too. Super quick. I say you need at least ten-meters if you’re gonna have any chance of getting out of the way. He can fire a standard blast from his ACE, too. But if he’s gonna take you out, he’s gonna do it up close and personal.”

  “Recommendations?”

  “You can engage from afar. He likes taking the brunt of it with his armor because he’s got high HP. Might be a little trickier with three other people trying to take you out.”

  “I was able to stand toe-to-toe with him with my Plasma Cutter. No sense in changing what works.”

  Proxy swiped through the tablet. The display changed to Venom on the red grid, spraying the green mist into the air.

  “Venom’s got a standard blast, too,” Proxy said. “But she’s gonna use her poison like always. The damage she’ll do is over time. My advice with her is to get close and finish her quickly. She’s not much of a fighter.”

  “Her poison…” Max narrowed his eyes as he watched the replay of the last battle. “…I don’t think the rest of the GODs are immune to it. If I can just avoid the poison clouds, I should be able to get to her and take her out.”

  “That’s two.”

  “If I take Slug and Venom out quick, that makes it an even fight, right?” He raised an eyebrow at Proxy but she wasn’t so quick to agree with it.

  “Well…” She swiped the display on the tablet again and brought up footage of Lotto. “I noticed something when I was reviewing Lotto. He had a barrier. He absorbed one of your arrows. He fired a sound blast. He launched a missile. He had a defensive move. He fired what looked like electricity.”

  “Now that you mention it… He has more than four abilities?”

  “He’s likely using a randomizer. That means he’s versatile. He can fight you from any distance. You changed all that when you put your hands on him and took the ACE out of it.”

  “Sometimes the best solution is always the easiest one.” Max clenched his fist and sarcastically admired his knuckles.

  Proxy giggled then pointed at the tablet display. “I don’t think it’ll be that easy to get your hands on him. Not with the others trying to get at you, too.”

  “What are you saying then?”

  “Maybe Zigzag should go after him while you deal with the others.”

  “Zigzag wasn’t in the last battle… I think she’d do well against him.”

  Proxy swiped through the tablet again. “I went over the rules again. Three will be active. One on the eastern and western sides like always. The last one will be the one right in the center. That’s the important one. It’ll make it a lot harder to get to the northern or southern part of the arena. Whoever’s got control of it will be able to move free.”

  “It was a lot simpler when it was just a straight fight,” Max sighed.

  “There’ll be drones and droids in the arena, too. You shouldn’t have any problem with them, even the ones with heavy artillery, but they might be just the distraction the GODs need to hit you when you’re not looking.”

  “Not worried about that.”

  “Confident like always. That’s what I like about you, Max.”

  “Just my confidence, huh?”

  He widened his eyes at her and she grinned in response. S
he tapped away on her tablet then gave it another few swipes.

  “It’s nice to see how relaxed you are when you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

  “No reason I shouldn’t be confident. I’ll make it out of this okay. The BioHarness makes sure I’m always around.”

  “Last time I remember, you don’t always keep your harness on…”

  “Special circumstances.” He gave her a wink and she laughed.

  “There’s just one more elephant in the room.”

  He took a deep breath and nodded. “Osiris… You find anything?”

  “Nothing. There’s no record of him. Not in the Vicious Sanctum. Not in any arena on Earth. I know what you’re thinking. Just because there’s no footage of him doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to fight. He’s got the resources to soup up his ACE. He can afford expensive armor. And with a man controlling the drugs in this town, I wouldn’t doubt he’s got some stimulants, too. I don’t know what he’s got prepared for you. All I can say is be ready.”

  Max nodded and gave her a squeeze on the shoulder to reassure her. She swiped through the tablet and brought up the ability market.

  “You’ve still got some credits,” she said. “I’d recommend some upgrades, even if it’s just to your passives.”

  “Don’t got much left… Make sure you bet everything you have on me.”

  “I’ll put every last cred I got.”

  Max scrolled through the list of abilities. His ACE had already proven powerful enough to deal with his opponents. But he wasn’t content with what he already had.

  He kept swiping through the ability market until something caught his eye.

  “Hmm… Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  Proxy searched the list of abilities on the screen. Max didn’t have to point it out for her to see it. She smirked as she read the description.

  “A hundred grand,” she whistled. “That’s expensive.”

  “I think it’ll be worth it.”

  “You won’t have many creds left to upgrade your armor.”

  “Don’t need an upgrade. Just need to make sure it’s tempered.”

  “Max…” Proxy put her head down, staring at the floor. “This battle… You’re really going for it, huh?”

  “You saw me sign the contract.”

  “It’s crazy… You came all this way. I thought you were done after the War Gamez. Now the stakes are even higher. If you lose—”

  “I won’t lose.”

  “I know you won’t. I… I just want you to know I’m with you. Not just because you’re a great fighter.”

  “You just like having me bang the frustrations out of you.”

  She giggled and slapped him on the arm. “I don’t mind that. But that’s not it either. I… I can’t imagine what it would be like not being around you. Whether it’s here or back in New Austin, I’m on your side. No matter what.”

  Seeing Proxy smile wasn’t anything new to Max but there was a look in her eyes this time. A look telling him she was trying to be as sincere as she could be.

  He gave her a nod then looked back at the digital display on the tablet. “A man with an ACE is even better with an Operator…”

  ~ ~ ~

  The halls of the hospital were dimly lit late in the evening. Outside of a couple of nurses making their rounds, it was as quiet as Max had ever seen it. He strolled down the hall until reaching a room near the end. He pushed the door open to find Sammy sitting next to the bed where Hudson was resting.

  “Hey! Max!” Sammy got up, his mouth full after taking another bite of his sandwich. “I was just talking about you.”

  “There are more interesting things to talk about than me,” Max said.

  “I don’t think so. The whole city is buzzing. Seats to the Vicious Sanctum are sold out. Reincarnation is gonna be packed. Everybody’s gonna get to see the Gears of Destruction in action together.”

  “Anybody there to cheer them on is gonna be disappointed.” Max gave Hudson a look. Despite how enthusiastic Sammy was, Hudson was just the opposite.

  “Hey, Sammy,” Hudson said. “Why don’t you head out and get another sandwich for my man here while I have a chat with him? Get something for yourself while you’re at it.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Sammy said. “You know how to spoil a guy. I’ll be right back.” He munched on his sandwich as he left the room.

  Max moved to the side of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

  Hudson turned to look out the window and sighed. “Fine. Doctors gave me a clean bill of health. Regenerator did its job.”

  “Sorry I wasn’t around. I’ve been busy with—”

  “You don’t have to explain it. That’s just who you are, Max. Always doing things for somebody when you don’t have to. Taking up responsibilities that aren’t yours.”

  Hudson sighed again softly through his nose, his eyes lost in his thoughts. “I still remember it. Every stomp. Every kick. Every punch. I’ve been to war. I’ve been in ACE battles. Nothing hurt like that though. Not the bruising or the bleeding or the broken bones. It hurt my pride. Just laying there and taking it… and then knowing there was nothing I could do.”

  Hudson swallowed to keep his emotions in check. His eyes glazed over but he closed them to stop anything from leaking out. Max clenched his jaw to stop himself from seething more than he already was.

  “Osiris was right,” Hudson said. “Sammy was just a junkie. We could’ve just stayed in New Austin and let him sleep in the bed he made for himself.”

  “You know we couldn’t sit back and do nothing.”

  “Nah… Nah, we couldn’t. Now I ended up in a bed right next to him. And you’re taking on the entire head of the biggest gang in the city. Sammy told me the stakes. Said if you lose, you’ll be stuck here for the next five years fighting in the Sanctum.”

  Max thought about it and shook his head. “The way I see it, everybody not on a transport to Mars is stuck. Doesn’t matter what part of this planet we’re on. You just gotta make the most of it.”

  “…I figured you’d say something like that. Not that you’ll lose anyway.” Hudson turned to Max and smiled despite the sadness in his eyes. “You do me a favor, Max.”

  “Anything.”

  “You don’t do this for me. You don’t do this for Sammy. You don’t do it for Pitt or Santa Fe. Not even Proxy or Zigzag or that cute brunette.” Hudson raised his index finger up. He reached out and dug it into Max’s chest deep enough for him to feel. “You do it for you. Fight for what you want. You hear me, Max?”

  His jaw clenched, Max stared back hard at Hudson. The honesty in his friend’s eyes had never made him more determined.

  “I’m here. It doesn’t matter how I got here. I’m here. Now Osiris can’t escape what’s waiting for him.”

  Hudson steeled his stare as he nodded. “Go kick his ass, Maximilian.”

  Chapter 33

  Max closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

  “Focus…”

  The room was silent except for the noise from the crowd in the distance.

  Zigzag remained still as she always did, her attention locked on the pathway leading into the steel grid. The android’s white battle armor was as pristine as it could be, lines pulsing softly with pink energy. Her blade was ready at her side.

  Sabrina leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. “I did some calculations. You’ll have about twenty minutes before your body starts rejecting the stimulants.”

  “What happens after that?” Max asked.

  “Your body will start to shut down. Your HP will start draining. Once that happens, be ready for anything.”

  Max kept his eyes closed and sighed another deep breath through his nose. “Twenty minutes…”

  “I told the attendants to be ready. Once the battle is over, we’ll flush your system from all the toxins. That means you’ll lose some of the boosts I gave you earlier.”

  “I don’t need any more boosts. This all ends to
night.”

  Max slowly opened his eyes. Sabrina’s brow was furrowed, her lips twisted into a smile. The combination of worry and excitement on her face was enough to make him smile.

  She walked up to him and put a hand to his cheek. “I don’t know how things ended up like this but I’m glad you’re here. I just wanna let you know—”

  “There’s nothing left to say, Sabrina. It’s time to show Santa Fe the GODs are nothing but punks.”

  Her hand dropped away from his face. Though there was still some worry in her eyes, Sabrina’s concern wasn’t enough to deter Max.

  He moved toward the entrance to the Sanctum next to Zigzag.

  “Do androids get nervous?” he asked.

  “There are programs which allow me to do so. Though I decided upon learning through experience. Now would seem an appropriate time to seem nervous… though… I am not.”

  The android gave him a subtle smirk. Max chuckled as he activated his ACE. The digital display glowed a bright neon blue. Most of the information had changed except for a single new ability.

  Colossal Blast MAX

  Short-range concussive energy blast with earth-shaking force

  Energy drain: High

  Energy Shield III

  A heavy barrier that protects from energy projectiles and melee attacks. Drains energy upon absorption.

  Energy drain: High

  Plasma Cutter IV

  A one-meter long energy blade. Causes greater poison damage to opponent’s HP.

  Energy drain: Medium

  Rocket Barrage IV

  Heat-seeking missiles that lock-on up to three targets. Detonates on contact.

  Energy drain: Very High

  PASSIVE ABILITIES

  High Jump II

  Increase jumping height and distance by 50%

  Speed Boost III

  Movement speed is increased by 75%

  “Santa Fe is waiting for us,” he sighed. “Let’s go finish this.”

  Max stepped into the hallway leading into the Sanctum. The red pulse of the neon lights lining the path grew brighter as he neared the grid. The sound of the audience cheering grew louder until he couldn’t hear anything else.