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Dozer was sitting on a wooden bench at the far end of the boardwalk watching the sea and
embracing the salty night air as the last few rays of light dipped over the horizon. He listened as
the waves crashed against the structure. But he wasn’t there alone. To his right was a very nice
ponytailed ginger. She had deep blue eyes and she was seventeen. The two of them were
enjoying the sunset from the end of a boardwalk.
It was more of a casual date to get to know each other more than a full date and neither
person was wearing anything fancy. He was wearing a black jacket with a white shirt
underneath and grey pants while she was wearing a pink short and blue jeans. And the both of
them seemed to have walking shoes. But it was a step up from a normal visit. He combed back
his black hair and looked back at her through his dark brown eyes. It was a great day, except
something was off.
Derrick looked behind them. He wanted to enjoy the date, but he was having trouble. The
place wasn’t exactly crowded, but there was a sizable amount of people. They were divided up
pretty evenly as well. Some were going into the stores to his right, and the others were leaning
on he railing staring at the starry skies much like him and his date. He watched as the store
lights started to turn on one by one. Soon following were the streetlights now illuminating most
of the concrete path.
“Hey, I’m over here silly.”
He turned around just in time to experience a cold gust of wind brush up against his face. It
gave him chills.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that. Have you ever felt like you were being followed?”
“Yes I have. It was rather annoying. But you got to get your mind off of it.
He knew she was right. But he couldn’t help it. After a second or so, he cleared his mind.
Then, he put his arm over her shoulder and changed the subject.
“So how was the sunset Nicole?”
She gave him a smile.
“You were right about the sunset. It was beautiful. I don’t think anything could ruin this date.”
“No, not a-“
Then, a small explosion came right next to him splintering wood everywhere. Derrick barely
had any time to react before more bullets went flying past him and his girlfriend. He quickly
grabbed the girl and practically dragged her behind him as he darted to the left.
The next few seconds were chaos. The assailant revealed himself. He was a Caucasian just
like his target only he looked to be in his late twenties. He had short brown hair connecting to
beard. A sleek, dark grey suit accompanied this. As Derrick took a second glance, he saw a staff
holstered on his back as well as a few knives kept on him. But if it weren’t for these things or for
the gun the guy was holding, he would have thought he was an ordinary surfer.
People ducked left and right looking for cover. Though few were fortunate enough to fi nd any.
The bullets kept sailing past him so close, he felt the wind rush up against him. He heard the
sound of concrete cracking to the explosions, but he kept on ahead. He had to keep going. And
after what felt like an eternity, he arrived at his destination.
The place in question was an old shabby seafood restaurant. The paint of the place was
beginning to peel leaving behind the foundations of the place. It was no news that it was falling
apart, but it would serve as cover quite nicely. And for that, the man was grateful. He ran behind
the building, and then he quickly checked her for injuries.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’ll be fi ne. But what was with that?”
The man paused. Perhaps he shouldn’t have waited to tell her. But explosions continued to
barrage the building and he knew he’d have to answer quickly.
“I’m a gladiator. I’m sure you’re familiar with the system.”
He thought she would be upset about the secret, but she just seemed to be startled for a
second.
“Wha- Yes now I remember.”
“I was going to tell you earlier, but I wanted to get to know you fi rst.”
He was worried that she would be upset. She must have noticed because she reassured him.
“Look, I’m okay with it. All is forgiven. Just go kick the that guy’s butt for me.”
“You got it.”
He stood up and turned around just in time to barely see something moving toward the store
by the lights of the lamps. It looked like it should have been invisible, but it projected a delayed
image. As if it were lagging.
He pulled out his staff and fi red a burst directly at it. This seemed to catch Gamma off guard
because before he could do anything, it connected with his face. He was dazed long enough for
Dozer to lunge at him and hit him in the ribcage with a blue charge. He staggered back leaving
more lag. Finally, a kick to the face sent him to the ground.
“Look, you might as well turn the whole stealth-thing off, I know where you are.”
“Do you?”
He heard a voice from behind. But when he turned around, nothing was there.
“You made a mistake. You had me, but you let up. I took the liberty of placing a few speakers
in case you wanted to talk.”
As frantically as he looked around to pinpoint the origin, he couldn’t fi nd anything he was
looked for. Just people panicking on the street and stores separated from each other each with
glass windows and bright signs to grab your attention. They all seemed to have people inside
looking out the windows at the fi ght that was ensuing. He had a good guess though as to where
he was. He quickly headed to the alleyway between the stores.
“Incorrect. I have to say this is rather amusing. I’m enjoying myself. Almost enough to feel bad
about killing you. Almost.”
The voice chuckled. Dozer felt just as nervous and helpless as the other people. But he had to
maintain a positive appearance. He strained his eyes everywhere, but still nothing. And at last
he spoke up with neutral tone.
“I hope you’re ready, because I won’t make the same mistake again.”
“That’s right. Because you’ll be dead.”
He felt the cold tip of a gun barrel on the back of his head and his hair stood up with fear. And
he knew too late, that the guy was right behind him. He needed to come up with a way to beat
this guy, but more importantly, he needed a way to get out of his predicament.
But how?
He thought.
“Look. It’s nothing personal.” Said the voice now directly behind him. “And if it’s any
consolation, it’ll be quick, clean, and I’m told painless.”
With that, he felt the trigger mechanism pull, but nothing happened. Relief fi lled him. Turning
around, he swiftly kicked Gamma to the ground with a thud. Then the gun went off completely
missing its target.
Hang fi re. What a relief.
Dozer thought.
Before his opponent could do anything, he him as hard in the chest as he could with his staff.
And the recipient let out a small grunt of pain. He wasn’t going to let his opponent off so easily
though. He let the staff up and brought it down on him again.
There was a shimmer though, the guy sprang to his feet, and the staff made a connection with
the pavement where he was creating a small crack. Meanwhile He reached for a knife and cut
Dozer’s with an upward strike. It wasn’t much, he could tell from the fact that only a mild trickle
of blood stained the torn jacket from around the cut, but it still hurt. Gamma then uncloaked and
punched him in the face. He felt his nose break as blood spilled from his nostrils and onto the
ground.
The agent brought his gun around, but Derrick shifted his aimed as the rounds struck the
building next to him bursting part of the mortar from the defi nite impact. He twisted the gun out
of the guy’s arm. The impact made it fi re off one last round into the starry night.
“I’ve had about enough of that gun.”
He kicked the gun away from both of them before continuing the fi ght. The thing skid a little
ways before dropping off the side of the structure and into the dark water. Derrick was glad that
they would never see that thing again.
The fi ght was far from over though. He learned that quickly as his opponent kicked him in the
chest and into the wooden wall of the bait shop next to the seafood place. The impact knocked
the wind out of him, but that was the least of his problems. With one successive motion, he saw
the guy pull out two knives with his right hand. He threw sent one whizzing through the air
hoping for blood. But at the last second, Dozer ducked. He felt it slice through his hair before
fi nally planting itself into the wall where his head was.
His adrenaline started to pump. He couldn’t wait for the next knife, so he blasted his opponent
three green charges. All of which missed his opponent. But with his adversary not fully
recovered, he tackled him to the ground with a loud thud. With him on top, he raised his arm to
punch Gamma, but before he could deliver the blow, the guy kicked him off and on to his back.
Then, he stood up and brushed himself off. Dozer started to get up expecting some sort of
attack, but instead, something different happened.
His attacker fi red a thin hook over the bait shop and started to ascend. He sped at Derrick
trying to knee him, but before the attack could connect, Dozer blocked with his staff. The sheer
impact however, knocked him back toward the bait shop wall and into the knife handle. He
recovered from the resulting impact to the back of his head, but the guy had already had already
made his way to the roof.
He wasn’t going to just let him leave though. With stubborn determination to stop him, he
pulled the knife from the wall and threw it at the guy on the roof. The thing flew through the air
before fi nally grazing the man’s left cheek. This surprised him enough to step back, but he
recovered his wits and looked down at Dozer. Then, staring straight at him, he gave a salute
and turned right. From there he hopped across the roof and turned back to near invisible. This
made his adversary smirk.
He’s trying to retreat? Well he won’t escape me.
He set his staff to charge and went off in pursuit past the dimly lit street with all the citizens
cowering in fear. They were afraid, but everyone was all right and now he was going to catch
this guy. He thought for a second.
And do what?
The guy had tried to kill him, but a lot of people do that. He shot his girlfriend, but he clearly
was aiming for him. Maybe he would give the guy the benefi t of the doubt. At least until he heard
why he was doing this. He saw the guy jump down into an alley just two stores down. He picked
up the pace. But he was starting to become uncertain. The guy had just left him in the middle of
the fi ght even though he was fairing well.
Wait a second, what if this is a trap?
As soon as he thought it, a knife soared past him from an alley before the one he expected.
He couldn’t avoid it, but instead, he twisted his body around. A split second later, his left
shoulder blade felt the sharp tip penetrate him. Finally, he tipped over and fell onto the cold hard
ground. As he lay there bleeding from the wound, his enemy stepped out to meet him very
pleased with himself. Only this time, he was completely visible. The man on the ground took
note of the situation. Apart from a small upward cut, the Gamma had no visible injuries.
I’ll just have to make more.
He clutched his shoulder pretending to be hurt. He didn’t have to try hard though because it
really did hurt. His attacker must have bought it though because he felt no urgency to kill him. At
least, he didn’t feel enough urgency to not want to say a few last words.
“You can take away my gun, but I still have many ways to dispatch you.”
But Dozer had his own retort to make. His enemy had lost his gun and was clearly visible. His
main advantage was gone. And all he had to show for it was an injured shoulder for his target.
“What’s the matter? Did the batteries run out on that suit of yours?”
It wasn’t as much of a question as a comment, but his enemy’s face showed a slight
expression to confi rm it. The guy tried to cover it up, but he wasn’t able to. Derrick made a quick
note of that and pulled the knife out. The pain was immense as the blood loss rate increased
from his shoulder. But he knew he had to do it. He would need that arm to beat this guy. He
tossed it at Gamma’s leg.
The attacker must have been prepared for an attack because he tried to escape the knife’s
razor edge, but he quickly found he wasn’t ready for everything. While the knife was unable to
embed itself in the soft tissue of the guy’s leg, it did cut manage him deeply. Blood spilled on the
concrete as he stumbled. But he quickly regained his balance.
Gamma tried to throw another knife, but before he could, a red bolt trailed toward him. He
threw the knife anyways to block the blast and as they collided, the blast broke the knife into
hundreds of tiny shrapnel all of which were forced back toward the man.
He instinctively lifted his arm up to protect his eyes, but as he did, a second red charge struck
him and catapulted him back several feet. Then, with a painful thud, he landed on the ground
and continued to slide. If it weren’t for the suit, he would have scraped himself on the concrete.
It didn’t however; protect him from the blast or the landing. And it was visible that both hurt. But
as if it wasn’t enough confi rmation, he puked on the ground right next to him. Meanwhile Dozer
had gotten up and was walking over to him.
“This is the part where you surrender and tell me who helped you.”
“Helped me?” The guy on the floor said as he was slowly backing away.
“I fi gured that between the gadgets and the speakers, someone would have had to help you.”
“Speakers?”
The guy got up. He fi red a blue shot at him, but it missed. Now he backed away faster.
“There is so much more time I’ve spent anticipating this fi ght than just placing speakers. I
have much more powerful things than speakers.”
In the next few seconds, Derrick knew why Gamma had backed up. He pulled out a remote
switch that could be identifi ed only as a detonator and pushed it. Dozer heard a beeping just
behind him. He pushed himself to clear the explosion, but it wasn’t enough.
The blast shot concrete and fi re everywhere. He could feel the debris collide with him and the
fi re singe him. For those seconds the forced of the blast propelled him through the air before he
fi nally landed and rolled along the ground twice. Then, he came to a painful stop as chunks of
concrete showered on him.
He laid there on his chest for a few seconds struggling to get up. He was burned on his back
and he felt bruises from the impacts. He was certain something was broken. To make matters
worse, he felt him that he could slip into unconsciousness. He looked up wearily only to see his
adversary headed towards him and pulled his staff off of his back. He noticed him push a button.
Two blades protruded from the ends.
At last, he pushed the pain and tiredness aside and scrambled to get up. But when he did he
was pushed back down on his back. Then, Gamma raised his staff to strike. Both blades
gleamed menacingly in the moonlight. He grabbed his own staff to block it. Reaching up, he
found the strength to push his enemy back. There, he scrambled backwards to his feet. He fi red
three more green charges only to have them blocked by blades of the guy’s staff. The man
smiled.
“You’re not the only staff master around here. I hope you don’t have plans on beating me.”
The both of them charged at each other Derrick swung his staff downward on the guy’s
shoulder, but he blocked it. He shifted the weight sideways and sliced at Dozer’s feet, but the
man backed up just in time for it to miss. His opponent then came forward to decapitate him, but
he blocked. He slid back as he braced against the impact, but his enemy was already ahead of
him. And a few seconds later, Gamma punched him in the gut.
He staggered back more so in pain than from the blow itself. Something must have been
broken and he realized it. He blocked another strike. But as soon as he did, the attacker’s staff
sent out an electrical pulse. The defender’s staff was disabled. The owner showed visible
concern.
This guy wasn’t kidding. I’m not sure if I can beat him. But I have to try.
Gamma tried to bring the staff down on his head, but it was blocked. As soon as they clashed,
he had already thought of a backup approach. He curved his strike around to stab Dozer, but
that time, he wasn’t the only one ready.
As soon as he tried, Derrick blocked his strike upwards and kicked him back. Gamma started
to recover though and he knew he couldn’t let that happen. He had to keep up the pressure. So
charged hitting him in the torso and knocked the wind out of him. He then followed up by a hit
under the guy’s arm.
The guy flinched his arm back in pain, but there was no cracking noise. He tried to capitalize
on the man’s shoulder, but it was blocked. It wasn’t a problem for the assailant though, as soon
as it was blocked, he kicked the guy in the sternum.
His opponent staggered back further and coughed up blood. He was failing his fi rst mission
and he needed to do something. He desperately tried to regain control of the situation by
launching a strike at the man’s feet, but it was blocked with a loud reverberation. A strike came
at his head from the right, but he blocked it with another metallic ping.
Then, Dozer spun his staff around to hit Gamma from the other side. His adversary went to
block it, but the blade got caught. He shifted all his weight forward tripping over the agent. The
both of them fell to the ground as both weapons left their masters’ hands.
In just a second, Dozer kicked off the man and made a break for the weapons. The problem
was though, that in the dark of the night, he couldn’t fi nd his staff. However, he did see the other
one basking in the light of the lamp. Reaching down, he picked it up and turned around to get
back to his opponent. However, he was missing.
Oh no. Not this again!
For the second time, a voice came from nowhere.
“I bet you think you’ve won haven’t you?”
Derrick ignored him looking around almost frantically. He hated this. It was unnerving not
being able to see an enemy. He wasn’t about to check the alleys again. He looked at the stores
again, but there was nothing. He turned around to see the railing and thought he saw something
shimmer.
“No comment?”
The voice spoke again. But this time, he replied. He just needed a little more time to fi nd the
guy.
“I’m a little busy right now. But Believe me, I have no reason to underestimate you. Hey I have
an idea. Why don’t we call it a draw and-“
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I have to kill you.”
“Why? Who sent you here?”
The only answer he got was the sharp pain of something stabbing his injured shoulder and
yanked him violently to the ground as it tugged on the already sore wound. Then, he pulled him
toward an alley. He fell to the ground looked behind him at the string.
He grabbed it, and with effort, yanked it out of his shoulder crying in pain. Then, he rolled over
and got back on his feet. He pointed his staff at the alley and attempted to fi re, but nothing
happened. Then he remembered it wasn’t the Kinetic staff. So, he approached the alley
cautiously. But before he could get there, he saw an electric current light up the alleyway. Then,
with a loud bang, he saw the explosion. Briefly light up the sky.
When he approached, he noticed bits of a tripod device scattered all over the alley. Some of
these imbedded the walls of the adjacent stores creating huge chunks and revealing the
mortars. Then he saw one piece attached to a grappling hook.
Another trick
. Dozer thought.
That’s when he heard a faint footstep behind him. He turned around only to be punched by an
almost invisible hand. Then, Gamma pressed his boot hard against his chest and appeared
visible.
“I had just enough juice for that delicious little trick.”
He pressed down harder. His head was already throbbing from that the direct blow, but now
his chest hurt as he felt himself struggling slightly to breathe.
“If you wont tell me who’s helping you, at least tell me your name.”
“I’m not falling for your tricks again Dozer.”
He pulled something off of his back and extended it at Dozer.
“Hey, that’s my sta-“
Before he could fi nish, his opponent discharged a green bolt of energy into his face. He felt a
dull dizzying pain added to his almost dissipated headache. It took a few seconds before he was
back to normal.
My opponents were right. That does hurt.
“Yes Dozer. I have your staff. It seemed like a waste not to keep it. It has its flaws, but that’s
fi xable.”
He reached the staff he had, but he needed to keep him distracted. All the time, he was
worried that man would catch on and that it would be the end of him.
“How do you know how to work that thing?”
“We’ve been studying you for a long time Derrick Ozer.”
That was long enough. Derrick had the bladed staff and he pushed a button on causing it to
shock the man on top of him. The guy jumped back off of him from the shock. He knew it was
his chance; he stood up and charged at Gamma.
The guy fi red a green shot, but with great effort, he avoided it. It flew over his left shoulder
almost grazing his head, but he ignored it. Then, he was almost on top of his enemy. He let out
one left-upward swing to slice through his opponent’s torso. He wouldn’t make it a deep cut, just
enough to hurt. But the man knocked his course to the side and caused him to stumble.
This wasn’t enough for him though. He capitalized with two successive blows to his chest.
Each time, he felt the full force of the impact. If his ribs weren’t already broken, they sure were
now. He felt like he wanted to faint and his eyes showed it, but he forced himself to press on.
The agent tried to bring another strike to his head. This time, it was accompanied by a purple
burst of energy.
Derrick was certain that this would be the fi nishing blow if it hit, but unfortunately for him, he
wasn’t about to let that blow land. He lifted his staff to block it. Then, he tilted his leverage to the
right forcing the guy to overstep his boundary and stumbled towards the sea.
He took the opportunity to fi re an electrical burst, but his adversary had already spun around
and blocked it. This was what he wanted however. The guy watched in aggravation as he
realized his mistake. With his staff short-circuited, it wouldn’t be able to create any more
charges for a while. It certainly would be long enough for the staff master to fi nish the match.
Thank you Electroid for that valuable lesson.
The man was stubborn though. He took a defensive stance and backed up closer to the railing
on the edge of the boardwalk. Even without all the staff’s functions, he wasn’t going to go down
without a fi ght. Dozer made the fi rst move next throwing all his weight into the attack. He
jumped and extended a kick at Gamma in mid air. The man managed to block it as Derrick
expected, but the forced from it knocked him back and into the railing.
His opponent didn’t show much signs of pain. The railing must not have hurt him very badly.
But that wasn’t what he was counting on. After a graceful landing, he took the bladed staff and
threw it like a javelin. A split second later, it found its mark digging into the agent’s right arm
before coming out the other side. The man cried in anguish clutching his arm as the momentum
forced him over the railing.
But that wasn’t the only thing that went over. He released his grip of the Kinetic staff and it
flew backwards and retracted. Dozer printed to the railing to see the man fall into the water with
a faint trail of blood sprayed through the air following him. At last, the screaming gave way to a
violent splash of water in the dark void below.
Looking down, he didn’t want to follow. He was in pain and unconsciousness seemed inviting.
But he had to follow because he wanted his staff back and he had to settle things with his
attacker. So, he climbed onto the edge of this railing now with small drops of blood, and looked
into the dark waters below. He was considerably higher than he thought.
H
ere’s hoping I can fi nish him before he drowns me.
And with that, he jumped. After a few exhilarating seconds of falling, he landed in the water.
The impact hurt as the water came up on him and hit injured ribcage, but he took it. Then, he
took a last deep breath before he submerged. When he did, he found that it was surprisingly
cold and dark. He knew he had to fi nd the guy fast, or else he would get away. That’s when he
spotted something metallic gleaming against the moonlight on the bottom. Diving deeper, he
went to make sure it was what he thought it was. As soon as he got to it, he picked it up. And to
his joy, his theory was confi rmed.
My staff!
He didn’t have too long for celebrations though. For in the near darkness, he still spotted
something trailing at him. He turned around just in time to catch the bladed staff. But something
landed above him and kicked him down toward the seafloor. He let go of the bladed staff as it
floated precariously. He could see the shadow clearly grab the staff and chuck it down at him.
And as he hit the ground, the dust kicked up. He almost let the air in his lungs go, but he held
it barely. Then, he moved to the side barely avoiding the blade. But that was only the beginning.
The shadow came down on him and punched in the head. With the throbbing pain that followed,
he was left vulnerable to another blow in the stomach.
I have to ignore it. I have to ignore the pain and keep fi ghting.
With great effort, he clenched his teeth tighter, heeded his own words, and started to suppress
the pain. As Gamma went for another jab, Dozer grabbed him and flipped him over and onto the
sea floor. Then, he pressed his shoe on Gamma’s solar plexus before he could recover. Then,
he saw something shiny in his mouth. It was a rebreather.
You lucky dog.
He thought.
Then, he lifted it from the ground. The guy was grabbing at his leg struggling to escape, but
Derrick didn’t give him chance. He just pressed down harder. Then, he stabbed the sand right
next to his head as a symbolic victory. He smiled.
But I still win.
He stomped on Gamma’s head knocking him out. Then he grabbed him. The task was simple
now. He had to get to the surface quickly. He felt the air in his lungs start to go stale. He had
after all, been down there for a long time. He continued to make his way to the surface. He was
beginning to want air desperately. He contemplated letting go of his opponent. But then he saw
the surface. It was almost glowing in the moonlight.
He burst through just a second later greedily sucking in air. While his situation wasn’t nearly
as dire as one would see in the movies, he felt that it was warranted. The cold air breezed past
him and he felt renewed. He looked toward the boardwalk with the many lights gleaming. Then,
he looked to the beach. It was time for him to drop the man off and be gone.
So, he paddled toward the shoreline following the gentle waves. It took a little while, but after
several minutes, they made it to the warm soft sands of the beach. He placed his opponent
down safely above the tidemark and removed the rebreather. But as he did, he noticed
something in his ear. He Knelt down and grabbed it.
“Agent Gamma! Wake up! You have a target to kill!”
Gamma. So that’s his name.
He responded.
“Gamma is not here I’m afraid. Who are you and what do you want with me?”
“I’m not at liberty to tell you.”
“In that case” Dozer jokingly said in his best serious tone “I’m not at liberty to spare your
friend.”
“You wouldn’t”
He could have continued, but the adrenaline was fading and he was starting to get tired.
“Yeah you’re right. Especially after I dragged him unconscious out of the water.”
“You what?”
