DAY 56
Lord
Is he ready, Pirrshu?
Pirrshu
Yes, Lord. He passed every inspection.
Lord
I will review the data.
PAST
The Superstar Compound, nicknamed by some, the Vise, was located in a harsh desert environment, on the planet known as Winsker. The Vise served multiple purposes; it was the main headquarters of the Superstars' Guild and a prison for those who use Power Styles. This fact is kept secret from the general public; for the forty-seven square mile complex was best known as a proving grounds for those who wish to profit, both legally and illegally, on the usage of Power Styles.
Not only Superstars, the most famous people in the galaxy, come here from all worlds to hone their abilities. Those who wish to pursue law enforcement or the military, come to show their usefulness; super powered athletes, to show off their skills and abilities to agents. Even the criminal element, after being detained, are forced to run the gauntlet of tests, the results of which are all available to the public, in the form of the Superstar Ratings Chart.
The vast size of the Vise was mostly below the desert sands, that way, infiltration was more difficult. The only way in or out, was through the front door. At least, Fritz thought of it as the front door, when he was escorted in a few hours before. He was introduced to the Human conducting the Dexterity Test, Snake, who would also be hunting him down. The goal was for Fritz to reach the exit, located two hundred feet from where he stood. He was given a set amount of points, which would diminish every five minutes, plus, optional tasks, which also deducted from his points, if skipped. Strategically placed hazards were present, as well.
A long beep signaled for Fritz to go and he took off at a rapid clip. As he sprinted across the green, artificial turf, automated lancer cannons rose from beneath, firing red-black lasers in predictable patterns. Avoiding them was easy enough, but he was grateful that, if hit, he would only lose points and not his life. Still, he wanted a good score and have fun doing it. The entrance to the first task was to his left, but he knew it best to skip. Placing a hundred objects of varying weights and textures into their correct slots would be time consuming, without the benefit of super speed or teleportation; so he, instead, opts for the second task.
Entering the small enclosure triggered laser fences, barring each end. Four cannons mounted on the walls, floor and ceiling start pouring their stored energy at him. He was told what each task was before hand, but it would have been easy to deduce that the glowing pegs, inserted in slots next to the cannons, were the power sources. Bounding on his hands and tail, Fritz made it to the right most cannon, removed the peg, then, the gravity around him increased. He was almost struck by a beam, but getting belly low to the grass-like flooring helped save his score.
The farthest laser gate had color coordinated slots for each peg, which he placed his prize. A portion of the gate faded away and the gravity returned to normal. He bounced from wall to ceiling for the next, when he was nearly beheaded by an sixteen inch blade, wielded by the black and green costumed man called Snake. The Human had been in the enclosure the whole time and Fritz never registered him, until his intersecting leap. If the gravity had still been increased, he wasn't sure he would have evaded injury.
The man called Snake landed atop the cannon protruding from the wall, crouching like some beast of prey. He had two swords in his possession, each one extending from the back of each wrist. A hiss escaped between his lips as he dove from his perch, towards Fritz reaching for a second peg. The gravity increase caused his dive to come up short, and he dropped to his feet, continuing the charge, never losing pace.
Using his tail, Fritz grabs a second peg, causing the gravity to increase again. Two lasers were converging on him, while Snake dodged each expertly, dark eyes focused. In one massive leap, Fritz cleared all obstacles to reach the gate. Gravity returned to normal and enough of the lattice vanish, for him to needle his way past with his dive. His tail never let go of the peg, so it came with him, trapping his pursuer.
Racing away from the second task, he tossed the score saving peg away, just as streams of flame sprung up to bar his path. He leaps and rolls pass the hazards, right into the area designated for Task Three. It was a decorator's worst nightmare. Objects of various shapes and sizes floated about the space, moving in preprogrammed patterns. Rapidly spinning platforms were spaced out, with each gaining in altitude. A glowing green platform sat fifty feet in the air, suspended on nothing. It would take a leap greater than he was capable of, to reach.
Fritz paused only a second; he could continue straight, right into the final task, but his score would suffer. Five minutes had already passed and he was hoping to have the whole test done before another five lowered his score. Leaping from a spinning cube to a suspended ladder to a cylinder with hand holes, he climbed higher, and saw Snake jump onto the cube in pursuit. He had also noticed the several switches glowing the same color as his target platform.
By the time he pulled the first switch, Snake was leaping for him, slashing with both wrist swords. Fritz leaped from the wall, avoiding the attack, reaching for a second switch. A literal snake was wrapped around the handle and tried to bite him. In one quick motion, he flung the serpent away by the neck with two clawed fingers, and pulled the lever. Just like the first, it changed colors to blue and the floating platform lowered closer to a more manageable height.
He avoids another attack, jumping onto a tilting platform that shifted with his weight. Quick as his namesake, the hunter rebounds off the wall, right at him, nearly skewering him. Fritz allowed the platform to tilt to the point he was now suspended under it by one claw. Snake had been struck in the back by the platform and went to the ground. Using his own body weight, he rotates the platform until it was vertical, then he leaps for the elevated landing.
He clawed his way onto it, then, jumped from one floating platform to the next, each with a flame projector and descending closer to ground level. Again on solid footing, Fritz maneuvers past more flame streams, headed towards the fourth and final task. It was a bubble about the size of his head, floating above some kind of metallic box. Fritz tried to grab it in passing, but it popped. He turned back to see the box produce another bubble. He carefully wrapped his tail around it, trying to gauge how much pressure it could withstand. After two attempts, he believed he had it; a sense of vertigo suddenly overtook him, just as snakes started to rain from above.
The Human version tried to land on him too, but Fritz was on the move, bubble still in his possession. Multiple types of snakes slithered after him, all blurring together, closing on all sides. Fritz closed his eyes, relying on his other senses to guide him. He had memorized the scenery the second he saw it, bare of any visible obstacles, he only had Snake and his snakes crawling between him and the finish. The man had, somehow, gotten in front of him; Fritz could feel his movement through the bottoms of his clawed feet.
Eyes still closed, Fritz calculated his opponent's likely response to his coming actions and plans accordingly. He advances on all four limbs, tail up, keeping the delicate bubble safe. Snake stands posed to intercept, snakes crawling over his legs. Fritz makes like he's about to attempt a big leap for the finish; Snake follows suit, both males leaving the floor, one higher than the other. Snake looks down, as Fritz slides under his legs, skidding through the sea of reptiles, arms protectively over his tail, eyes still shut against the vertigo.
As soon as he crossed the line, a buzzer sounds, and the area starts to quiet down. The snakes start crawling away as quickly as they arrived. Fritz got to his feet, bubble still in hand; he opens his eyes and it pops, unprompted. He turns at the approach of Snake, swords now out of sight; he still had a few of his friends crawling over his shoulder and waist.
Snake
Sssslick move, there, at the end.
Fritz
Thank you, sir.
Snake
No ssssir. Ssssnake issss fine.
Fritz
Okay. So, what's my score?
Snake
They are sssstill being calculated.
Fifty feet from the test's finish, stood a building near three hundred feet tall and as wide as the whole Dexterity Test site; from which, a loud buzzer signals the end of someone else's test.
Snake
Come on, my brother wassss the hunter for the Sssstrength Tesssst, over there. Let'ssss ssssee how he did, while we wait for your ressssultssss.
The two begin walking in that direction.
Fritz
Where'd all the snakes go?
Snake
I releassssed my control over them, sssso they went back to doing whatever they were doing, before I called them.
Fritz
Interesting. And you suddenly appeared in front of me at the end. Are you soul, mage, or communion?
Snake
Ssssoul. Me and my brother. We both learned during our military sssservice. We were known assss the Ssslither Ssssonssss.
Fritz
You were Earth's Superstar a couple years ago, right?
Snake
Yessss.
Fritz
I'm supposed to be in the next one.
Snake
Then, I feel ssssorry for you. My brother will be Earth'ssss Ssssupersssstar next. He will sssucccceed, where I failed.
Fritz was silent as they stood outside the entrance, which rolled up, revealing two figures. One was a tall, muscular Human, obviously Snake's brother. The other was just as tall, but wider in the shoulders, slimmer in the hips, and had the head and legs of a canine.
Fritz
Is that a Tarlkin? I have been wanting to meet one.
The two were silent, as they approached and Fritz could sense a bit of agitation in the Human.
Snake
How'd it go?
Vyper
Still waiting on the score.
His tone made it clear of his mood. Snake offered a hand in greeting to the Tarlkin, who took it with taloned fingers.
Snake
I'm hissss brother, Ssssnake. Thissss here issss-
Vyper
Stop talking like that! It's stupid!!!
Now, it was Snake who was mad.
Snake
It's part of the motif, ya jerk! If my name is Snake, I should sound like a snake! Now, you've ruin the mystery!
Vyper
What mystery!!! Look, I ain't got time for your shit.
The angry man storms off. Fritz turned to the Tarlkin and they shake hands.
Fritz
Name's Fritz, nice to meet you.
Hovak
I am called Hovak. Nice to meet you, as well. Sorry, if I cause you any problems.
Snake
I take it you passed the finish line. Vyper always tries to prevent newbies from finishing. Our job is to make it more difficult, not stop you altogether.
Fritz
Go back to talking the way you did. I think it's cool.
Snake
Thankssss. I'm getting your tesssst resultssss in my earpiece. Fritz hassss a sssscore of fifteen; Hovak, nine.
Fritz
Is that good or bad?
Snake
For you, excellent. For you, Hovak, average, I'm afraid.
Hovak
Do not be.
Snake
I better go check on my brother. Ssssee you guyssss later. Good luck with the future tesssstssss.
He went running after his sibling, leaving the two strangers staring at each other.
PRESENT
Lord
The data is accurate to my projections. He has a fundamental flaw: lack of obedience.
Pirrshu
My apologies, Lord. I tried to-
Lord
It may not be catastrophic. Let us see what transpires here.
Fritz is teleported into the Factory; machines and workers of various designs, creating a cacophony that assaulted the senses. Fritz leaps next to a machine manned by two Humans, startling one, whose repair tool went flying from his hands, when he saw the reptile snout protrude over his shoulder.
Fritz
My bad. Just passing through.
He jumps over to another archaic machine, this one had a three armed Ksush at the controls. She was pulling levers in sequence with two hands, while holding a datapad in the third. Fritz took a moment to glance at the info on the datapad.
Fritz
Glue, as well? Do all these work stations produce adhesives?
Worker 2
What're you, new? Yeah, this whole work block does. Now, leave me alone. I want my machine to have the highest quota and you're bothering me.
Fritz had taken two steps from the station, when his opponent tried to skewer him on his rapier fish head weapon. Morihilus was fast, able to nick his shoulder, drawing blood. A tail flick at the fishman's face caused the burgundy being, who was dressed like he was going to a formal event, to burst into liquid. Four more had spring up from around different machines, all looking the same.
The clones attack in unison; two, with close quarters sword strikes, the others, high pressure water blasts. Fritz avoids the twin blasts with ease, diving beneath their line of fire. The blasts struck the machine with the Ksush worker, causing the multi ton hulk to slide into a smaller work station, squishing a Tilris who refused to abandon his post.
He pulled his disk launcher from his battle gear, firing a low energy disk at the furthest Morihilus. The reddish-orange, flat, circular energy streaked between the two water shooting clones, exploding two meters past them, per its current setting. The concussive force of the blast was enough to vanquish the clones, reducing them to water once again. The others were dealt with just as easily, maneuvering past their stab attempts, inflicting the barest of hits.
A scream behind him caught his attention; a shark composed of purple energy, had just bitten the leg off a Human worker and was coming for him.
Pirrshu
This is good, Lord. We can observe how he handles the papuru energy.
Lord
Agreed, this is most vital.
The first thought that grabbed Fritz at that instant, was how this papuru energy would react to the highly excited photons of his launcher. It exploded in the shark's open jaws, with no effect on appearance or velocity. A light inside it grew in brightness, and having seen the fishman's battle with the Braloorian, knew what was to come.
The thick beam of light shot at him, was reflected by the rebounder he threw in its path. The beam ricochets into the top of the geodome and again into a glue producer. The blast radius took two additional machines and their workers, causing a momentary flicker of guilt, but he was too busy trying to stay alive himself, to give it the proper attention it deserved. One of the destroyed machines had been connected to a storage bin, via thick tubing. He took the tube, which was still spouting glue, and aims it at the shark.
More guilt pours on him, at the workers now glued to their stations, involuntary this time, and the damaged production equipment, all in his effort to aim. The shark, covered in glue, opened its jaws, dripping grey between sharp looking teeth, to bite him in half. It still moved at the same pace, but Fritz cartwheels away from it, while firing another disk. Glue exploded everywhere; he had to utilize his acrobatic prowess to avoid the fallout. The Factory looked as if was composed of glue, rather than produce it.
Fritz pulls a small triangle shaped device and tossed it in front of him. It floated on mini anti-gravity jets; a soft green light pulsing from it. It informs him, through a nero-link, of Morihilus attempting to stay out of sight. He recalls the device, calmly replaces it in the many patches of his gear. If it was just he and his opponent, he would have shot a high energy disk, to draw him out. The need or love of the pay provided by the Quil government, kept workers on shift, despite the obvious danger. Thus, he had to risk the sticky environment, to close the distance.
His next jump took him over the glue and, after throwing a rebounder orb before him, hits it at an angle that sent him rocketing skyward. The geodome's ceiling was about fifty-five feet, just below the hundreds of floodlights, lighting the area like noon day. He hit, feet first, the section of geodome that, according to his calculations, would propel him at two point four times his current speed, into the fishman. He deduced correctly, activating his heavy scale technology, right before contact. The maroon gentleman reacted in time, calling forth his Aura Cloak, negating Fritz's momentum. He bounced away to a machine lacking any outside glue; a distance he believed he could easily react to any sudden attack.
Fritz
Yo, fish dude? Can I ask you a question?
In response, Morihilus sent two papuru serpents to meet him. The Human worker occupying the machine, jumps from his post. Not one second passed, before a Yuni climbed quickly into his spot.
Worker 3
I'd run to, if I was as fragile as you!
Fritz leaps for safety, as one eel makes contact with the machine; the explosion sending chunks of metal and stone raining all around. The second energy eel hit the rebounder energy, the two same, yet different, forces intermingle for a brief second, then, the energy hurls back to its sender, striking Morihilus, center chest. Fritz was hanging from tubing by his tail, watching Morihilus clamber painfully to his feet.
Fritz
That was radical. The papuru energy absorbed the properties of the rebounder energy, just like it did the glue. It became what it absorbed and almost killed you. Do something else with it.
The fishman rose into the air, until they were eye level, about twenty feet apart.
Fritz
Is the flying a result of the papuru magic?
He half expected Morihilus to use Quickening to catch him off guard, and he was right. Fritz lacked the speed, strength, and durability of Soul Style users, but his reaction time, coupled with a limber body, not to mention massive intellect, meant he wasn't completely helpless against the more powerful Superstars. The millisecond Morihilus moved, Fritz did, as well; strong tail muscles got him out the path of the Klugh's living weapon, a maneuver the fishman wasn't expecting. He also wasn't expecting to hit the rebound energy Fritz had setup behind where he hung. He went crashing onto the glue covered floor.
Lord
He pursues knowledge, not victory. This is in contrast of my decree.
Pirrshu
He is still young.
Lord
The only knowledge to be gained, is that of the papuru energy the Klugh wields. Other knowledge regarding his kind is obsolete.
Pirrshu
As you say, Lord.
Lord
His disobedience must be purged.
PAST
Fritz and Hovak stood staring at each other, amid the quietness of the testing grounds.
Fritz
Are you planning on being the Superstar of Mirrgrif?
Hovak
No.
Pirrshu
It is time to return.
Fritz
Joining the Tarlkin military, or, maybe, the Commerce and Free Trade Commission?
Hovak
Neither.
Pirrshu
Do you hear me? Our Lord is calling you home.
Fritz
Professional super wrestling?
Hovak
No.
Pirrshu
Do not ignore me.
Fritz
Planning on causing havoc, Hovak?
The wolf face looks down to the much smaller Preesling, expression unreadable.
Hovak
Yes.
Pirrshu
Our Lord will not be pleased.
Fritz returned the look and smiles.
Fritz
Want some company?
Hovak
You could die.
Pirrshu
You must return to Prees.
Fritz
So?
Hovak
Company would be appreciated.
Pirrshu
I can feel you shutting me out. Don't. You belong to-
Fritz
You got a ship?
PRESENT
Lord
His disobedience has increased over time.
Pirrshu
I do believe, that once his free will is fully exercised, he will see the importance of the Project.
Lord
If not, he will be replaced.
Fritz dodges another grab from a gluey appendage that the Klugh had animated, using papuru magic on the spilled glue around them. The gray substance had flowed from the machines nearest him, along with many stuck workers, pulled helplessly in pursuit of the bounding Preesling.
Fritz
Tell me something, guy, is it required to know spells or curses to use Papuru Magic?
Morihilus
You dare mock me!
The flying fishman kept trying to stab him, while steering him into the grasping glue. There was more space to utilize, now that most of the glue became hunters. Two workers were screaming for help, as they body surfed the glue wave that nearly got him. A portal opened above him, mid leap, and a real tentacle from some humongous sea creature, reached for him. Ocean water spilled in with it, flooding the area. It succeeded in grabbing around his waist, but Fritz had his launcher ready, sending a high energy disk into the portal.
Under optimal circumstances, he would not have risked a high energy disk so close, but he theorized most of the explosion would be swallowed by the portal, and he was right. Still, the thunderclap was deafening, and workers were now starting to flee. The tentacle is cut off by the portal closing, crushing a machine, plus a few workers. Fritz crouched on a thick tube, looking up at Morihilus, floating a few meters above him.
Fritz
I see. So, you were using the Water subclass of Elemental Soul Style to control the glue, while using Papuru Magic to open the portal. That's pretty awesome. But, you should be careful when-
Morihilus
Silence, lizard!!!
The glue and seawater began flowing together, mixing, under the control of the Klugh Superstar, floating feet above it. The gray glue darkened, then hardened.
Fritz
Megacrylate is used in this type of super glue, which cures in air, allowing it to harden. Adding seawater, even in small amounts, causes exothermic expansion at a rapid rate.
The mound burst into flame under Morihilus, who was engulfed in fire. Fritz activated his heavy scales and used his rebounder to reach where Morihilus emerged, smoking, but unharmed. The claw to his face, as Fritz passed, however, drew green blood. He rebounds back into Morihilus with another slash and tail whip. He had six rebounders left and used them all on this one attack.
Due to the pressure of living under the seas of Aphlis, the Klugh were extremely durable, more so with the benefits of Soul Style. Thus, he needed to generate enough force to actually injure the fishman. Every impact with the rebounder energy quadrupled his speed, and though invisible, he knew where each was placed. He hit Morihilus at speeds approaching sound, over a dozen times, and thanks to his weighted scales, had strength behind each strike.
He and an unconscious Morihilus hit the floor at exactly the same time, one on his feet, the other on his back.
Lord
He is finally performing up to my expectations. You have done well, Pirrshu.
Pirrshu
Thank you, Lord.
Fritz asked the holographic Roxy Boss, after she finished her ten count, to teleport him to his streamjet, on Pia's moon, rather than Castle Mishoria's courtyard. He wanted some alone time to think; to come up with a solution to keep Nor from telling his secret. He would prefer to not resort to killing; life, no matter what role one serves in it, is invaluably precious.