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Sideline Hacker Battles Zavis vs Andre For HandofBlades By Draconicon

As Zavis's mechanic snapped on his wrist-computer, he glanced across the small chamber. Through the hundreds of wires and tubes, the snake could just make out the other mechanics arming his opponent. The hyena growled and pumped his fist a few times, utterly ignoring him.

Heh, I should be doing the same, the snake thought. He let his mechanic - a smelly little rat whose name he'd forgotten - finish connecting the wrist-console to his pod, and submitted himself to being stripped down to a pair of conductive underwear. The exposure didn't bother him; he showed off more on his trips to the gym, these days.

The bustling room suddenly stilled as the metal door slid open. Zavis glanced up as a harried-looking black bear stomped in, and kept watching as the big ursine wormed his way through the sea of cables and cords between the two pods and the giant computer server between them.

"You fuckers ready yet?"

"Almost, boss," one of the mechanics muttered. "Just getting the last connections ready."

"Hurry it up! We got four more of these waiting, and I can't keep 'em waiting forever. Money, people, money!"

Zavis shook his head. Money, money, money. Yeah, that was all that this gang leader probably cared about. Who knew how much the bear was making from these fights? Hell, he probably made more than some of the lower executives in the big companies, when he was having a good year.

The snake didn't care about that. He just wanted to fight, though the prize at the end didn't hurt. He chuckled, thinking of the thousands of credits waiting for the winner of every match, not to mention...

He looked across the room again. The hyena, some dweller from even lower down than he was, glanced back from his pod. Their eyes met, and he saw the same fire in those gold eyes as in his own.

Heh...he sure doesn't want to lose.

Well, Zavis wasn't going to lose, either. The hyena would just have to take it.

As he leaned back into his pod, he felt the wrist-console squeeze tighter around his arm. A few little needles pushed in, and the shocks they'd warmed him about started shooting up his arm. According to the mechanics, it was connecting to his nervous system or something. Some technobabble that he didn't understand, and didn't care about.

The shock lingered at the back of his neck, building up as the rats suddenly pulled away. The lid of the pod swung forward, clanging shut. Zavis was left in darkness for perhaps half a second before the electricity shot up his neck into his brain. He screamed -

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

THUMP!

He hit the ground hard, harder than he expected, and the snake laid flat-out on it, shaking his head.

"Ugh..."

He opened his eyes, and immediately knew the match had started. Laying on red rock, his green and yellow scales popped out all too easily, and the snake wasn't about to make himself a target this early in the match. Zavis pulled himself to his feet and surveyed the arena.

It was bigger than he expected. A couple of larger rocks shot up from the ground, forming small mesas around the place, while a couple of craters helped break up the rest of the flat land. He could feel a bit of heat coming off of the rock, and assumed that it'd probably get hotter with the right coding.

Coding...

Zavis looked down at his wrist. The console was still there, and so was his underwear, but that was it. He tapped the screen on his wrist, and it popped up, projecting some green light off of a black screen. Hundreds of buttons with shortcut codes on them floated above the screen, and around that, there were three arrows that were beeping softly, pointing to three different little light balls across the arena.

Nodes, he imagined. Those were the spots where the world-code could be changed easiest. Probably the only spot he could do it, actually; he didn't know a damn thing about coding, normally.

Hopefully that hyena doesn't, either.

The nearest one was on top of one of the mesas, and he started running for it. Better get a good view and try and change the world at the same time.

As he ran, Zavis looked side to side, keeping an eye out for the hyena. Unlike him, that guy would blend in all too well. That coat would be good camouflage in this place, even with the...

He looked up for a moment and shivered. The illusion of an arena damn well wasn't perfect. The edges of the rocky land and the sky were nothing but digital black with green streams running across it, and Zavis felt sick the longer that he looked at it. Better to keep himself focused on the task at hand.

The mesa wasn't that tall, but he was glad that the digital transfer let him keep all his muscles. The rock was pretty sheer, and he grunted as he finally pulled himself up to the top of it.

The node-light blinked, and his wrist console changed. Some new shortcuts, ones he barely recognized, but he started tapping them anyway. Something to take away the hyena's fucking advantage.

A flicker went through the world, and the red rock turned white as snow. Still hot, though; fucking weird.

But it worked. Standing in one of the craters was the hyena, completely revealed. Zavis grinned, and tapped a couple of other buttons on the console. A lock button, setting off a program to start locking the node beside him down, while another started developing a weapon for him.

Vroooo-oooo-oooom.

A club shimmered into existence by the node, and he grabbed it just as it fully formed.

"I'm coming for ya!"

Shouting at the top of his lungs, Zavis pressed one more button before running for the edge of the mesa. It came into effect just as he took a flying leap, and he grinned as he caught more air than usual, almost flying over the arena from the full force of his leap.

This is amazing! he thought. Low gravity fighting...where else would he get something like this?

Unfortunately, the hyena jumped back at the last second, and the resulting crash was only the clutter and destruction of the rock underfoot. The hyena was on him immediately, clawed fingers ripping at the air in front of him, and Zavis was forced on the defensive, bringing up his club to keep the bigger male from getting too close.

Swipe, swipe, swipe went those claws, swiping through the air and almost taking off the scales on his hands each time. The snake could barely keep up, bringing up the club in different positions to block each swing, and he could feel his arms shaking from how hard the damn hyena was swinging himself around.

Must have augmented himself or something, he thought. There'd been a node near the crater. Maybe he spent more time changing himself than he had the world.

Zavis was just a second too slow with his next block, and the hyena's swipe took the club right out of his hands, sending it flying away. It shimmered into non-existence, no longer supported by his own code.

The next blow hit him in the chest, and the low gravity sent him flying back, back, back -

SLAM!

Right into one of the rock mesas. Zavis coughed, gasping for breath as he left a crater in the rock, and he swore that something was breaking...Blinking away the stars in his eyes, he saw the hyena running at him, and swore under his breath.

"Gotta move, gotta move, gotta move..."

He wrenched at the rock around his arms, wiggling out of the hole his impact had made as the hyena ran faster and faster. Those arms were stretched out like a comic book hero, and he knew that the damn hunter was going to slam him right through the rest of the rock if he got the chance. Faster, faster -

At the last second, he swung himself over and out of the hole, just as the hyena jumped. The satisfying crack of the other fighter slamming into the rock was sweet catharsis for the snake, and he grinned as he landed on the flat top of the rock.

He didn't stay there. Kicking off of it, he took full advantage of the low gravity to keep running, leaping from one mesa to another until he found what he was looking for. A deeper crater than the others.

Ducking into it, he pulled up his computer, looking for the nearest node. Under him, by the looks of it. The snake looked around, and found a small tunnel leading off of the crater. Something that the developer of the map put in, probably; something to let an underdog still have a chance.

Well, he wasn't going to fight that sort of thing. He could use an advantage.

Slithering into the hole, the snake made his way forward, following the glow of his console. It wasn't much, but after several false turns, he found it. Just a small node, not quite as wide-reaching as the bigger one on the mesa, but it was something.

He settled in, hoping that the hyena didn't come chasing him just yet. He needed to set up a few little traps for the big guy.

Relying on the smaller nature of the tunnel and the darkness around him to keep him safe, Zavis opened up his console and started working the node. It wasn't that easy; the whole thing was computer language, and it wasn't something that he understood as well as he should have. However, he was able to find a few little things that looked useful. Opening a menu that was symbolized by a silhouette, he flicked through the options...and found himself.

"Heh, now we're getting somewhere."

Options, options. There, settings. Sub-folders under that, body options. Yes, that's what the hyena must have done.

Flick the muscles up by a couple dozen percentage points, add in a little more reaction time. Something to tweak the whole gravity thing. Rocket shoes? No, don't think that's worth it. Not when I can't really control it all that well. Could hack it, too, which means that he'd send me flying right off the map.

That thought sent a shiver down his spine. The mechanics were damn clear on that one. Don't go off the map. You'd just respawn in the official fights, but here, you'd just lose your damn mind. The thought of even trying it was a bad one, and he quickly pulled his thoughts out of that area. He wasn't going to risk becoming one of those drooling idiots just because he wanted to look cool.

Adjusting one more thing - a little venom spike in his tail so that it was more than a club - Zavis closed down his console and set another locking program, cutting out the small node from the hyena. Hopefully.

He was back on the tunnel to the surface when he heard a thump above his head. He paused -

CRACK!

A large foot kicked right through the rock in front of him, leaving a hole back up to the surface of the arena. The snake stared at it, and backed up quickly. Just in time to avoid another stomp, and another, breaking open the rock that was his cover until -

WHAM!

The seventh one came down on his head, kicking him right into the tunnel floor. Toe claws raked across his scales before the pressure came off, and he was too dizzy to stop the hand that came after it. It grabbed him around his neck, and pulled.

He went flying across the arena, breaking through a smaller rock pile and landing on the ground. Zavis rolled over, grateful that he'd amped up some of his toughness at the node; if he hadn't, that could have broken his back.

A quick flick of his eyes showed that the nodes on the mesas were almost all locked down. They glowed red rather than white, now, and that meant that he was in trouble. If he stayed up her, then there was only one place he could access the world code, and the hyena could just cover that.

Unless he wanted to fight, which he seemed to.

Zavis ducked as his opponent came out of nowhere, swinging some sort of sword around almost too fast to see. The enhanced reactions he'd picked up were the only thing that let him get out of the way in time as it swept from side to side, over and under where his head was at any given time.

Fast fucker, he thought with a grunt, throwing himself down to the ground and sweeping his leg out. The blow caught the hyena, but the bigger guy was rolling back before the snake could land another blow. Up again, too, and only a quick jump saved him from losing a leg.

As he floated down towards one of the mesas, Zavis looked around. There had to be something he could do. Something smart, something -

That was a thought. It'd lose him a mesa, but it was something that would buy him time.

He leaped off of the mesa beneath him immediately, just in time to avoid a cut from the hyena. He leaped along, knowing that the hyena was following only a hairs-breadth behind him. Faster, faster, faster!

Running for the only node still open for him, Zavis pulled up his console, keeping one eye on it as he kept running. The instant he was in range, he had to hit the commands. If he was a microsecond slow, then it would be too late.

Faster, faster, faster!

Four leaps later, he saw the ping of it getting in range. He keyed in a trio of codes, and looked over his shoulder as the hyena landed on the mesa behind him -

SPLORCH!

Just in time for it to turn into a semi-solid. The heavy-set male sunk up to his knees in it right off the bat, and as he started struggling, he only started sinking deeper.

Too close, too fucking close, he thought, shaking his head. He reached out to the node, and through it, to the nearby hyena. They were close enough for counter-hacking now, and he just had to hope it was good enough.

The security cracker that they gave him - something for people that didn't know how to hack on their own, they said - was uploaded quickly and showed a blue progress bar. As it kept filling up, Zavis kept one eye on the struggling hyena while keying in a few more commands of his own. Time delayed uploads, a couple of tricks for himself - getting his club back - and getting a map of the arena downloaded to his console.

Looks like most of the nodes are gone...

He was locked out of all but this one on the top, and there were only two more in the tunnels below the arena. One locked to him, the other two free. He'd have to do something to lock out the other ones up here, or he'd be at a serious disadvantage, unless he could beat down the hyena fast enough that he couldn't get to the -

"GRAAAAH!"

Zavis's eyes went wide. He turned just in time to avoid the sword swipe, and tumbled over the edge of the mesa, crashing down into the ground. The titanium club was barely enough to keep the katana blade at bay, leaving him staring up at the wild eyes of the hyena past it.

Shit, shit, shit! His console's not hacked yet...

But they were still in range of the node...

Oh, he didn't like the implications, but he had to play it out. If they got out of range, then he was utterly fucked. So...hand to hand it was.

Flicking out his tail as a distraction, Zavis managed to shift the hyena's balance just enough to get the leverage he needed. A kick and roll knocked the big guy over, and got him the room he needed to stand up. He lifted the club -

CLANG CLANG CLANG!

And was immediately bombarded with a barrage of swings from the hyena. He ran around the sides of the rock mesa, panting as he kept up with the swings, but only barely. They were coming faster and faster, and the ringing vibrations of metal on metal made his hands hurt. Hurt like hell, for that matter.

He kept up, kept swinging, kept running backwards. He swung out his tail when he could, only when the blade was already occupied. It forced the hyena back a bit, giving him some small room to breathe, but not enough. Not to strike back.

Come on, come on! he thought, unable to even look down for the progress bar on the console hack. It had to be getting close. They were still in range, and he'd started it already. Just get in there and start uploading!

Four more near misses, and it finally did. His wrist console emitted some cheerful series of beeps, and suddenly the hyena's sword shimmered away. It disappeared in code-lines, and Zavis grinned.

"My turn."

He charged forward, swinging his titanium club around, and this time he was the one in charge. He heard beep after beep as the console uploaded the other queued attacks on the hyena, slowing him down, blocking out further weapons, making him -

Not making him weak enough!

Zavis stared as his club was wrenched out of his hand, thrown off to the side. Just like before, it shimmered into non-existence. He stared at it before turning back to the hyena, shaking his head.

"Fine...hand to hand?"

"Hand to hand."

They circled each other - thankfully staying in reach of the node above - for a few seconds before charging. Zavis took a glancing punch to the cheek, but he landed a knee to the hyena's sternum. Just enough to get him bending over, giving the snake a chance to whip his tail around. A quick sweep, knocking the knees out from behind.

He got a foot in the face for his trouble, getting knocked back against the rock pillar, and as he cradled his cheek, the hyena got back up. Charging at him, his opponent swung high, and the snake ducked. Crunch went the fist against the pillar. Hiss went the hyena from a punch to the gut and the ribs in rapid succession.

He followed it with an uppercut, punching the hyena up into the air, and followed him. A swing of his tail brought the poisoned tip right to the hyena's neck, and the soporific venom flowed quickly.

"And now, for the finishing blow!"

Zavis grabbed his opponent by the leg, and swung him around. The low gravity made it even faster than it should have been, reducing the drag as they went faster and faster in a circle, slowly heading back towards the ground. The snake grinned wider and wider as they got closer and closer, having been wanting to do this move for a long time.

With a final roar, he slammed the hyena down HARD, the blow cratering the rock beneath them, and leaving the bigger male so dazed that the snake was surprised that there weren't stars flying around his head.

He panted as he stood up, stomping one foot down on the hyena's head.

"And...fucking...stay down..."

Shaking his head, he looked down at his console...and grinned.

Upload final blocker...don't mind if I fucking do.

He tapped the button. They were just far enough from his node that it was a bit of a trick to keep the connection, but he managed it. The hack was sent from his console to the node, and bounced back towards the hyena's. He saw the red progress bar beeping on it, until it finally filled up to the brim.

"End Game. Winner: Zavis."

"Heh...heh...hell yeah..."

The snake pulled his foot back as the hyena floated upwards, suspended in a line of white light. He bounced up and down slowly, his body completely open...

Zavis shook his head, looking down at his wrist console. He'd heard of this part. When someone won a hacker battle, either an official one or a street one, there was always a secondary prize. Revenge, he guessed. He had the opportunity to really fuck with the hyena's head, if he wanted to.

At first, he had no reason to do that...but as he took another look, he realized something.

He knew this hyena.

Oh, not by name, but he'd seen him down at the gym more than once. They were regular competitors for the same title, of being the biggest guy there, of being the strongest. He barely knew him to look at him, but he knew him. Zavis grinned.

Oh ho ho, the things I could do...Look who's NOT winning next month's Ironman of the Month trophy.

The gym-snake chuckled as he tapped out a small command. Not much, just a routine of pure...laziness...for the next few months. See how far the hyena would fall after that.

The End