Codi held the head brace loosely in one hand, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. Kye stood beside her, lounging against the corridor wall. If he was nervous he wasn’t letting it show. He ought to be nervous though; she knew she could feel her stomach flipping at the prospect of taking on Ripple. Her own path to the quarter finals had been…she didn’t want to us the word ‘easy,’ but it had certainly been less arduous than it could have been. Now it all seemed like trial runs for the real test.

Under Vasco’s direction she was still improving. Her technique was still a mess, but it was a well-coordinated mess that threw other fighters for a loop when exposed to it. After getting over her scare in the group stages, she now found herself enjoying every fight, going out in front of the screaming multitudes and showing what she could do. When she wasn’t in the arena, she was in the training centre, and when she wasn’t practicing she was thrust out in front of a camera to face reporters and sponsors.

Shaking her head, she forced the every piece of behind-the-scenes information out of her mind and tried to focus. Looking at Kye, she felt a stab of concern for him. Bruno’s grim threat still lurked in her mind. At the time neither of them had really been entertaining the notion that they would make it this far, but now that they had the warnings were all too real.

“How you feeling?” she asked.

“Hard to say.” He lolled his head from side to side. “I got this far, but I’ve got a feeling I’m not going to enjoy this next one.”

“Stay light,” Codi said, moving closer to him. “Don’t let him come at you straight. And don’t try and fight defensive.” She knew her advice was nothing he hadn’t already thought of, but she still felt that she had to say something.

He grinned at her, giving her a nudge with one elbow. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll give bucket-head a good run. You just keep your mind on that ice queen and make sure you go through.”

With an almost insulting suddenness an announcement blared over the tannoy. “Kye Recktor to the arena, Kye Recktor to the arena.”

He took a deep breath, settled his head brace and smiled at her. “I’ll see you after.”

Codi nodded. As he turned to leave she grabbed him by one arm and spun him back. Pulling him into a fierce hug, she planted a kiss on his cheek and whispered into his ear, “Good luck.”

After letting go she found him staring at her with an expression of amazement stamped onto his normally unflappable features. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks and her barrier came back up.

“Go on then,” she blurted out, shoving him in the direction of the tunnel. “Go kick his ass!” He hesitated for a second before nodding. Kye took in another steadying breath and then jogged off down the corridor. She watched him go, digging her free hand through the black locks of her hair.

It was several minutes later when her own name was called, summoning her to the quarter final bout. She rolled her shoulders, bounced on the spot a couple of times and began making her way down the corridor at an easy jog. When she reached the entrance to her surprise Ripple was no-where in sight.

“What? Am I going in alone?” she queried to the attendant. The young man nodded with a smile.

“You’re entering from opposite ends,” he said.

Codi frowned at him but no more information was forthcoming. It was strange standing alone before the cavernous doorway. The counter above the door stayed as a familiar point of reference, however, slowly ticking down from thirty seconds.

“Good luck, Miss James,” the man said as the counter reached five seconds. He pressed a button and the doors opened, exposing Codi to the now familiar surge of noise from the Gauntlet crowds. She rammed her head brace into position shook her limbs to loosen up and then went charging out into the light of the arena.

Codi skidded to an abrupt halt, confusion overrunning her features as she took in the strange arena construct for her semi-final. Glancing all around her as the crowds roared, she found herself in the middle of what looked like a ruined city. Buildings of grey-black metal rose up on all sides, the largest of them four stories high. Now she began to understand why Ripple had been introduced at the far end of the arena.

Even fighting in only half the available space it would take some doing to find each other, which turned this into more of a hunt than a stand-up fight. An unpleasant feeling settling in the base of her stomach as the announcer’s voice boomed out across the arena.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first of our quarter finals,” the man declared. “Standard Gauntlet knock-out rules apply. Weapons are available to both fighters, if they can be found. Without further ado, let’s get underway!”

The klaxon blared. For the first time, Codi hesitated. Without an opponent to look at she wasn’t sure what to do at the outset. The screaming of the crowds subsided into a tense silence. Her quick mind began racing and she set off towards one of the largest buildings, hoping to gain a high vantage point and get her bearings. And she made a mental note to keep her eyes open for the weapons the announcer had mentioned.

The synthetic architecture had been designed to look ruined, but the stairways were solid enough. Codi sprinted up them as high as she could then jumped up to grab a spur of wall. Pulling herself up she perched like a hawk and scanned the arena for some sign of Ripple. In her mind the girl’s blazing white hair would make her easy to spot, but the grey-black expanse didn’t yield any signs of her opponent. She toyed with the idea of leaping from building to building, but decided against it. In this scenario she had no wish to rile the crowd until she knew exactly where Ripple was.

With this in mind she pushed off and dropped the four stories, rolling smoothly to her feet with the impact and setting off through the arrangement of streets. Making a conscious effort to quiet her footfalls, she wove her way onward in the direction of the far end of the arena, all the while keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of the weapons the announcer had mentioned. It didn’t take too long for her to come across one.

The Hacktor stood out in the open, right in the centre of the street, positioned upright on a tripod. It looked incredibly suspicious, but Codi had no idea how easy it would be to find another. Staying close to the walls of the nearest buildings she scuttled along before making a darting sprint across the road, sweeping the Hacktor up en route.

Reaching the row of opposite buildings, she felt the reassuring heft of the blunted sword in both hands. Ideally she wanted a quarterstaff, but at this moment in time it seemed best not to be picky.

Minutes continued to drag by as she traversed the buildings and streets, but still Ripple did not reveal herself. Codi began to feel an unpleasant twang of apprehension in her stomach. She found herself looking over her shoulder after every corner; looking through every window and doorway for any sign of her opponent. Twice more she ascended the taller of the buildings to try and get a sighting from above, but to no avail.

She was being stalked like an animal and she knew it. Frustration began bubbling within her and eventually she made a decision. If Ripple was hunting her then she would just have to find the most open space she could and force the confrontation. With this in mind, she began backtracking to where she had found her weapon, the middle of an open road.

After traversing two corners Codi heard a noise. The thrumming that split the air filled her with an instant of confusion before her mind joined the dots and she threw herself flat to the ground. Sure enough, a bolas came hurtling overhead and the three balls smacked off the wall of the nearest building. Leaping to her feet, Codi spun to face the direction the projectile had come from to find Ripple plummeting towards her, quarterstaff poised to come hammering down on her skull, her blaze of white hair flying out behind her.

She had just enough time to sidestep and deflect the vicious attack to one side with a flick of the Hacktor. Her clumsy return swipe missed altogether as Ripple glided out of range for just long enough to allow the blade to hiss past. Then she stepped back into striking distance and drove the butt of the staff straight into the centre of Codi’s chest plate.

It all happened so fast that she didn’t even get a chance to brace. One minute she stood facing Ripple, the next she was flying backwards until she hit a wall. Fortunately the exoskeleton took the brunt of the impact. Landing on all fours, she scrambled messily to one knee with her Hacktor raised, but Ripple hadn’t moved any closer. The other girl stood waiting, quarterstaff resting across one shoulder.

Codi stood, regarding her adversary warily. If there was ever a time not to let her temper take over, this was it. She had to fight this girl with temperance, not fury. Giving the Hacktor a spiralling flourish for the crowd, she advanced with slow deliberate steps. Ripple fell into a lazy stance, her body supple and relaxed.

Never one to wait around, Codi attacked. The weapons cracked together, the sound reverberating off the surrounding buildings, and the noise from the crowd began to rise again. They parried and thwacked at each other for several seconds until Ripple found a gap, scooping both of Codi’s legs out from under her in a graceful motion.

She hit the ground with a grunt of surprise, but instinct and anger let her lash out from her prone position with both legs. As Ripple stepped back out of range Codi rolled backwards to her knees. Another attack came in but she turned it aside with the Hacktor blade, simultaneously surging back to her feet. Parrying in desperate defence she skipped back out of the reach of Ripple’s staff.

Frustration began to creep into Codi’s mind. Twice she’d been on the losing end of the exchanges and hadn’t even been close to landing a hit yet. She began to admit the uncomfortable truth, that on flat ground, one on one, Ripple would simply outfight her. Whether by knockout or not, all she needed to do was keep landing hits and the match would be as good as over. Codi ground her teeth together behind closed lips at the thought. If she was going to go out it would be in blood and flames.

Ripple started advancing now, her both ends of the staff questing to land a crippling strike. With only the single blade of the Hacktor to defend with, Codi found herself hard pressed. A solid strike connected with her right hip, knocking her off balance. A few seconds later, after she ducked the first, the reverse stroke of Ripple’s staff caught her square in the face, just below her left eye.

Stars exploded in her head and Codi staggered backwards. A concerted groan from the crowd told her that the strike must have looked just as bad as it felt. Shaking her head to try and clear her vision she kept stepping away, flailing desperately to keep her attacker at bay. Eventually, backed up against a wall, she opted to get out of the confined alleys and streets. With two wind-milling swipes of the sword she forced Ripple back for the instant she needed, then bunched her legs and jumped.

The servos in the exoskeleton sent her rocketing twenty feet into the air, where she caught the protruding window ledge of the building’s second floor and yanked herself up onto it. Jumping again she reached the roof and spun around. Now looking down on her opponent, she gestured with the Hacktor.

“Come on up,” she spat, the pain in her skull feeding her anger. Ripple’s face remained impassive as she took several steps back before launching into a run. Such was her momentum that she ran halfway up the side of the building before planting the staff onto the second ledge and using it to pole vault the rest of the way. Codi swung, but the girl twisted her lithe body into a contorted arc to avoid the sweeping blade of the Hacktor. She went up and over.

Codi whirled, bringing the Hacktor into a scything upstroke that smashed the quarterstaff aside. Without even blinking, Ripple released her grip on the weapon, stepped in close, and drove the four outstretched fingers of her right hand hard into Codi’s windpipe.

It felt like someone just pounded a nail into her throat. Choking for breath, Codi couldn’t defend herself from the subsequent spinning kick that hurled her from the rooftop. When she hit the ground absolute panic enveloped her as she desperately tried to take in a full breath of air, clutching her throat with one hand. It seemed like it would never come and morbid thoughts flooded her mind. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she could think of nothing but her own inability to breathe.

Then faces began to spring unbidden into her mind. Vasco, his cragged features split by frustration and anguish, Max and the others in the team, urging her on; Barrow, the man who’d given her this chance, slumping back into a chair in disappointment. And Kye, cheerful, irrepressible, perfect Kye urging her on. Dim words from their past conversations echoed in her mind. Maybe the odd dark horse that nobody’s betting on. He believed in her.

The panic began to gradually subside. Codi coughed and wretched for several seconds until eventually her breathing began to return and she struggled to one knee. Then she heard a light impact from behind her. The crowd were screaming now, just waiting and praying for the knockout blow that was not long in coming. And you’ll get it, Codi thought, one way or another.

Not looking at her opponent, she gripped the Hacktor in both hands again, keeping it tucked close to her body and out of sight. Coughing again, she spat out blood and made a show of being out of the fight. All the while she tried to steady her breathing and tensed her muscles for one last spring. The cheering died down and she peered back slightly over her shoulder, just enough to catch a glimpse of Ripple’s feet maybe ten yards away. That was close enough.

With a scream of effort and rage, Codi spun around and threw the Hacktor at her enemy in a single lighting motion. Ripple only just managed to avoid the worst of it, still catching the heavy blunt blade hard in her shoulder. The blow whacked her off balance just long enough for Codi to implement the second part of her desperate plan. She hadn’t stopped moving and as Ripple came back into her stance Codi hit her like a freight train.

The girl tried to sit down into the tackle, but Codi was smaller and more sturdily built. Letting the anger flow she went as low as she could and with a strangled snarl of exertion she lifted Ripple off the ground. Gripping her opponent’s legs with both arms, she spun in a full three-sixty and threw her savagely into the building wall.

Ripple hit it head on and the sheer force of the impact made her virtually bounce off. She thudded to the ground, flat on her back, blood running down her face from the deep graze in her forehead. Even dazed as she was, Ripple still managed to roll over and push up onto her hands and knees, but Codi wasn’t about to give her a chance to recover. She smashed a clench fist down into Ripple’s face which sent her flat to the ground again. As she tried to rise, Codi kicked her in the stomach with all the force she could muster.

This time she extracted a scream as Ripple went flying, coming to a juddering halt thirty feet distance where she lay unmoving. Codi let her fists unclench, chest heaving as she regained her breath. Her whole body trembled from the adrenaline rush and she watched her opponent, not quite believing that this could be the end of the fight. But then the klaxon tore through the air, putting paid to any doubt she might have had.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” roared the announcer above the clamouring masses of the audience. “Your winner and advancing to the semi-final stage of the tournament, from Brax-Delta, Codi James!”

Letting her head rock back, Codi let the exhaustion and pain wash over her, extending both fists high into the air. For seconds she stood there, drinking in the appreciation of the crowds, eyes closed as she bathed in their roaring. Then she remembered the other quarter final and Kye.

Opening her eyes she saw the Gauntlet medics helping Ripple to her feet. A rumble of respectful applause passed through the onlookers but Codi wasn’t interested in her opponent. She jogged past them to the exit of the arena.

In the corridor outside she found Max, sitting on a chair in full combat gear with Vasco alongside, ready for the quarter final clash with Dustin Morto. Upon seeing her Max stood up, giving her a nervous smile.

“Nice fighting,” he said, but his voice wavered. Her brows creased in confusion when she looked to Vasco. Not even the glint of a smile hovered on his grim features.

“What’s up?” she asked. “C’mon! I just got into the semi-final! What’s wrong with that?”

“No, it’s not you, Codi…” Max began, but his voice trailed off and he looked to Vasco for aid. Their mentor sighed.

“It’s about your friend,” he said heavily.

“What, Kye? How did he do?”

“He lost.”

She felt her heart sink, the elation of moments ago fading. “Oh,” was all she managed. She’d been holding out a tiny kernel of hope that someway, somehow, Kye would get the better of the defending champion. Then realism exerted itself and she shrugged. “Okay, so he lost to Varlin. What’s the big deal-,”

“Codi, listen to me,” Vasco cut her off, grabbing her by the shoulder. He lowered his gaze, shaking his head before meeting her eyes again. “They finished ages ago. Kye’s in the hospital wing.”

“What?!”

“Codi, it’s a violent sport. Sometimes-,”

“How bad is it!” she demanded. She glared at them with smouldering eyes and the pair exchanged dubious looks. Eventually, Max cleared his throat and spoke in a small voice.

“Codi, I…it’s just,” he hesitated a moment, then swallowed hard. “Varlin nearly killed him.”