Blizzard
Inactive Member
Hanako's World
Sitting at a VCE cafe on Hanako's World, Jax leaned back in his chair and groaned, dragging a hand down the front of his face.
Of all the luck! He'd put his name into a random matchmaker, looking for some pretty face to replace his ex, and he was matched with a talking wasp. A bug. If the Rixxikor had taught him anything, it was that he hated bugs, especially when they talked. But, he didn't want to be rude, so with a deep breath, he initiated the connection.
A moment later, the minkan was within the VCE. It was a special Love Day server that was designed to look like some fancy Yamataian restuarant. Dimly lit by paper lanterns, with slow, romantic music in the background, and a fountain in the middle of a garden.
Well, at least it was tasteful, he mused as he took his seat at the lone table for two beside the fountain. For the occasion, he'd chosen a pair of khaki slacks, brown dress shoes, and a tucked in dress shirt in navy blue. Out of habit, he rolled up the sleeves to his elbows.
Now, he waited.
Soon after Jax found himself within the digital environ, his unfortunate match appeared as well, albeit upside down. The wasp was already at her seat, but seemed unsure how she ought to sit on it with the back-rest clashing with her abdomen. As it was, she was clinging onto it with her head angled downward, raised to peer up at the alien in front of her. It was literally a giant wasp clinging onto a chair. Terrifying.
"Oh no," a feminine voice sounded from the giant insect, who resumed her efforts to find a more comfortable position on the seat, until it toppled over. "I do not like these seats you aliens use." Getting to her feet, the wasp-like alien drew a small rapier-like blade and cut the back-rest from her seat in a single slash. That instantly triggered horrifying flashbacks of the Rixxikor for Jax. That was a big stinger. Worse yet, it (er, she) was armed with a sword. Jax recoiled in his seat, instinctively willing into existence a weapon of his own. Behind her back, where she couldn't see, Jax held a flip flop the size of a surf board. When he realized what he was doing, he made it disappear and resumed his posture before the bug could see. Now with a more convenient, stool-like chair, she climbed on top of it and perched there like a cat. A giant, wasp-cat.
"What is your name, alien?" she asked, her voice a slightly derisive near-monotone. "I have not used this bizarre, artificial world of yours before, and I am not sure I find it to my liking. What is it used for?"
"Er, well," Jax muttered uneasily, clearing his throat. "It's used as a virtual meeting place for people who can't meet due to physical restraints, like distance. The world can do whatever you tell it to, so it's also popular as a videogame, or combat training. You could have just willed a new chair into existence instead of... mutilating the current one."
He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. No, he wasn't nervous because it was a date. He was more weary of the giant stinger.
"I'm Jackson. Everyone calls me Jax, though."
The I'ee listened in silence, her face impassive and unreadable to Jax; unlike I'ee from the Ee'ith family, she did not wear a mask with which to communicate humanoid emotion. She did, however, become visibly interested at the mention of combat training, leaning slightly closer and perking her antennae. "That is interesting," she answered, ignoring his mention of the unfortunate chair. "So you are saying we could use this system to spar with?"
"Your name is Jackson. My name is," she paused a moment. "Well, I do not have a true name. But I am known as Gut-Stripe." The wasp placed her rapier upon the table-top rather casually. It appeared to be made of Zezuasium, but it was unclear if she actually had a weapon of such make in real life.
Jax went cold at the mention of sparring. Under the table, his tail lashed uncontrollably, warning him of danger. He repeated over and over in his mind that this wasn't real, that the insect couldn't hurt him. But the last thing he wanted to do was spar. It would probably trigger a few more flashbacks, and he thought it would kill the mood if he dumped that emotional baggage on someone he'd just met. So, he tried to change the subject. Unfortunately, his new choice of conversation probably didn't help matters.
"Gut-Stripe, hm? Well, that's certainly unique. So, your sword! Do you actually own a zesu blade? I've been trying to get my hands on some for a long time, but the chain of command reserves that for the elite, apparently."
Gut-Stripe seemed blissfully unaware of Jax's discomfort, though it was likely she would not particularly care even if she did know. At the mention of her sword, the giant bug made a strange, tooting sound, lowering her head to examine her blade on the table. It sounded morbidly adorable... if one could ignore the thing that had made the sound. "Yes. This is my blade," she answered him. "I have three blades, and this one is my newest. I am aware of the rareness of this material, which is why I covet it so. I take great care with it."
She paused a moment, tilting her head to one side. "Although, I suppose," she mused. "Since this is not a real world we are meeting each other in, this is not my real blade, is it? It is merely a reproduction. What a strange thought." Gutty raised her head in thought, musing about the existential implications of digital swords.
Jax couldn't help but laugh a little at that. He leaned forward to examine the weapon, his large, pointed ears perking with interest. This was good, he thought in the back of his head. Keep the subject off fighting and this will go over smoothly.
"Yeah, afraid not. It should act like the real deal, though. Problem is, anyone can spawn any weapon, so for instance..."
Jax reached up and into his hand materialized his favorite longsword. Double edged, matte finish, black ruberized grip.
"See?" he observed, gesturing to the blade, which in reality was made of durandium, not zesu as shown.
The I'ee watched with interest as Jax created a weapon of his own to show off, leaning closer to peer at it. "That is a very fine blade," she complimented. "Sometimes, I wish that I could try my hand at a blade such as that, but I do not believe my limbs would be able to use it effectively." She raised a forelimb, showing Jax the distinct lack of a wrist: To effectively swing a blade was much harder for her than a simple punching motion was.
"Is that your blade in the real world?" she asked him curiously, reaching out a claw to stroke the flat side of the sword.
With a sharp intake of breath, Jax went still, eventually have to stomp his tail with his foot to calm himself down. He swallowed and nodded.
"Y-yeah. Yup. This is my blade."
"Do you use it very often?" the wasp asked, tilting her head to one side. "Or is it merely a trinket of yours?"
"Oh, well, I mean, I train when I can. Only been using it for a year now," Jax said, feeling his masculine pride being trampled just slightly. "But I mean, I think I'm getting kinda good now."
Gut-Stripe let out a soft, huffing sound, shuffling about on top of her 'stool'. "Would you like to spar with me?" she inevitably asked. "I have not duelled against a blade like yours before."
Jax winced. This was not what he'd wanted to happen. But, he thought after a moment of glancing at his sword, he'd never actually used it on anything other than AI opponents with similar weapons. This... could be a learning experience.
He shrugged and stood.
"Sure. Where at? Open plains? Desert? Forrest? Mountains...? Arctic...?"
"I am willing to spar here," Gut-Stripe said, plucking up her Zesu blade from the table. There was a pause, then a set of gold-bronze plate mail materialised over Gut-Stripe's body. It had an archaic look to it mixed with modern materials: The helmet covered the I'ee's head save for her mandibles and antennae, with polarised domes covering both her compound eyes. At its crown was a crest of metal spines. The rest of the armour was not quite as elaborate, and seemed weakest at her thorax, where space was needed for her limbs and wings. Her mid-limbs both held small, round shields each slightly larger than a dinner plate and emblazoned with distracting, blood-red patterns. Her limbs themselves had simple, protective greaves, and her abdomen had a 'dress' of chainmail wrapped around it.
Despite the extra weight, Gut-Stripe hopped nimbly up on top of the table and stood in a hunched position, her two shields protecting her thorax and face while the tip of her Zesu blade pointed out from between them, directly at Jax's face. "Do you wish to make the first move?" she asked politely.
Jax smirked, and on him materialized his new experimental "Cheshire" armor. The base-layer was a skin-tight polymer. On top of that were high-strength polymer plates: a chest piece, forearm gauntlets, groin protection, and shin guards. On his head, a futuristic helmet appeared, with two glowing teal eyes, and an eery, feline grin painted on the front with rows of sharp teeth.
To be honest, it was an idea taken from an old children's story.
Jax stepped back and readied his sword.
"Of course!" he chuckled, his voice distorted by a voice modulator within the helmet. Then, uncharacteristic of a user of a longsword, he launched himself high and pushed downward off the ceiling, twirling around to swing his blade right at the weak spot on the thorax.
"...I like your armour," Gut-Stripe remarked as it appeared on Jax's body, watching him intently as he stepped backward. The opening move from Jax caught her by surprise: Despite what she'd learnt of aliens and their advanced physiologies and technologies, she couldn't be ready for all of it.
Seeing him leap upwards into the air, she crouched low, hiding the weaker front side of her thorax against the table she stood on. With her limbs now unable to act against him, she instead kicked off to her left, leaping off of the table and sending it crashing in the opposite direction. As soon as she was back on her feet, she turned about, again crouching low with her shields raised, backing slowly away from him.
Jax used his gravity manipulation to slow his fall. He reached out a hand and planted it against the table, pushing off and performing a graceful flip. He landed on the floor beside the table in a low crouch.
"Thank you! Oh, by the way, you don't have to worry about killing me in here. I'll just respawn." he said cheerily before swiftly running at her, once again targeting the thorax, this time with a thrust attack. There was one of Jax's flaws: he couldn't change up his strategies on the fly. Very predictable for someone experienced.
"I assumed so." the I'ee responded, watching him. The thrust was something she had more experience with, though admittedly not with such a long blade. This time, she didn't attempt to flee from the attack; able to guess what his target was, she twisted to the side at the last moment. With her body now facing to the side, she formed a convenient crescent-esque shape for her enemy's attack to pass through, leaping at him once she'd regained her balance.
With her initial move made and her enemy so close, she lost a lot of her professional skill, simply attempting to cling tightly onto Jax's armour and stab at him repeatedly with her blade. Her mandibles tried to bite into his shoulder to anchor her in place, while her dreaded stinger also unsheathed. Even worse, it seemed the sadistic wasps liked to 'improve' their stingers: The sharp appendage was tipped with a serrated cutting blade, which she began stabbing at his legs with.
Jax felt something barbed pierce the back of his thigh, and it was at that moment that things went to hell. The pain shot right into the part of his brain that he'd tried to forget over the past couple of months.
*ROAR!*
Back at the simulated restuarant, Jax let slip a feline noise he'd only been able to make once. His mind was in full animal mode, and he lost all semblance of technique and posture. He flailed wildly, clawing, punching, kicking, pinching- anything to cause pain and hurt to his opponent. Anything to survive.
Of all the emotions Gut-Stripe didn't feel the same as Jax might, she certainly felt surprise and shock the same way. She never expected him to roar, after their interactions leading up to this fight. Quickly sinking into her own primal state, the wasp let out a screeching cry of her own, and the two brawlers soon turned into a mad ball of flailing limbs and stabbing blades.
The I'ee lacked the augmented strength of Jax's body; even a normal human could outmatch an I'ee in strength. Soon, the I'ee leapt off from Jax, a fore and midlimb missing from her thorax, and stumbled backwards. "Enough!" she called out. "I am beaten." Her missing limbs were strewn on the floor near Jax, apparently torn clean off, though it didn't seem to be bothering her much; not that it physically could in a digital space.
Jax, who was laying flat on his back, panting, finally managed to regain control of himself. He pushed himself up to his elbows and starred at the wasp, instantly feeling guilty about literally tearing her arms off. It was virtual, but still...
"...S-Sorry about that." he gasped quietly, pulling off the helmet. "I... It... That's never happened to me before."
Another sad fact that Jax had to face was that he wasn't really over his problems after all. He'd been training so hard so that he could go back into a hand-to-hand encounter confidently, but that illusion had just been shattered. Jax himself was bleeding from several deep wounds all over his body, one of which, he realized, had pierced his lung. Obviously fatal. Would only be a matter of minutes before he "died" and respawned. Being unwilling to wait that long, he swapped out his longsword for a massive hand cannon. Next, he raised it up under his chin, angling it so it would go up and right through the middle. Then, he realized that Gut-Stripe might not be able to handle a gun herself, and honestly, killing yourself via Seppuku was so last millenium.
He gestured to the gun. "Uh, do you... uh...?" he was failing to find the best way to ask "do you want me to shoot you?", but he was sure his message was clear.
"Do not be sorry," Gut-Stripe replied casually. "We would not apologise if we were true enemies. And here, we need not hold back." The I'ee tottered over to Jax, looking slightly off-balance from her missing limbs. "Yes. If I am the loser, then it is only fitting for you to finish me," she said to him, waiting patiently for him to blow her head off.
Jax smiled. "Oh, nah, it was a draw, see?" he said, gesturing to the fatal stab wound on his chest. "Couple more minutes and I would've gone belly up."
So, as casually as he could, he raised the massive revolver and lined up the sight at the point directly between Gut-Stripe's eyes. With a pull of the trigger, the gun roared, and Gut-Stripe's head was completely demolished. Then, Jax turned the gun on himself and did the same.
A few moments later, the duo appeared in the center of the overturned tables, broken chairs, and smashed water-features.
"Hey, you're pretty good!" Jax complemented, grinning down at the wasp.
"Oh! Well, I suppose I should feel proud of that." she answered, visibly puffing herself up a little. After the two of them had voluntarily annihilated themselves and promptly respawned, Gut-Stripe took a moment to gaze around at their surroundings. "Thank you!" she replied to him, looking up at him; her armour gone once more and leaving her naked. "You are a fine warrior as well, Jackson. It has been a pleasure to spar with you." The I'ee toddled closer and, rather surprisingly, gave Jax a little hug around his waist. Presumably a hug of respect.
"Thank you!" Jax beamed proudly, unsure if it would be inappropriate to reach down and pat the top of the little wasp's head. He decided not to. "Say, I need to get better, and I'm sure you enjoy this sort of thing, so, like, you want to do it again sometime?"
Gut-Stripe, for the first time, let out a little squeak at his offer, looking up at him. "You would like to train with me more?" she asked. "I would enjoy that. I need to learn more about facing aliens such as yourself."
"Well, it's settled then! I'm in the middle of a deployment right now. Might not have much time to practice, but I'll try my hardest. I'll call you whenever I'm available!"
Jax began to shimmer. He gave a small wave.
"See ya 'round, Gut Stripe!"
"Goodbye, Jackson!" she replied, waving in return. "I look forward to training with you again soon." The I'ee waited for Jax to leave before doing so herself, leaving the destroyed digital setting to reset itself in their absence.
Jax opened his eyes, now back in the VCE cafe on Hanako's World, a huge grin on his mug. That had been... rather fun. Definitely exceeded his expectations. And what's more, he had a sword-buddy!
'PFFFT! Sword buddy...'
Sitting at a VCE cafe on Hanako's World, Jax leaned back in his chair and groaned, dragging a hand down the front of his face.
Of all the luck! He'd put his name into a random matchmaker, looking for some pretty face to replace his ex, and he was matched with a talking wasp. A bug. If the Rixxikor had taught him anything, it was that he hated bugs, especially when they talked. But, he didn't want to be rude, so with a deep breath, he initiated the connection.
A moment later, the minkan was within the VCE. It was a special Love Day server that was designed to look like some fancy Yamataian restuarant. Dimly lit by paper lanterns, with slow, romantic music in the background, and a fountain in the middle of a garden.
Well, at least it was tasteful, he mused as he took his seat at the lone table for two beside the fountain. For the occasion, he'd chosen a pair of khaki slacks, brown dress shoes, and a tucked in dress shirt in navy blue. Out of habit, he rolled up the sleeves to his elbows.
Now, he waited.
Soon after Jax found himself within the digital environ, his unfortunate match appeared as well, albeit upside down. The wasp was already at her seat, but seemed unsure how she ought to sit on it with the back-rest clashing with her abdomen. As it was, she was clinging onto it with her head angled downward, raised to peer up at the alien in front of her. It was literally a giant wasp clinging onto a chair. Terrifying.
"Oh no," a feminine voice sounded from the giant insect, who resumed her efforts to find a more comfortable position on the seat, until it toppled over. "I do not like these seats you aliens use." Getting to her feet, the wasp-like alien drew a small rapier-like blade and cut the back-rest from her seat in a single slash. That instantly triggered horrifying flashbacks of the Rixxikor for Jax. That was a big stinger. Worse yet, it (er, she) was armed with a sword. Jax recoiled in his seat, instinctively willing into existence a weapon of his own. Behind her back, where she couldn't see, Jax held a flip flop the size of a surf board. When he realized what he was doing, he made it disappear and resumed his posture before the bug could see. Now with a more convenient, stool-like chair, she climbed on top of it and perched there like a cat. A giant, wasp-cat.
"What is your name, alien?" she asked, her voice a slightly derisive near-monotone. "I have not used this bizarre, artificial world of yours before, and I am not sure I find it to my liking. What is it used for?"
"Er, well," Jax muttered uneasily, clearing his throat. "It's used as a virtual meeting place for people who can't meet due to physical restraints, like distance. The world can do whatever you tell it to, so it's also popular as a videogame, or combat training. You could have just willed a new chair into existence instead of... mutilating the current one."
He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. No, he wasn't nervous because it was a date. He was more weary of the giant stinger.
"I'm Jackson. Everyone calls me Jax, though."
The I'ee listened in silence, her face impassive and unreadable to Jax; unlike I'ee from the Ee'ith family, she did not wear a mask with which to communicate humanoid emotion. She did, however, become visibly interested at the mention of combat training, leaning slightly closer and perking her antennae. "That is interesting," she answered, ignoring his mention of the unfortunate chair. "So you are saying we could use this system to spar with?"
"Your name is Jackson. My name is," she paused a moment. "Well, I do not have a true name. But I am known as Gut-Stripe." The wasp placed her rapier upon the table-top rather casually. It appeared to be made of Zezuasium, but it was unclear if she actually had a weapon of such make in real life.
Jax went cold at the mention of sparring. Under the table, his tail lashed uncontrollably, warning him of danger. He repeated over and over in his mind that this wasn't real, that the insect couldn't hurt him. But the last thing he wanted to do was spar. It would probably trigger a few more flashbacks, and he thought it would kill the mood if he dumped that emotional baggage on someone he'd just met. So, he tried to change the subject. Unfortunately, his new choice of conversation probably didn't help matters.
"Gut-Stripe, hm? Well, that's certainly unique. So, your sword! Do you actually own a zesu blade? I've been trying to get my hands on some for a long time, but the chain of command reserves that for the elite, apparently."
Gut-Stripe seemed blissfully unaware of Jax's discomfort, though it was likely she would not particularly care even if she did know. At the mention of her sword, the giant bug made a strange, tooting sound, lowering her head to examine her blade on the table. It sounded morbidly adorable... if one could ignore the thing that had made the sound. "Yes. This is my blade," she answered him. "I have three blades, and this one is my newest. I am aware of the rareness of this material, which is why I covet it so. I take great care with it."
She paused a moment, tilting her head to one side. "Although, I suppose," she mused. "Since this is not a real world we are meeting each other in, this is not my real blade, is it? It is merely a reproduction. What a strange thought." Gutty raised her head in thought, musing about the existential implications of digital swords.
Jax couldn't help but laugh a little at that. He leaned forward to examine the weapon, his large, pointed ears perking with interest. This was good, he thought in the back of his head. Keep the subject off fighting and this will go over smoothly.
"Yeah, afraid not. It should act like the real deal, though. Problem is, anyone can spawn any weapon, so for instance..."
Jax reached up and into his hand materialized his favorite longsword. Double edged, matte finish, black ruberized grip.
"See?" he observed, gesturing to the blade, which in reality was made of durandium, not zesu as shown.
The I'ee watched with interest as Jax created a weapon of his own to show off, leaning closer to peer at it. "That is a very fine blade," she complimented. "Sometimes, I wish that I could try my hand at a blade such as that, but I do not believe my limbs would be able to use it effectively." She raised a forelimb, showing Jax the distinct lack of a wrist: To effectively swing a blade was much harder for her than a simple punching motion was.
"Is that your blade in the real world?" she asked him curiously, reaching out a claw to stroke the flat side of the sword.
With a sharp intake of breath, Jax went still, eventually have to stomp his tail with his foot to calm himself down. He swallowed and nodded.
"Y-yeah. Yup. This is my blade."
"Do you use it very often?" the wasp asked, tilting her head to one side. "Or is it merely a trinket of yours?"
"Oh, well, I mean, I train when I can. Only been using it for a year now," Jax said, feeling his masculine pride being trampled just slightly. "But I mean, I think I'm getting kinda good now."
Gut-Stripe let out a soft, huffing sound, shuffling about on top of her 'stool'. "Would you like to spar with me?" she inevitably asked. "I have not duelled against a blade like yours before."
Jax winced. This was not what he'd wanted to happen. But, he thought after a moment of glancing at his sword, he'd never actually used it on anything other than AI opponents with similar weapons. This... could be a learning experience.
He shrugged and stood.
"Sure. Where at? Open plains? Desert? Forrest? Mountains...? Arctic...?"
"I am willing to spar here," Gut-Stripe said, plucking up her Zesu blade from the table. There was a pause, then a set of gold-bronze plate mail materialised over Gut-Stripe's body. It had an archaic look to it mixed with modern materials: The helmet covered the I'ee's head save for her mandibles and antennae, with polarised domes covering both her compound eyes. At its crown was a crest of metal spines. The rest of the armour was not quite as elaborate, and seemed weakest at her thorax, where space was needed for her limbs and wings. Her mid-limbs both held small, round shields each slightly larger than a dinner plate and emblazoned with distracting, blood-red patterns. Her limbs themselves had simple, protective greaves, and her abdomen had a 'dress' of chainmail wrapped around it.
Despite the extra weight, Gut-Stripe hopped nimbly up on top of the table and stood in a hunched position, her two shields protecting her thorax and face while the tip of her Zesu blade pointed out from between them, directly at Jax's face. "Do you wish to make the first move?" she asked politely.
Jax smirked, and on him materialized his new experimental "Cheshire" armor. The base-layer was a skin-tight polymer. On top of that were high-strength polymer plates: a chest piece, forearm gauntlets, groin protection, and shin guards. On his head, a futuristic helmet appeared, with two glowing teal eyes, and an eery, feline grin painted on the front with rows of sharp teeth.
To be honest, it was an idea taken from an old children's story.
Jax stepped back and readied his sword.
"Of course!" he chuckled, his voice distorted by a voice modulator within the helmet. Then, uncharacteristic of a user of a longsword, he launched himself high and pushed downward off the ceiling, twirling around to swing his blade right at the weak spot on the thorax.
"...I like your armour," Gut-Stripe remarked as it appeared on Jax's body, watching him intently as he stepped backward. The opening move from Jax caught her by surprise: Despite what she'd learnt of aliens and their advanced physiologies and technologies, she couldn't be ready for all of it.
Seeing him leap upwards into the air, she crouched low, hiding the weaker front side of her thorax against the table she stood on. With her limbs now unable to act against him, she instead kicked off to her left, leaping off of the table and sending it crashing in the opposite direction. As soon as she was back on her feet, she turned about, again crouching low with her shields raised, backing slowly away from him.
Jax used his gravity manipulation to slow his fall. He reached out a hand and planted it against the table, pushing off and performing a graceful flip. He landed on the floor beside the table in a low crouch.
"Thank you! Oh, by the way, you don't have to worry about killing me in here. I'll just respawn." he said cheerily before swiftly running at her, once again targeting the thorax, this time with a thrust attack. There was one of Jax's flaws: he couldn't change up his strategies on the fly. Very predictable for someone experienced.
"I assumed so." the I'ee responded, watching him. The thrust was something she had more experience with, though admittedly not with such a long blade. This time, she didn't attempt to flee from the attack; able to guess what his target was, she twisted to the side at the last moment. With her body now facing to the side, she formed a convenient crescent-esque shape for her enemy's attack to pass through, leaping at him once she'd regained her balance.
With her initial move made and her enemy so close, she lost a lot of her professional skill, simply attempting to cling tightly onto Jax's armour and stab at him repeatedly with her blade. Her mandibles tried to bite into his shoulder to anchor her in place, while her dreaded stinger also unsheathed. Even worse, it seemed the sadistic wasps liked to 'improve' their stingers: The sharp appendage was tipped with a serrated cutting blade, which she began stabbing at his legs with.
Jax felt something barbed pierce the back of his thigh, and it was at that moment that things went to hell. The pain shot right into the part of his brain that he'd tried to forget over the past couple of months.
*ROAR!*
Back at the simulated restuarant, Jax let slip a feline noise he'd only been able to make once. His mind was in full animal mode, and he lost all semblance of technique and posture. He flailed wildly, clawing, punching, kicking, pinching- anything to cause pain and hurt to his opponent. Anything to survive.
Of all the emotions Gut-Stripe didn't feel the same as Jax might, she certainly felt surprise and shock the same way. She never expected him to roar, after their interactions leading up to this fight. Quickly sinking into her own primal state, the wasp let out a screeching cry of her own, and the two brawlers soon turned into a mad ball of flailing limbs and stabbing blades.
The I'ee lacked the augmented strength of Jax's body; even a normal human could outmatch an I'ee in strength. Soon, the I'ee leapt off from Jax, a fore and midlimb missing from her thorax, and stumbled backwards. "Enough!" she called out. "I am beaten." Her missing limbs were strewn on the floor near Jax, apparently torn clean off, though it didn't seem to be bothering her much; not that it physically could in a digital space.
Jax, who was laying flat on his back, panting, finally managed to regain control of himself. He pushed himself up to his elbows and starred at the wasp, instantly feeling guilty about literally tearing her arms off. It was virtual, but still...
"...S-Sorry about that." he gasped quietly, pulling off the helmet. "I... It... That's never happened to me before."
Another sad fact that Jax had to face was that he wasn't really over his problems after all. He'd been training so hard so that he could go back into a hand-to-hand encounter confidently, but that illusion had just been shattered. Jax himself was bleeding from several deep wounds all over his body, one of which, he realized, had pierced his lung. Obviously fatal. Would only be a matter of minutes before he "died" and respawned. Being unwilling to wait that long, he swapped out his longsword for a massive hand cannon. Next, he raised it up under his chin, angling it so it would go up and right through the middle. Then, he realized that Gut-Stripe might not be able to handle a gun herself, and honestly, killing yourself via Seppuku was so last millenium.
He gestured to the gun. "Uh, do you... uh...?" he was failing to find the best way to ask "do you want me to shoot you?", but he was sure his message was clear.
"Do not be sorry," Gut-Stripe replied casually. "We would not apologise if we were true enemies. And here, we need not hold back." The I'ee tottered over to Jax, looking slightly off-balance from her missing limbs. "Yes. If I am the loser, then it is only fitting for you to finish me," she said to him, waiting patiently for him to blow her head off.
Jax smiled. "Oh, nah, it was a draw, see?" he said, gesturing to the fatal stab wound on his chest. "Couple more minutes and I would've gone belly up."
So, as casually as he could, he raised the massive revolver and lined up the sight at the point directly between Gut-Stripe's eyes. With a pull of the trigger, the gun roared, and Gut-Stripe's head was completely demolished. Then, Jax turned the gun on himself and did the same.
A few moments later, the duo appeared in the center of the overturned tables, broken chairs, and smashed water-features.
"Hey, you're pretty good!" Jax complemented, grinning down at the wasp.
"Oh! Well, I suppose I should feel proud of that." she answered, visibly puffing herself up a little. After the two of them had voluntarily annihilated themselves and promptly respawned, Gut-Stripe took a moment to gaze around at their surroundings. "Thank you!" she replied to him, looking up at him; her armour gone once more and leaving her naked. "You are a fine warrior as well, Jackson. It has been a pleasure to spar with you." The I'ee toddled closer and, rather surprisingly, gave Jax a little hug around his waist. Presumably a hug of respect.
"Thank you!" Jax beamed proudly, unsure if it would be inappropriate to reach down and pat the top of the little wasp's head. He decided not to. "Say, I need to get better, and I'm sure you enjoy this sort of thing, so, like, you want to do it again sometime?"
Gut-Stripe, for the first time, let out a little squeak at his offer, looking up at him. "You would like to train with me more?" she asked. "I would enjoy that. I need to learn more about facing aliens such as yourself."
"Well, it's settled then! I'm in the middle of a deployment right now. Might not have much time to practice, but I'll try my hardest. I'll call you whenever I'm available!"
Jax began to shimmer. He gave a small wave.
"See ya 'round, Gut Stripe!"
"Goodbye, Jackson!" she replied, waving in return. "I look forward to training with you again soon." The I'ee waited for Jax to leave before doing so herself, leaving the destroyed digital setting to reset itself in their absence.
Jax opened his eyes, now back in the VCE cafe on Hanako's World, a huge grin on his mug. That had been... rather fun. Definitely exceeded his expectations. And what's more, he had a sword-buddy!
'PFFFT! Sword buddy...'
