The problem with history is that we are always going to repeat it.
Humbolt Building - Karin City - Gorean Occupied Karin
OCCUPATION: Day One Hundred Seventy Three
*AGAIN*
"And so it begins again!" Edward sighed as he rewound time. The loop that he had created was more complicated than the one he had used to contain Rikard, weaving events together and trying to maintain an exact flow of probability that would allow him some kind of edge. A large enough edge to even the playing field between a hundred and fifty pound godling and several tonnes of scaled killing machine.
Looking at the scratches on the wall, it had to be his three hundredth cycle, enough to learn that his standard approach wasn't going to work. He needed to revaluate his plan, change some of the elements. Fighting inside of the city with conventional weapons wouldn't do him much good, perhaps if he tried the Karin countryside?
He reached up, discarding the helmet - it restricted his vision - and pulled on the green Dragoon jacket, perfect for the mid winter weather in the valleys beyond the Karin City plateau. He settled the furry Karin cap on top of his head, pulling it down so that it would stay on, and took a moment to consider his options. The Polian shard was useless, it wouldn't do him any good at all. That meant he needed to try something new.
The Cordite shaped charge slipped easily into the goggles pocket of the Dragoon coat and Edward grinned, thankful that whoever at Imperial quartermasters office had seen fit to issue surplus ski jackets as the standard issue wear of the Dragoons. Smart thinking and he would endeavour to find out if that man was still alive and give him a very large basket of tangerines. Or a big bag of weed, depending on his preference.
The Elias part of him twinged at the reminder of weed, a stupid rush of longing and euphoria that made the prim and proper Edward side of him roll his eyes. Sometimes it was just difficult being two people, though he had to admit being stoned out of his mind would probably make the fight seem less monotonous. He promised himself that on turn four hundred he would try it whole-baked.
Satisfied that he was ready for the next try, he stepped into the bindings of the board, clipping in and bouncing a couple of times to make sure he was secure. He'd forgotten that a few flips before, resulting in a particularly short and painful round on the rollercoaster time loop. Not something he wanted to repeat, but he was going a little stir crazy with boredom, and it might be fun to take a few flips off to himself.
Gunning the small omni-directional thruster, he shot off of the roof of the Humbolt building, knowing that he would be spotted almost immediately. He'd chosen one of the highest buildings left in Karin City for exactly that reason; he needed Sal-Zÿr to recognize the challenge and to rise to it. And while he always seemed to win their endlessly repeating duel, Edward still wanted the fight to be on his terms.
His terms, his rules.
Sure enough, over towards one of the main geo-thermal plants on the edge of the plateau, Sal-zÿr's lizard-like form scurried around the outside of a smoke stack, gaining height from which to begin his pursuit.
Edward grinned, bending his knees into the board, allowing it to gain momentum as he rushed closer to the edge of the plateau, the Dragoon jacket billowing out behind him. His mind counted down the seconds that it would take Sal-zÿr to be airborne. Edward knew that his time was growing short.
His mind hit the right moment as he cut the forward thrust to virtually non-existent, feeling the rush of air above him as he fell back towards the city, glancing up as the blue underbelly of the Gorean shot past him. Carried on the air currents it went over the edge of the plateau first, soaring outwards towards the forested valley beneath them. Edward spiralling after him, streaking down towards the tree tops as he grabbed the edge of the board to control his spin.
Sal-zÿr was a magnificent beast, easily the largest Gorean Edward had ever seen, making Xanatos appear tiny in comparison. Of course, since His Watchful Eye seemed to prefer the shadows, Edward had never seen him, but he suspected the ancient wyrm was larger still. Right then, though, the only Gorean that mattered was the one pin-wheeling in the air, trying to get a better angle of aerial attack on its prey.
The hoverboard's deep centre beam and full tip and tail profile offered him a better chance at stomping a landing, and he ducked as the board ploughed its way through the tree tops, slamming into the snow as it rose again, the thruster spluttering and burning off the snow that had clogged its intake.
There was a splintering of wood above him as Sal-zÿr careened through the trees, shattering logs and rolling into a crash that sent him sprawling. It was enough of a mistake to allow Edward to swoop about, extending his arms as he ducked under pine branches, curving up as the Gorean's massive head snapped upwards, trying to snap him out of the air. Edward had seen that manoeuvre once too many times before, and used a Kickback to pull himself up and away, gliding down the Gorean's back. His hand fumbled through the pocket to wrench the Cordite charge free, throwing it with his full force down onto the Gorean's back.
He hadn't expected Sal-zÿr's agility, especially when snarled by trees. The Gorean rolled like a desperate snake, coiling its body and flipping about as his claws knocked the shaped charge aside, causing it to explode up and away from his body.
The shockwave caught Edward by surprise, and splinters of wood from the trees turned to shrapnel, shredding through his board and wedging into his thruster. The board heaved beneath his feet and came apart, throwing him into the branches, crashing broken and battered into the snow. Gasping, he hauled himself upright, rolling over as the Gorean struggled, equally as bloodied and battered, to pin him down.
Edward staggered to his feet, tearing the hat from his head, "Hurts, doesn't it you son-of-a-bitch!" he screamed above the wind and the heavy breathing from the other injured combatant.
"You haven't won yet, God of Man," Sal-zÿr hissed, hauling himself forward, cradling the burnt and blackened stump of his other arm closer to him, "I am still dangerous."
"Yeah," Edward smiled, "but I'm learning how to beat you." he coughed up blood, groaning as he sank to his knees, "And I am going to kill you."
Sal-zÿr grinned his massive maw gaping open. "Not this time!"
"No," Edward murmured looking up defiantly, his blonde hair damp as the snow settled on his brow, "but it will begin again..."
THE MIDDLE