The green man fell to his knees, his energies failing him as the assassin drew closer. The factories slight electric hum was the only sound besides the footfalls of the slayer. Both fighters dived into a new round, but they never reached each other.
A bright green blast of energy ripped through the air, and incinerated the green man in an instant.
SA_Gohan looked at the scene in awe, who had beaten him to the kill? The cookie factory stood silent as death, the hum of electricity like a vague dream sound still echoing throughout the mostly hollow building. Footsteps could be heard in the heart of the factory. He looked for the source of the light, and saw a man in a black leather duster. His skin was green and bumpy, like a cucumber, but that's where the similarities ended with the well known food.
"Such a waste, these sentry programs, all they do is poorly imitate me. Then they loose. But at least they have let someone worthy to fight me pass."
SA could see that things were different now; this was definitely an admin, precisely what he was looking for. His code was red, angry and complex. Now he would have to be careful. "Your guards were useless, you are useless. Just give up and I'll make it quick."
"Give up? Dear man, I assure you that I will be more than you can handle . . . no matter what you have bumped into in the recesses of the matrix."
SA looked in astonishment, how could he know?
"Surprised? Do you think I wouldn't have installed some kind of spyware to let me know when you escaped . . . "
SA_Gohan, spurred on by the ancient sentinel program within him, charged at the ancient horror. Cucumba swept his duster aside, now would be the time to test the sentinel's power. If it was truly a force to be reckoned with, it would now demonstrate that power. The challenger unleashed a flying side kick, tearing through the air so quickly that the dust collected during the previous fight with the sentry flew from the folds of his clothes. Cucumba waited patiently, though not long, for the blow to land. The administrator twisted his torso, grabbing the incoming leg and twisting with all his might to the ground as he slammed his elbow into the side of SA's leg. Gohan spun his leg to minimize the impact, and twisted with the vicious leg drag. Both competitors rolled up to a standing position. Cucumba smiled as the sentry program snarled.
"Careful, power is not always paramount to skill. Sadly for you, I excel at both."
Cucumba struck first, launching a standing, jumping front kick, easily blocked by the talented sentry hybrid. The challenger launched one of his own, deftly blocked by the green machine. SA launched a second attack; a spinning hook kick. Cucumba dodged out of it's way, reusing the momentum of the dodge to launch his own spinning hook. The green devil saw an incoming punch, nearly too late to effectively defend against. The mighty admin blocked with a knife hand strike, moving the blow to the inside while stepping aside. The jade behemoth quickly brought his other hand to bear, grabbing SA's wrist. The spam bane used the first hand to create a lever at the elbow, and stepped in while folding the arm. Gohan's back arced in an attempt to escape the lock's pressure. Cucumba smiled and was about to strike when Gohan backflipped out of the lock, launching a nasty moonsault kick in the process.
The code began to race in brilliant golds and crimsons, clashing like autumn leaves in the wind as the two daemons faught for control over the enviroment.
Cucumba leaned back, moving his head out of the strike area, and tried to drop kick SA in his back, but the crafty sentinel blocked and pushed the admin back before he had even come vertical. Cuc charged in again, firing off a hopping roundhouse kick. Gohan once again blocked, and tried to push the admin off balance, but the administrator used the push to fuel a spinning wheel kick. SA spun rapidly, trapping and dragging the adminsitrator's leg. Cucumba was hurled over SA's shoulder, his face heading rapidly to the concrete below, but the admin got his hands out in time to stop the forward momentum. He moved quick, knowing that SA would make the best of this situation. The admin wrapped his free leg around the rouge sentry's head, squeezing as best he could. Unfortunately for Cucumba, SA twirled his legs around and followed suit. They both let go of their holds and sprang to their feet. Both fighters were becoming irritated, and dusted the flour off of their clothes.
SA charged in again, focusing on the combat at hand. He was a machine at heart, and he wouldn't allow human emotions to get in his way of victory. Cucumba moved diagonally back to block the first punch, guiding it safely in front of him. SA's back was exposed to Cuc, and he knew that he couldn't keep his health intact from that position. The possessed man spun his back leg out, turning his chest again to meet Cucumba and jockeying for position. The green devil stepped back and to the right, putting him self on SA's side, and launched a low front kick which SA stopped by lifting his own foot to meet it. Cucumba lashed out with a jab, striking SA in the teeth. SA recoiled; it was unbelievable how much power was jammed in such a short strike. The jade behemoth lunged forward, elbowing SA Gohan in the ribs. The sentry program skidded backwards, leaning low and clutching his abdomen. He looked up, expecting to see the Admin gloating. To his horror, the admin was already mid air, reaching for his head. SA's eyes opened in stark terror, and he desperately scrambled to fall out of reach. Cucumba's side collided with his head, and the admin wrapped his arm around the challenger's neck. The green devil used his momentum to twist SA's body, and pulled with all his weight, ramming SA_G's head into the ground. SA's body stayed upright after the impact, like some laughable spear rammed into the ground, but Cucumba did not let go. The Green Machine turned his body, and spun his grip. SA could feel himself turn, so that his back was lying on the cold concrete. Cucumba spun his legs, and carried SA into a standing position. The admin pushed up on the challengerâs stomach, lifting him in the air and suplexing him onto a conveyor belt. The rollers jingled like a cacophony of wind chimes from the impact, but they didn't give. Cucumba smiled as SA clenched his back, fighting for breath.
The admin knew what was necessary to break concentration, rapid blows, with no time for recovery. In the world of the real, SA's ribs cracked from the strain of his abdominal wall spasming.
Cucumba casually walked over to the dough cutters higher up on the conveyor, marveling at the sentry's short-sightedness. He had taken the strengths of a human, but had also inherited their flaw. A physical body that could be broken and destroyed by the power of the mind, this was the weakness inherent in those who the matrix was built for.
He was, after all, only human.
The Jade giant rammed his hand into a cutter, shattering the locking pin on one side, and tore the other end free. The end result was something very much like a dull sword. SA was preparing to get up, to pull himself out of this whirlwind of pain when he saw Cucumba overhead with the cutter. He rolled backwards off of the conveyor, narrowly missing the blow. The ancient horror snarled as the blade rang on one of the steel rollers, illuminated by the sparks. SA was on his feet, and looked at the cutter . . . had that hit him, he would surely have died.
"I think I need to beat you down harder this time. No matter, you see your limitations, it will only be a matter of time until I return you to the source for processing," threatened the administrator.
"I WILL NEVER GO THERE," shouted the sentry program. "I HAVE THINGS TO DO FIRST, LIKE KILLING YOU AND YOUR KIND, AYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" SA pulled out his knives and dived at the admin. He sliced a wide arc, drawing the jade behemoth's attention, and his cutter. Cucumba parried the blow, his muscles budging from the force of the strike. The mighty admin's lips curled into a sneer. SA attacked with the off hand, slicing deep into the leather duster as Cucumba dodged away. The fighters, once again, moved in to engage. The green one swung his cutter like a bat, with force that would split a steel beam. SA jumped over the blow, rolling mid air behind the giant blade. Cucumba swung his weight forward, launching a head butt towards the sentry's head. SA reversed his momentum, bending backwards to avoid a collision with the administrator's head. The spam bane quickly brought his weapon to bear again, bringing his elbow down to meet the opponentâs sternum. SA, pushed the admin's arm to a harmless trajectory, and rolled the minute his back touched the ground. Cucumba's cutter narrowly missed him, cutting a large piece of his white jacket off. SA did as before, rolling away from the blow, only this time using his knife to guide the huge cutter away from him as it crashed into the flour dusted floor once again, sending chunks of concrete and finished floor into the air. SA_Gohan reacted quickly, knowing that this position was not conducive to long life. He shot one leg between the ancient horror's arms, the other around, and twisted with all his might. Cucumba dropped his cutter, and SA reached for the falling weapon. Cuc moved to spring back, but it was too late.
SA_Gohan swung the massive blade into the side of the admin's knee. Cucumba fell to one knee, and SA_Gohan smiled. The administrator knew he was going to lose if this continued, and rolled backwards, dodging the head removing slice by the smallest of margins. SA dropped the bulky weapon, it's moment of opportunity spent, and lunged forward with a knee strike. The blow slammed home in the rising admin's ribs, knocking him prone. Gohan reached down, and yanked the admin to his feet. The admin wobbled, the injury in his knee and ribs making it difficult to stand. The challenger grinned sadistically as he unleashed a low roundhouse to the injured leg, followed by a spinning roundhouse to the admin's head. Cucumba spun through the air, stopped by the lunging side kick which sent the green devil across the floor into the Quality Control lab.
The jade behemoth remained the ground, curled in a ball.
"A lot of talk, that's all you admin's do. You should have said, 'I surrender, kill me now.' It would have been easier, but no, you think you are better than the rest. Somehow that improved that you don't need to acknowledge power you don't understand."
"You assume too much. I am something far worse than you ever imagined, this is just another form of a timeless evil. This fight is not over by a long shot." With that, Cucumba stood, ignoring the pain in his leg and ribs. "Now you will die."
Cucumba reached for his bansaber, but stopped himself. "No . . . I'll drag you back to the source kicking and screaming myself!"
The admin ran in, as did the opponent, both warriors determined to be the only winner. Time itself slowed for the moment, allowing each fighter a moment of absolute peace, unbridled focus, before the deciding blow.
SA chambered a roundhouse, but his knee was pushed aside as the mighty Cucumba dived into his defenses. SA looked on in surprise as Cucumba grabbed him around the neck and assaulted him with a salvo of knee strikes, pummeling his abdomen and chest.
Once again, SA's concentration was leaving him.
The admin's final knee strike unseated both of SA_Gohan's feet from the ground, launching him up in the air. Cucumba let go, and leaned into a flip. The butterfly kick landed on SA's face spinning him through the air. Cucumba had barely touched the floor when he twisted his body and leaped into a one thousand, forty degree spinning hook kick. The impact was enormous, disturbing the flour dust beneath them as the gold and red code collided in a fantastic display of power. SA, who was still air bound, glided into a huge arc, kicking up rooster tails of flower as he flew. The sentry slid to a stop, slamming into the metal conveyor that led to the ovens.
The green devil walked towards the prone program/human hybrid, grabbing the massive cutter along the way. He began to whistle a dirge.
Cucumba dragged the challenger to his feet, and threw him onto the chain conveyor. The admin smiled as he rammed the cutter into the belt, curled it over, and rammed the remaining end into the other side, trapping SA_Gohan to the belt.
"I wonder if you can focus while your mind tells you that your body is on fire."
With that, Cucumba hit the switch, bringing the conveyor and oven to life.