Browser City

Chapter 17: Final Battle (Part 2)

Nekari let out a frustrated growl. Her flared nostrils and the wrinkles on her long nose showed how pissed off she was. "This damned kid! I'll get you sooner or later!"

After that wicked regeneration protocol Zita had witnessed, she suppressed a shriek by swallowing it deep down her throat. 

Her feet pressed harder on her flying skateboard. It sped high into the air, circling Nekari from a safe distance. When Algo growled at their common enemy, she yelled, "Algo! Stay out of it. I'll handle her!"

Well, I think I can. Sort of, she mentally added while biting her lower lip. She stretched and arched her arms just not to lose balance.

Nekari never lost sight of Zita as she started destroying everything around her. Her angry strides echoed in the storage facility while she sliced several thick metal columns. If one of these get in this bitch's way and hits her, she'll fall and I'll get her. If it's not a column, then the ceiling when it crashes. I'm gonna make her pay for defying me, the greatest creation the Hacker ever made!

In the meantime, Zita managed to zigzag her way out of trouble every time Nekari sliced a metal column and debris threatened her safety. Her skateboard swished in the air as she pushed it to make harsh turns every time a falling column would cross her path.

"Is that all you've got, house-brand Bowser?!" Zita exclaimed. She stuck her tongue out to Nekari just to make her furious.

"What did you just call me?!" Nekari replied, showing her teeth and gums.

 Damn! She's too easy to piss off. LOL, Zita thought with childish naughtiness. But she can predict my movements. If I don't find a way to stop her soon, I won't be able to keep this going. If only I...

A few feet away, Shannon had a tough fight of her own.

She dodged blow after blow while she kept spying on Zita from the corner of her eyes every now and then. She's driving Nekari crazy. I knew this kid could do it. I wonder what she's up to with all this circling and corkscrewing around us all the time. Is she trying to get Nekari tired?

"You're not gonna beat me if you keep worrying about the kid's wellbeing," Ajax warned Shannon.

"Worry about your own stuff and shut up," she replied in a defiant tone and furrowed brows.

"You've only attacked me once, right at the beginning, cookie. And it was only to intimidate me. But after that, you've only dodged my attacks. What's the matter?" he asked with a crooked smile. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No, I'm not!" She attacked him twice with Ned's batons, each time grunting loudly. 

Those moves were easy to predict, though. Ajax was able to dodge them without a problem.

"Are you afraid of hurting me, then?"

"You wish!" He does have a point. I'd rather not do this, but it's not like I can choose. It's either him or Browser City. If he was himself, he would understand.

She let out a noiseless, painful sigh, and went for it. She tried to be sneaky about it. She charged forward with the batons when he least expected it and hit his forearms as he shielded his face and chest with a smirk right at the last nanosecond.

"Good one. Now, it's my turn," he replied with a devilish glint in his eyes.

He punched one of her batons hard with a loud grunt.

His strength was admirable. Her right baton broke in two in front of Shannon's flabbergasted face. Her eyes were wide open, just like her mouth. 

Taking a few panicked steps backwards, she stared at the broken baton with incredulity. Damn. What am I supposed to defeat him with?! Should I use Ned's extra gun, the one I just found in storage in the Core? She took a glimpse at the gun strapped to her right thigh with hesitation searing her whole being inside-out. I... I don't want to delete Ajax. I don't think I'm capable of taking a life. Besides, I... I really like him. I...