Ceres Chaos [Exosuit Progression]

Maddy stood in the middle of a pool of flickering flames, his armour plates carved by the multiple small welding lasers of the destroyed dragonfly swarm.

He spat blood onto a pile of damaged drones, checking the state of his exosuit. His mobility was at a minimum, forcing him to choose between running and shooting.

He knew Ceres was out of tricks and waited in the cross junction as the borders of the playing field started to shrink. But he knew his plan was disrupted too, with the additional arms and back weapons destroyed!

“Don’t make this longer than it has to be, Ceres! Come out!” Maddy bellowed in his exosuit’s barely functioning speaker, the crackles echoing through the buildings but with no reply.

There were only five minutes left in the duel, and Maddy held the centre of the shrinking field. He no longer cared about dishing out maximum damage or being efficient, it was now purely about killing Ceres.

Finally, Ceres showed up in front of Maddy, standing at the entrance to one of the buildings under its archway to the lobby.

Ceres had already dismantled the one-time thruster pack, as well as any armour plates that had cracked or disintegrated during the impact. His exosuit looked even more barebones than before, only having the minimum required to move while retaining metal gloves on his hands.

His dirty white hair and amber-yellow eyes seemed to taunt Maddy, causing anger to rise within Maddy.

“Finally decided to stop running hmm? Let’s see if you got any tricks left!” Maddy immediately aimed his energy rifle and shot at Ceres.

Ceres was now a lightweight brawler, dodging the shots by performing erratic movements, throwing off the aim of Maddy who did not have any targeting systems left. But with an energy rifle firing at him, just a single shot would be catastrophic.

Ceres took cover behind a pillar as Maddy blasted away at it, his energy rifle set to penetration mode and chipping away at the pillar.

As the pillar became thinner with more chunks being vaporized away, Ceres had no choice but to dodge to another pillar.

“STOP RUNNING!” Maddy screamed as he continued firing wantonly, cutting all mobility systems and his point-defence system to direct all energy to the rifle, boosting its power.

What he didn’t notice was that Ceres too was using his fists to hit the pillars, weakening them too. “What? You’re trying to destroy your own cover! Are you mad?”

This repeated a few times, with Ceres moving to multiple pillars and Maddy desperately trying to flank him. The pillars started to weaken, the concrete creaking with small fine hair cracks appearing on the surface as it was chipped away by the energy shots and punches.

After a good minute, he finally realized that Ceres intended to demolish the building, making it collapse on him. Instead of being frightened, Maddy simply grinned to himself.

“Hah you idiot, my exosuit can survive the building collapse, but can yours do the same?” Maddy was right!

Most of his armour plates were still fairly intact apart from his back, and as long as his front was well protected, he could easily survive the building collapse!

However just as he said it, Ceres finally punched through the pillar, causing the building to rumble.

Maddy immediately stopped firing and swapped the power to his legs, forcing them to move no matter how fast he was. The building would take a while to collapse, and he was sure he could make it out in time. Even though he was confident he could survive the collapse of the building, he would not come out unscathed.

But when Maddy turned to run, he caught a glimpse of Ceres in the corner of his eye. Ceres was rushing towards him, his right metal gauntlet fist drawn back to punch Maddy. “Where do you think you’re going?” Ceres smirked, throwing a right hook.

Maddy swivelled to block with his energy rifle, but Ceres already had his left fist ready to follow up.

The metal gauntlet hit Maddy’s left shoulder with impunity, caving in the armour plate and smashing the left arm main motors’ connection to the main suit. Ceres followed with a rapid set of punches, causing dents to appear all over the frontal armour of Maddy and breaking the printed circuit boards hidden under the surface.

The loss of the main motors significantly reduced Maddy’s arm mobility, but he still had a backup motor. Maddy tried desperately to parry the hits with his energy rifle and arms, his secondary motor running at full power to lift the left arm.

He focused on protecting his right arm, but he soon realized that Ceres was trying to stall his escape from the collapsing building.

“Are you fucking crazy? You’re not going to survive this, but I will!” Maddy yelled as he tried to counterattack with a left-arm punch, but Ceres easily deflected it and delivered a straight deep punch into Maddy’s stomach, causing Maddy to gag.

“Are you sure? It looks like you’re not going to survive this either!” Ceres grinned, punching hard enough to crack the armour plates of Maddy’s exosuit. Maddy’s eyes widened as he realized his cracked armour now would never be able to withstand the sheer amount of collapsing rubble.

“I’M NOT GOING TO FALL TO YOU – NEVER!!” Maddy screamed as he saw the building start to wobble, collapsing from the very top. He had never lost a fight before nor been in extreme danger like he was in right now.

His brain ran at full speed, calculating his options. Maddy eventually decided it wasn’t worth it to die with Ceres – he couldn’t count on the personal shield kicking in and protecting him. “If you want to die alone, be my guest!” Maddy began to command his exosuit to detach and allow him to escape.

Ceres smiled, with Maddy too focused on trying to detach from the exosuit to escape. Ceres quickly took the opportunity to flank Maddy and punch the spine of the exosuit, disabling the main command sequence.

The exosuit now couldn’t be opened properly in the normal fashion, his leg plates melted in the previous fire and fused together, while the back was crushed completely and the spine damaged by Ceres. “ARGHHH!” Maddy roared as he struggled to break free.

The armour purge system wasn’t working either, and he suffered knock after a knock from Ceres. However, Ceres was unable to completely stall Maddy from escaping, the fight soon shifting back out of the lobby into the open street.

As the two of them fled further and further from the building, Ceres stuck close to Maddy. Ceres continued pummeling, while Maddy finally decided to fight back instead of escaping.

The energy rifle wasn’t working out, so Maddy ditched it in a heartbeat. For a while, Maddy was successfully parrying the hits with his two arms as they exchanged punches. “Don’t look down on me – I’m a Seras, you filthy orphan!”

However, Maddy suddenly sensed some abnormal strength emerging from Ceres – Ceres’s punches were getting heavier and heavier, while also getting faster and beyond his capability to parry.

Maddy’s eyes tried to track Ceres’s movements, but the force and speed far outstripped whatever he had fought against.

“This isn’t possible, only Chad can do such a thing to me!” Flashbacks of his training sessions with Chad came into mind, the same fear suddenly being inflicted on him. Maddy instinctively falter, and he began to make more and more mistakes.

It’s like a beast had awakened within the brawler exosuit in front of him, with a completely different source of power. The amber-yellow eyes of Ceres began to invoke horror within Maddy. The hits came in harder and harder, and soon Maddy was permanently on the losing end, having no way to fight back.

He suddenly recalled the way he mutilated the other participants, realizing deep down that he was about to end up in the same way. Only when faced with his imminent loss did he truly realize how others felt.

“No! Don…urk… Don’t do this! I was wrong!” Maddy tried to apologize, but a single punch knocked him back even harder, causing him to fall onto the floor, unable to avoid the punches as Maddy cowered, the blood splattering everywhere.

“Did you stop when your other victims asked? Did you?” Ceres snarled as he continued punching, his fist bloodied and knuckles raw from the broken and torn skin of Maddy who rolled up into a defensive curl.

The repetitive punches from Ceres were starting to make him unconscious, while Maddy had lost track of where he was even getting punched.

“I’ve learnt my lesson! Stop! I surrender!” Maddy mumbled through his blood-filled mouth trying to protect himself, but he could barely move his two main arms as they had already been crushed by Ceres’ final punches, dangling on the side.

Maddy tried to escape by crawling on the street, using his one good leg to pedal backwards to push him backwards. “Please, I’m sorry!” Maddy desperately pleaded to Ceres, his bloodied face and bruised eyes a sorry sight.

He tried to distance himself from Ceres, who finally paused, breathing heavily.

However, Ceres was not affected at all, the black goo pumping harder through his body as it resonated with the fury he had. The only thing repeating in Ceres’s mind was the scene of Maddy mutilating Erik’s hand.

“Oh no, you don’t get to tap out, not this easily.” Ceres gritted his teeth and he began to slowly walk towards the crawling Maddy.

The building finally collapsed into a heap behind Ceres, raising a shockwave of dust and sand that propelled Ceres forward. Running forward, Ceres used the momentum to throw one more punch directly towards Maddy’s already bloodied head, smashing it down into the ground.

“This is for Erik!”

***

“You could’ve accidentally killed him and disqualified yourself!” Cardenia scolded Ceres, who was again kneeling back at the Thorn Chamber. “What were you even thinking!? You put everything at stake here, did you not want to win the competition!?”

It seemed to be a recurring theme despite having fucked Maddy over completely, except this time it wasn’t Instructor X shouting at him.

“I was calculating it, and I knew he wouldn’t die from that.” Ceres was lying through his teeth. At that point in the duel, he wasn’t really thinking logically anymore, fully carried by his emotions.

In fact, the strength he showed in his punches was also abnormal, even for him. His punches should have never been able to dent the heavy armour plates like that, nor was it possible for him to cave in Maddy’s helmet.

“Looks like your stupid ‘power of friendship’ thing worked out again,” Gwen quipped at the side as she sat on a comfy chair, drinking tea.

She had easily won her duel too, making both her and Ceres the semi-finalists. They had achieved the objective of the training camp, giving Cardenia a smile even though she was still ‘angry’ at Ceres.

Cardenia of course did not care if Maddy died or not – it was all about the wager for her.

“So, we’re all waiting now on Leonard’s duel right?” Ceres asked, knowing that something was up seeing as Cardenia was very invested in the three of them winning the semi-finals together.

He knew that he was being used for a larger purpose than what Cardenia had told him, but truth to be told, he was more interested in fighting Chad during the semi-finals, which was a confirmed matchup, seeing as Chad had already won his quarterfinal as well.

“I don’t really want to fight Leonard, ma’am, can I forfeit the competition in the semi-finals?” Gwen asked Cardenia, who stared at her as though she had suggested the most disgusting thing in the world.

It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Leonard would win his duel easily.

Why shouldn’t he? In terms of exosuit repair he was the best among the three of them, even though he decided to use a random exosuit pilot to fight. He was just that good.

“NO WAY! If any of you get disqualified for any reason before the end of the competition, I will hang you myself. My livelihood depends on this, so don’t let me down!”

“And why does it depend on this again?” Ceres got up from his kneeling position, finally sitting down on a chair.

“Because… because… my future education program depends heavily on the results of you three. Having you three proves that my syllabus is correct and will give your juniors better benefits.”

“Right.” Ceres and Gwen both heard enough to know that it wasn’t really the truth, but they would have never thought that Cardenia was doing all of this for a bet that could completely shift the power balance in Athen, and most likely eventually affect their lives.

They watched a livestream of Leonard’s duel which was going on now. Leonard had opted for a random participant to pilot the exosuit for him, and the combat duel looked to be a surefire win for Leonard.

No matter how badly the participant played, his exosuit was just leagues above the enemy. Sometimes even a bad pilot can win over good ones by sheer firepower and parameters!

Cardenia clenched her fist as she stared at the combat duel as though her life depends on it, while both Ceres and Gwen were relaxing, completely confident in their idol’s ability to win.

Leonard was seeded directly into the competition, skipping the qualifiers and group stage, and for good reason too.

However, suddenly Cardenia’s face paled while Ceres and Gwen were just about to start a duel of Glucose Rush with each other. She screamed like never before at the holo-monitor, scaring Ceres and Gwen out of their wits.

They had never seen the owner of the planet so agitated before - usually she was calm and precise in her words.

Ceres glanced at the screen, shocked as well as his eyes darted around, checking the results. “How did Leonard lose?” The stream’s chat was in an uproar as well, as it seemed like a sudden shocking turn of events.

A call came to Cardenia’s multi, and when Cardenia saw the name of the caller she gritted her teeth, her hand almost crushing the multi. Soon, she heaved a large sigh as she calmed herself down, regaining the same authoritative presence as before. “Sorry kids, something urgent just happened and I must take my leave.”

She left the room to the hallway, picking up the call. A low chuckle was heard on the other side of the call.

[Well, Your Honor, I’ll say that this wager is a tie between the both of us, isn’t it? We both have two students each in the semi-finals, so I never really achieved the majority. I know the wager’s original condition for me winning was to have at least two participants in the semi-finals, but I also know you’re not very happy with the result aren’t you.]

“Just say what you want, Oliver.”

[How about we change the wager conditions? Of course, you must concede an additional term if you want to. Otherwise, the wager would be considered won by me in its current state. That’s not something you would want.]

“What’s the terms?”

[Straight to the point as always, your Honor. Not only do I want your endorsement for the university, but I also want seventy percent of your personal budget into it and direct access to the Thorn Chamber for all my future descendants. Take it or leave it. If you leave it… then you can consider the wager lost.]

Cardenia gulped instinctively, but she knew deep down she had no choice. Everyone that was in the ballroom knew she had lost the wager as it is! Oliver was probably stringing her along to try to get more benefits out of her, but Cardenia still held out hope. She was an avid gambler, after all.

“What’s the new wager conditions?”

[How about we put it all on Ceres vs Chad? Seeing as they are the best of both of us. If Chad wins, you know what happens.]

It was a good term. Cardenia didn’t really count on Gwen to win, but Ceres had a certain special factor to him that allowed him to overcome seemingly overwhelming odds. Hasn’t Ceres already shown amazing strength not once, but twice in the competition?

But what made Oliver so confident in Chad? Sure, there might be a massive trap here, but Cardenia had no choice, having to grab onto the bait that Oliver was swinging in front of her, even if she knew it!

Otherwise, she would have had to consider it as losing the wager! This was the only rope out she had.

“Alright, it’s a deal.”

The call ended abruptly, while a dark expression shrouded Cardenia’s face. As she stormed back into the room, she stood directly in front of Ceres, who was completely unsure of what was going on.

“Ceres, I expect you to give it everything you have for this final match. If you don’t win against Chad, you can forget about leaving this planet or even coming back here! The patron contract will be off too!” Cardenia then stomped off, leaving Gwen and Ceres utterly confused.

They never really heard Cardenia threatening them before, and knowing her position as the owner of the planet, they were sure that she could act on that threat.

“Of course, I’m here to win!” Ceres got up, preparing for yet another two days of intensive training!

***

[No one suspected anything. We’re all clear.] Ann Lesion heaved a large sigh as she heard the words on her multi, the caller on the other side being Doctor Wu!

She stood near the door of the hospital ward where Braton and Trissa were, to stay with them. It was currently an off-period for the orphanage and she passed her duties off to another person.

[Expect the next payment instalment to come in two days, after the exosuit duels. Thank you for your cooperation, madam. I look forward to your cooperation next year as well.] It was the first time she was thanked by him, giving her the creeps as the call ended.

She sighed as she entered the hospital ward, seeing Braton and Trissa placed in the same ward. She had requested for them to be together, to make it less lonely for the both of them.

Just at that moment, Erik entered the hospital ward, his hands still loosely wrapped. Trissa’s face brightened up immediately upon seeing him, sitting up straight on the bed. Erik saluted Ann: “Thank you for visiting us, Director!”

She smiled gently as she returned the salute, watching Erik sit next to Trissa’s bed. He too was placed in the same ward but had been going out for regular treatment for his hands.

Ann watched as the four friends talked and joked with each other, smiling as she decided not to intrude any longer in their conversation and left the ward.

She had been extremely worried when she heard Braton and Trissa had all lost their respective quarter-final duels and were the first to rush over and check on their conditions.

Despite complaints of a ringing noise and nerval jack interference, Braton and Trissa were otherwise fine and did not suffer any permanent damage. Their limbs and body were injured as part of the duel, but they were superficial and could be easily fixed in a matter of days.

Knowing that the kids’ livelihood and future were still okay gave her a deep sense of happiness and peace. “What I did was right, it’s the best for everyone. Maybe they will hate me in the future, but this is the best option right now.”