EoA: Round 3

One, two, one, two, one, two.

Delta was a battle robot.

A tough battle robot.

A tough battle robot currently holding onto the curb of the waterway to keep from sinking as he kicked his feet behind him. This was how he'd seen those small children learning to swim, right? If it had worked for them, then certainly it would work for him, right?

Right?

After all, he was about the size of a small child himself...

Suddenly, a hand reached out in front of him, snapping him out of his thought and surprising him enough that he let go of the curb. Luckily, the hand grabbed him and worked to pull him back up. He quickly grabbed onto the curb himself and got out of the water to save whoever it was some trouble.  “Thank you.”

No reply. He looked up nervously, but saw a smile on the.... the... he sorta looked like a cat? His savior was only a bit taller that he was, humanshaped for the most part, but covered in white and black fur and sporting cat-like ears (or Delta thought cat was the best word, anyway.) A mint green ribbon was tied around his head. His eyes were chocolate brown. His build was that of a fighter.

Upon noticing the last trait, Delta took a step back. “Are... are you my next opponent?” He didn't reply, but his eyes widened and changed to a lighter brown color. Delta assumed a defensive pose. “Thank you for helping me before, but I still have to give this match my all for the sake of a friend of mine.”

The cat's eyes grew lighter again, but instead of also taking a fighting stance, he stood up strait. Delta blinked in confusion until the cat bowed. “...Huh? Oh!” Delta mimicked the bow politely, then both of them went into a fighting stance.

And then there was nothing.

“Oh, er, you may have the first move.”

The cat replied with a head shake and pointed to Delta.

“Oh, it's alright, you may go.”

Shake and point.

“No, I insist.”

Shake and point.

“No, really, it's quite alright.”

Shake and point.

“...Really, you may go.”

Finally, the cat tilted his head sideways and pointed to himself.

“Yes, I'm sure.”

The cat was out of Delta's field of vision like a shot.  “Wha?!” Delta looked around, but didn't spot the cat until it jumped down from the building next to him and kicked him. He skidded a few feet down the walkway. Before he could fully stand, he was punched into the air. He grabbed onto the side of a building roof, scanning the area below for his opponent.

You have got to be kidding me.

The cat had stopped his assault, and was staring down at the side of the building, watching the way the light reflected off the water and danced on the brick.  Hmm.... so if the cat was easily distracted, maybe Delta could shoot fire near him and take the opportunity to close in? He pointed a small distance out of range of the cat with his palm, opened the shaft, and...

...water came pouring out.

Delta would have turned pale if he could have. I'm... I'm still too wet internally from opening up my shafts underwater before...

To make matters worse, the dripping water pulled the cat's focus from the brick wall, and he jumped up to attack again. Delta let go just in time to avoid the kick and ran for it, keeping his shaft open and shaking his right arm frantically and trying to release flames. A click of failure could be heard each time. “Pleaseworkpleaseworkpleasework!” He could hear footsteps moving closer behind him. This kid was fast. He shook his hand faster and the clicking became more frantic. “Comeoncomeoncomeon!” He started shaking both his arms. He looks kinda like a chicken trying to fly at the moment. “Gimmeabreakgimmeabreakgimmeabreak!”

The clicking stopped and a blaze shot out of Delta's right arm right into a brick wall. The force almost threw him off the walkway. He yelped and worked his feet to stay on the pavement. Turning back to the cat, only feet behind him at this point, he fired a few feet away. It worked. His opponent was distracted just long enough for him to land a punch. The cat regained focus and threw a punch as well. Delta blocked it with his arm and stayed close, making the most of the opportunity. Punches and kicks flew from both sides as well as blocks. The cat eventually grabbed Delta's fist.

Oh no, Delta was not letting this match become so one sided again. Taking advantage of his weight, he swung his fist to the left. Delta let out a frantic battlecry as he flung the cat into the brick wall. Delta sighed in relief as his opponent fell to the ground, reaching out to take the necklace.

Delta's hand was grabbed. No...

Delta simply stared in shock as his opponent stood. No way he's still gonna fight after that! What now? Delta didn't want to hurt his opponent anymore. At this point, with how hard he'd been flung, he was surprised the cat could even stand. “You're not going to give up, are you?” The cat nodded, glaring at him, eyes the lightest brown he'd seen so far. Delta returned the glare. “Well, I'm not either, and I have more energy than you. I told you, I'm here for a friend.” He frowned, a bit sadly. “Please, I don't want anybody in this tournament to get too seriously harmed because of me. Just give up now!” He hated how he sounded. He knew he wouldn't give up, and he had no idea what this cat was fighting for to begin with. All the same, the cat's glare softened at his frown.

But only for a moment.

The cat used all the strength he could muster to throw Delta into the air. Shocked, Delta couldn't defend when kicked into the waterway.

The cat waited a moment for Delta to resurface. When nobody jumped back into the pathway, he prepared to dive in for the necklace. He walked up to the curb and looked down to find Delta.

His only reward was a ton of water splashing up and soaking him. The cat shook frantically to get himself dry as he moved back towards the brick wall. A ton of water was splashing up from just below the surface. Upon squinting, the cat saw Delta was the cause. The robot looked like he was barely able to stay afloat, doing something in the category of swimming but with no skill whatsoever. The cat simply watched curious as Delta slowly (incredibly slowly) ,and with a few instances of plunging a foot or so down, Delta made it back to the curb and grabbed it. His eyes were dimmer, a bit short on energy. “If...If you're not giving up..” He looked up, a sad look on his face. “...then I can't either!”

The cat flinched just long enough for Delta to jump back onto the curb and land a kick. His foot was grabbed, but Delta refused to be thrown again, reversing the attempt and once again throwing the cat into the wall. He stared at his opponent falling to the floor until he was sure this time. Yes, the cat was unconscious.

Unconscious and gripping onto his necklace. Delta wasn't surprised at this point, and carefully removed his prize from the cat's grasp. As he did, he made sure the cat was breathing. Yes. Good. He look the necklace and headed out.

Before Delta left, however, he turned back for a moment and bowed to his opponent.