Colors Bite Sized Adventures EP3 - Stronger Than Me

Alright, this is it. This is the battle that I’ve been waiting for. Though I don’t really enjoy fighting girls, I challenged Lizzie to a duel, I mean how could I not want to go up against the woman who not only rivalled death, but defeated it in more ways than one? As we stand on the thick white mat, surrounded by a huge green screen dome, with Poppy on standby for post-battle heals, we just look at each other, almost daring each other to make the first move.

“Are you ready? I must warn you, I’ve been practicing.” I say to her, knowing that this might be the strongest foe I’ve faced yet.

“Really now? Can’t wait to see it. I took my ring off, so we can play on even ground.” Lizzie says, smiling to herself as if she knows she can beat me even while handicapping herself... all the more reason to prove her wrong.

“Then let’s not waste time.” I say, preparing my practice baton, as she pulls out her practice airsoft guns.

As I charge towards her, she quickly sidesteps and lands three pellets on the side of my chest, while not as devastating as real bullets, they still pack quite a punch, sending little shocks down my body with each impact. What is happening to me? I am going as fast as I can, swinging as far as I can reach, but she manages to dodge each of my moves, as she can see them ahead of time, all the while pelting me with a cascade of pellets that fall to the floor with small pings.

Putting all of my energy into one more attack, I rush towards her, nothing more important on my mind than to win, and throw the baton at her. To my surprise, she catches it and flings it back at me, hitting me in the face and knocking me on my back, as I realise just how hard this mat really is to land on. Lizzie walks up to me and offers her hand, half-smiling down at me.

“Woah! How was that? You know, I really do owe you guys. This is the first time in my life fighting actually felt fun.” Lizzie says, happier than I’ve ever seen her, and it’s actually weird seeing a genuine smile on that face for once.

“Sparring, not fighting. There’s a difference.” I say, unable to keep my emotions off my sleeve as she helps my pathetic body off the ground.

“Eh, I’d say it classifies as both. I learn new things as I kick some ass. Anyway, gotta get going. I’m meeting the girls out for a few drinks tonight.” Lizzie says, saying that so nonchalantly, that it amazes me that it’s become second nature to her over the past month.

“Poppy, Blanche and Roxy?” I ask, curious to see if they were who she meant.

“Poppy, Brooklyn and Bonnie.” Lizzie says, looking excited as she walks over to the furthest corner of the room to collect her backpack.

“I asked to come along, and she said yes. So, come get your healy time.” Poppy says, though her peppy adorableness only comes off as rubbing salt in my metaphorically open wounds.

Knowing that I need to get rid of these pellet bruises, I reluctantly walk over to her, as she runs her warm hands over me.

“So, what happened out there? I thought you were the combat king.” Poppy says, looking curiously at me.

“I honestly don’t know what happened out there. It’s like my mind was working a million miles per hour, but my body wouldn’t act in kind. And that’s how an undefeated streak bursts into flames.” I say, having lost count of how many sparring sessions, fencing tournaments, and martial art classes I have won in.

“Hmm. Maybe you’re just exhaustion. Get some rest, clear your head and relax for once. Take it from the now fully fledged doctor.” Poppy says, continuing to help me out with her strangely comforting rays of heat and light emanating from her palms, until the huge black bruises on my skin are all gone, and the pain with it.

“Thanks Poppy. I owe you one yet again. Tell me, what do you think I should have done to win that?” I ask, wondering what she thought about it, though I’m not sure what kind of answer she will give me.

“Well, I’m no fighter, far from it, but I think that if you’re having trouble with really anything in the world, you should try to find it’s weakness and make it your strength. In your case, I would also think about adding some range to your moves. You try to stretch it out, but you’re leaving yourself open by doing so. But still, what do I know, eh?” Poppy asks, and though she may act like she wasn’t any help whatsoever, she was actually more help than I initially thought.

“Find her weakness, huh? Thanks again, Poppy.” I say to her as I pick up my own bag and walk out of the training room, as I think about any possible ways I can find all of that out.

Back at home that night, I lay in bed, just pondering to myself in the pitch black about that last fight. I know I was going to be challenged, but I honestly didn’t expect to fail that badly. Am I just losing my touch? I can’t be, I’ve been training nearly every day for the past 10 years. Is she a superhuman, even without that ring? Even everything I can think of as a weakness has a small hole in its logic. What the hell is wrong with me? I can’t get the failure and humiliation out of my head. Suddenly, the door behind me starts to creak open, making an expanding cone of light which shines in my eyes, making me protect them with my hands. I look at the other side of the room and see Blanche, walking towards me, looking worried.

“What are you doing here in the dark? It’s only 9:15. I know you didn’t have much of a life before, but this is pushing it.” Blanche says, speaking softly and sweetly, despite her hurtful choice of words.

“It’s personal.” I say, not really wanting to talk about it, knowing she would never understand the gravity of it like I do.

“Lizzie told me that she whooped you earlier in training. So I’m guessing you’re here because the poor boy had his pride broken. Am I at least getting close?” Blanche asks, sitting on the edge of my bed, trying not to laugh.

“Leave me alone, please.” I say, turning away in embarrassment.

“I knew it! Look, it was just a little set-back. You underestimated your opponent, went in without a plan and paid the price. It happens. Not to me or anyone else I can think of, but it happens. The way I see it, is you can either wallow in self-pity for the rest of your life, or you can find to get over it. I’ll be here if you need to talk, but this girl has a date with that ice cream in the freezer. Don’t wait up.” Blanche says, walking out of the door and closing the door behind her, leaving me in darkness yet again, and yet it doesn’t seem as dark anymore.

Blanche is kind of right, this is no time to be resting. I should be training extra hard. Going back to my training room, I prepare my training dummy, which is just a sack with flour in it, with a little smiley face painted on it to give it a little character. I decide to try out some new ranged attacks, starting with a rubber tether attached to the training sword so that I can throw it and catch it when it bounces back to me. If the space is big enough to accommodate it, I spin it around in a 360 degree circle, picking up some speed and making some good reach... if only I can weaponise the tether a little more.

I lose track of time and manage to train for most of the night before I blink and find myself in a ball on the floor in the morning. As I start to regain my bearings, I hear knocking from the other side of the door.

“Hey Andy? You in there? It’s me, Lizzie. Just wanted to say goodbye for a couple of days. I’ll see you when I get back. Don’t strain yourself too hard in there.” Lizzie says, shouting from just behind the thin door, before I hear her footsteps getting fainter and fainter.

“And I’m off too. Laters.” Poppy shouts just after before running after Lizzie. “Wait up, Liz. I only have tiny legs, remember?”

As the strain of the training session decides to finally kick in all at once, I think that it’s time to give myself a small rest. Wanting to get some food, I walk out of the door, and all the way into the kitchen. Blanche is already there at the table, enjoying her daily bowl of cereal.

“Still obsessing over that loss?” Blanche asks, without even looking up from her bowl, as she speaks with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

“Hey, don’t judge me, okay? Isn’t it healthy to want to achieve greatness and strive to be the best at what you love to do?” I ask, honestly sounding more power-hungry than intended.

“As much as I would love to say no, I suppose I’m guilty of pretty much the same thing, but at least my thing isn’t using up everything I can muster in my body.” Blanche says, after a little pause for a self-reflection.

“Yeah, I know. It was silly, but our parents would have been laughing at my performance back there.” I say, just picturing their laughing faces as they watch me.

“Oh please, don’t say that. Let’s not forget that you were the golden child around here.” Blanche says, looking a little angry, as she finishes the rest of her cereal with some extra gusto.

“They loved you too, you know?” I ask her, knowing that they were looking out for her all the way.

“As much as they loved you?” Blanche asks, leaving me a little speechless, knowing that back when we were children, I was often the one who got the most attention.

“I’m sure of it.” I say, trying to play dumb and vague as I casually walk out of the room.

I return to the training room once more time, just to practice some more, though the training sword actually feels heavier to hold now, still feeling the fatigue of the huge session earlier. Regardless, I continuously slash at the dummy, thinking of ways to counter or dodge her pellets without breaking too much stride, but honestly, my brain comes to a halt there. My sword would likely do the trick, but it’s having the reaction time and the correct angle that bothers me so. I could also add a pistol to my arsenal, but I have always been less than accurate with my aim.

As the days go by, I go about it the same way I always have done, balancing my career as a part-time martial arts instructor, where I will be training kids, and training myself in between. Gradually, I start to feel better about myself again, once again feeling like I can take on anyone. Though, I wouldn’t mind having a rematch with Lizzie just to see if I’ve improved. She comes back in a couple of days, so I will have to ask her when I see her, since it’ll feel awkward doing it over the phone. Going back to the living room, I see Reeve as he puts a strange book down on the table around the sofas.

“Ahh, Master Andrew. Will you be joining us for dinner today? I can’t help but notice that you’ve been spending a lot more time in your training quarters than usual, as of late.” Reeve says, sounding worried.

“Oh yeah, that. I was just going through a bit of self-doubt, is all. What was that?” I ask, looking down at the book, which is completely purple with some goat head stickers scattered around, with the words “read and die!” crudely scratched into the cover.

“We received a call from Miss Carlyle earlier, saying that she forgot her diary. Master Blanchett went over to collect it from her house earlier, as that bird came back with her too.” Reeve says, as something within me clicks... this could be the perfect insight to her weakness that I’ve been looking for all this time.

“Ahh, if that’s the case, aren’t you a little curious to see what it’s in it?” I ask Reeve, as he walks into the kitchen.

“Afraid not, sir. And by all means, you shouldn’t either. Master Blanchett expressed to me quite clearly that Miss Carlyle will be most displeased if someone has read it. No amount of curiosity is worth tempting the scorn of a lady.” Reeve says, as I can tell he has some similar stories of his own in that regard.

I try to walk away too, but hot damn, it is too tempting to not read. Fine, I’ll just take on the previous page and leave it there. I slowly and carefully turn the book on its front and open the back page, lifting it gingerly to not crinkle the paper, and just my luck, the page is empty. I keep flicking back, hoping to find something that will help me in my endeavour, when finally, I find a phrase.

“Entry 3023: Well, I’m finally off to see my friends in another part of the world. I never thought I would ever have friends, let alone distant ones. I really can’t thank 8 of them enough for helping me through that troubling week, and for showing me that there is some goodness still attached to this rotten world. I keep trying to find you, but I don’t know where you rest. My best bet stayed in our hometown of Arcia, but I have checked before, and came up once again dry. I really do miss you. I promise I will continue to fight with my friends until the very end, using the ring that you left for me. I hope I can make you proud yet, mum. Thank you.”

Oh no, what have I done? Now I just feel bad. I remember that she did say she had an abnormally dark past. For that reason, she had a complete reason to get stronger than most. It wasn’t for some fresh coat of pride to wear as a trophy, but because she had to survive. I don’t know why that thought didn’t cross my mind earlier. Before I know it, all of my intentions to continue down this path, it all disappeared in a flash, leaving just a vacant stare and a heavy weight of shame and guilt to bear, like a heavy thundercloud, pressing against my head. There has to be something I can do for her, just to apologise.

Knowing just who to call, I bring out my phone and contact Roxy. It rings 3 times before she finally picks up.

“Hey Andy, just putting the finishing touches on the new creation, so I can’t talk for long. How’s it going?” Roxy asks cheerfully and out of breath, as clatter echoes out from behind her, slightly muffling her voice.

“Roxy, I need your help finding a resting place. Is that something you can do?” I ask, slightly panicking as I know that Lizzie comes back soon, and she’s going to know that I looked at the diary, simply by the oils in my fingers.

“A resting place? Huh, I’ve never thought to try it, but I’ll give it a try for good measure. Pop by in like an hour, and I’ll help you.” Roxy says, as something explodes behind her, following with Nuko screaming in pain. “Oh my word, I gotta go. You-know-who sat on a piece of equipment. Later.”

After a second, she hangs up the phone, leaving me with just a long tone of static. After reading her diary, I honestly don’t know what to do for another hour, losing the appetite to train more for now. After an extremely boring 45 minutes, just looking fruitlessly for some way to occupy myself, I walk out of the door and make my way to Roxy’s place, as the blue sky turns to grey and the sun starts to fall from the sky. Using the co-ordinates that she messaged to me, I was able to find their detached house on the outskirts of the housing estate. There is a lot of smoke coming from the small chimney and bleeding from the front windows, and some small booming sounds can be heard from inside, just very faintly.

Unsure of whether or not they are in danger inside, I rush on anyway, knocking frantically at the door before Roxy opens it, dressed in a white safety suit, designed to rebel radiation. What the hell were they doing in there?

“Ohh yeah. Hey Andy. Has it been an hour already? We were just finishing a small clean-up.” Roxy says, though those sounds and that smoke kind of tell me that it was the most opposite you can get to a clean-up.

I walk inside and see that the place is strangely completely clean. Not a single cushion on the sofa out of place, not a picture slightly tilted, everything just looks spotless. She takes me out of the living room, as we walk into a study room, with beige wallpaper, a bookshelf, a modest desk and lots of pencils and paper scattered around. She pulls a book of the shelf and reveals a small number pad, with a red light on it. She inputs a 7 digit code and the light turns green, making a small handle pop out of the back wall. She opens it up to reveal a white staircase leading downwards.

We both walk down the stairs, as I look around, still a little surprised that this room even exists.

“What do you think? Not too bad, eh?” Roxy asks, admiring the fruits of her labor, like a mother would her newborn child.

“You really did all of this yourself?” I ask, as we climb down the last step, not sure whether to be impressed or worried of how much she can accomplish like this.

“Sure thing. Well, me and the contractors who permitted me an underground extension. Let’s get down to business, shall we?” Roxy asks, opening the next door to let me in.

I go in and see Nuko rocking back and forth in a chair, only on its two hind legs as he puts his legs up on a long table, again covered in blank pieces of paper. The room is huge, with blinding white walls, and a big monitor at the back of the room. The table has 10 chairs around it, all facing the monitor to some extent.

“You know, once I get this room spruced up a bit, I was thinking of making this our official meeting point, if that was okay with you and everyone else. Anyway, you wanted my help finding something about a resting place? Did someone die or something?” Roxy asks, walking to her monitor, switching it all on as she brings out a keyboard and mouse.

“We looking for a body? Cool.” Nuko says, looking up from his slump to deliver his basic comment.

“Kind of. I’m looking for where Lizzie’s mother’s ashes were scattered. I imagine she would have had some kind of memorial placed for her. She was one of Arc’s disciples, or so I’ve heard.” I say, though I can honestly say that I’m just running on pure assumption at the moment.

“Let’s have a look. Camille Carlyle, news stories. We have a hit. Oh wow.” Roxy says, typing away on her keyboard before stopping in shock.

I walk over to look as well, reading from a news article from the day she died. The article ends with exactly where her ashes were scattered.

“There? Okay then. Thank you so much, Roxy.” I say, patting her on the head.

The next day, after Lizzie returns and gets settled in, I take her to the elevator of Watcher Central, going all the way back down to the ground. She looks confused, as I haven’t yet told her where she is going, and why.

“I’m sorry, I really must ask, where are we going?” Lizzie asks, as she turns to face me, looking kind of excited but still confused.

“You’ll see in due time.” I say, not wanting to spoil anything, and not wanting to open the floodgates for more questions to follow.

Once we touch ground, we walk around the entrance to Watcher Central, coming to a big batch of rose bushes. At the very back end of the Watcher Central elevator, there is a small golden plaque positioned at eye-level, true to the article’s words, though the whole thing has grown rusty and washed out over the years.

“Why are we back here? What is this thing?” Lizzie asks, pointing to the plaque in a straight-forward manner.

“Go ahead, read it.” I say, watching her for her reaction as she walks over to read it.

Her face goes from a pensive squint to a look of sheer surprise, gasping heavily. She looks back at me, trying to fight back tears.

“Is- is this what I think it is?” Lizzie asks, struggling to get her words out without letting the tears fall.

“I felt bad about everything, so Roxy and I found it out for you. Her life was here in spirit, and she wanted to build a new life for you all over here as soon as she could.” I say, just relaying the phrase that I read from the article.

“Oh thank you, thank you. That took a several year long weight off my shoulders. If I can just have a moment.” Lizzie says, pulling off her backpack and feeling around inside.

I take her request and take a few steps back. She pulls her diary out of the bag, digs up a bit of the dirt, puts the diary inside and pushes the dirt on top of it.

“Mother, it’s me. It’s Lizzie. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been looking for you. Turns out you were right under my nose this whole time. I just wanted to tell you that the words in the diary are indeed true. I do miss you so much, and I really wish I could have got to know you more, now that I am old enough to really understand the gravity of your words. When I have finished everything I have to do, I hope that one day, we can be together again, when my time arrives. Until then, you keep watching, because I’m going to save this world with the powers you left me. I love you, Mother.” Lizzie says, smiling throughout her little speech.

As I listen in, I can’t help but smile and feel good for putting a good spin on a bad situation. I hope that this has helped put her mind in a better place, because for now, mine does, like the thundercloud has thinned away and disappeared.

The next day, Lizzie, Lyle and I decide to go back to the training area, at my request, as we prepare ourselves for another action packed bout, though I’m sure I’ll stand more of a chance this time. Poppy is on standby, just in case.

“You got this, Lizzie baby.” Lyle says, cheering her on from the ceiling.

“Watch and learn, birdy.” Lizzie says, taking off her jacket and pulling out the airsoft guns again.

Suddenly, Brooklyn and Bonnie, those two girls from the other week, appearing from behind her.

“Finally, a chance to see this famous warrior cry in defeat.” Brooklyn says, as Lizzie passes her one of the airsoft guns, while Bonnie sets her arm to become more spongy.

“Wait, what? When did you guys get here?” I ask, genuinely surprised.

“They came here to hang out at my place for a day or two, and when a little birdy told me that someone read my diary, you’d best be aware that heads are going to roll.” Lizzie says, tying her grown hair back into a ponytail.

“What? You knew about that. Lyle, what the hell, man?” I ask, shouting up at that damn bird.

“I spoke no words about it, brother.” Lyle says, calmly as he continues to look at the girls’ side of the room.

“I’m afraid I did. I saw you while I was helping Reeve in the kitchen. But since I don’t want to see you get creamed too hard, I came to help even the tides.” Blanche says, as she grabs her padded yet still weaponised fans.

“Oooh, I wanna join. Let’s make it a 3-on-3 to remember.” Poppy says, taking off her jacket as she grabs padded arrows and puts them in a quiver next to the bow she puts on her back.

As we all begin clashing our weapons, I can’t help but look around the battlefield and notice that Poppy has no trouble taking care of both Lizzie and Brooklyn with their airsoft guns, while Blanche and I stand more of a chance against Bonnie, whereas Poppy would find it bothersome. I guess we all have our weaknesses, but the best warrior has a companion who can cover that weakness. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, I’ll be happy just knowing that when this evil entity comes to take over this world in the end, it will stand no chance against the joint efforts of The Colors!