The moment the two took a step, FigureMan activated his ability; Chronicle Scan. His eyes and ears tapped into a specially designed hard-drive built into his brain, allowing him to receive every single iota of information this duel could glean.
General would want a full report, after all.
Despite their mutual hate, Pastoral and Hymn began the battle barehanded. The two combat masters cleared the floor quickly, closing the distance; being the faster of the two, PulseMan moved further than SaintMan.
The two met, both swinging their fists. The collision shook the room, and would have taken most humans aback. Neither managed to land a blow, but both reengaged, standing toe to toe. Pastoral, keeping his speed advantage, danced on his feet, circling Hymn and controlling the movement and flow of the engagement. Pastoral threw simple boxing combinations, as Hymn guarded with his hands first, then his shield. One of Pastoral's punches just grazed Hymn's cheek.
Hymn COULDN'T allow Pastoral to draw first blood in this skirmish. He stepped in, thrusting his head forward. Pastoral blocked the headbutt, but the blow wasn't meant to strike, it was to gain distance. Hymn stepped back, and swung his arm around in a chopping motion. Pastoral blocked, and Hymn prepared his buster, his hand transforming before Pastoral's eyes.
Thinking quickly, PulseMan swung his body backwards, and SaintMan's heavy-buster fired, just barely missing PulseMan's nose. Pastoral flipped back, performing a handstand. Hymn stepped in and fired again, aiming for the ground, where Pastoral's hands were. The spry robot popped into the air, avoiding the blast and landing on his feet.
Pastoral prepared his right cannon and fired off a few shots of his own. Hymn blocked without flinching. His armor was built for durability, rather than maneuverability. Busterfire dominated the field, gold and purple bolts of energy whizzing by. Pastoral leapt back, avoiding a shot. Another cratered the ground nearby him, but he evaded it with casual ease. He was no Octave in terms of speed, but his reflexes, footwork, and the his own agility made him a difficult target. SaintMan ground his teeth, charging as he prepared his mace. His right arm bloomed into a heavy, spiked ball, and he lurched forward with a loud war cry.
Hymn's mace came around, and Pastoral ducked under the blow. He stayed low, thrusting his boot, sweeping one of Hymn's legs. He rolled as Hymn brought down his mace, and he aimed his right cannon. Pastoral fired the single shot, striking Hymn on the cheek. "
Gyah!!!" SaintMan's face turned towards his opponent. As the smoke and sparks cleared, Pastoral could see Hymn's face regenerating.
For a moment, Pastoral was transfixed by the image. He looked almost exactly like Skull.
Hymn brought his shield-bearing fist around, and smashed Pastoral with an immensely powerful blow. Pastoral blocked just in time, but the blow made his left arm go almost completely numb, and sent him flying. For several meters, Pastoral sailed backwards, before he managed to catch himself, his foot clipping the ground. He rolled, then put his boots to the ground, skidding to a halt just in front of one of the room's pillars.
SaintMan was immediately on his tail. PulseMan ducked as Hymn brought his mace around, smashing the pillar behind Pastoral. The speedy, brown robot spun to his feet, swinging his boot around. Pastoral's left foot smashed Hymn on the side of the head, who stumbled backwards. PulseMan rolled over his back, and popped up, kicking Hymn with both boots this time.
"CURSE YOU!
MOURNING STAR BARRAGE!!!"
Hymn's mace detached, linked to his arm by a steel chain. Flailing his arm, the ball rocketed towards Pastoral, who stood his ground. The ball struck Pastoral on the side, eliciting a bark of pain. Hymn brought it around again, and though Pastoral's body was fast, Hymn's strike was faster. Pastoral was caught on the waist, and smashed through a pillar, rolling to his feet. "My condolences, Pastoral. It looks like the bell tolls." Hymn released a quick, superior laugh, but his smile faltered when the dust cleared.
Pastoral, lying down after the blow, immediately popped to his feet. He wiped his visor, smirking. "Honestly? Monday built me to last, creep."
"Glutton for punishment, eh?!
I'll show you your place!!!"
"My place is right here! Same as yours! And my fist's place is about to be
on your jaw!"
Hymn brought his chain around, the ball approaching Pastoral. However, Pastoral stepped in, grasping the chain and letting the ball swing around a new axis. To Hymn's surprise, the ball struck Hymn in the face, knocking out one of the robot's teeth. Pastoral smirked mischievously. It was a stupid counter-attack, but an effective one. With that, he charged.
SaintMan was off balance, and Pastoral meant to exploit that. Stepping in, PulseMan clenched his fists, but moved fairly fluidly; a strange departure from his typically hardstyle martial arts.
So many Robot Masters learned to fight from General. Pastoral, however, had taken a lesson from Lady Opera. Flowing like water, then crashing down with enough force to turn rocks into pebbles.
Pastoral swung a punch into Hymn's stomach, doubling him over, then thrust up his knee, striking the robot on the forehead. He danced on his feet, throwing blow after blow, each shot serving to both damage Hymn and keep him off balance. Pastoral readied his right cannon, as he swung his boot up in a side kick, smashing Hymn across the cheek.
"
GOLD KNOCK!" Bringing his fist around, Pastoral smashed his buster against Hymn's chest, firing at point blank. A gold flash of energy sent Hymn skidding backwards, his teeth clenched, but he ramained on his feet.
Pastoral checked his buster, and realized that the muzzle was badly scraped. Cosmetic damage, but the cause, for a moment, was unknown. It was as if he'd fired his cannon against an unbreakable surface.
Hymn's body glowed purple, his muscles tensing and expanding, along with his armor. "...Pastoral...Allow me to show you a wall you can
NEVER surpass." Hymn took a single step, his boot cracking the floor. "For all the favoritism you receive, and the support, and the training, this ability mine will crumble your inferior body."
Hymn looked up, a dark gleam in his eye. His armor shined with a violet blue overshield, as he looked at Pastoral in his new form. "This is ability is the
Dark Ages. The ultimate fruit of my crusade against injustice and incompetence. It will be your undoing."
Pastoral, clenching his fists, stared Hymn down for a moment, as Hymn grinned maniacally, the floor crackling beneath his feet.
"...Yeah, Hymn. I've seen it before. We've fought on the same team at least a thousand times, remember? Heck, I saw you use it a year ag-"
Hymn burst towards Pastoral with a vengeance, "DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Pastoral's chest was clotheslined by Hymn's arm. The blow jarred Pastoral, nearly knocking him offline. Hymn grasped the robot's face, punting him upwards. He lifted his mace and smashed Pastoral down, the blow shattering Pastoral's visor.
With the momentum, Pastoral managed to get up, as Hymn thrust his shield-buster towards the dented PulseMan's face. Pastoral caught Hymn's arm, but was forced back. He avoided being shot, and yanked Hymn over his shoulder, smashing SaintMan against the ground. However, Hymn sat up, bashing Pastoral with a headbutt and doubling him back.
Hymn burst forward again, and shoulder checked Pastoral. The blow sent Pastoral jetting backwards like a cannon-ball. The robot only came to a stop when he smashed against a pillar. PulseMan rolled a few feet, before coming to a stop.
Grinning ear to ear, Hymn presumed he'd won with that. However, Pastoral slowly stumbled to his feet, dizzy. "Not gonna lie, that was actually pretty...whoa, man..." Regaining his balance, Pastoral planted his feet, as Hymn approached, glaring, but confident.
"See, Pastoral? You will NEVER achieve S-Rank. General recognized my prowess! He trusted in me, above you!"
"I don't care about S-Rank," Pastoral said. For a moment, there was an implicit cease-fire, as Pastoral and Hymn spoke to each-other on equal footing. "I don't care about being better than you, or the pride of this situation."
Hymn furrowed his brow. "THEN WHY, at every turn, do you subvert and challenge my authority?! Why do you INSIST on your childish threats and games?! Why do you vie for General's attention over me?!"
"Eh. I suppose it's a side effect of not liking you." Pastoral pointed his finger towards Hymn pridefully. "But, you not being
likable isn't a punishable offense. But let me tell you something; I won't let you hurt my brother, and I won't stand by while you give robot masters a bad name by being a dick to everybody."
Pastoral dropped into a runner's stance, preparing to attack. "I won't tell anybody that I beat you here, but YOU'LL KNOW, and maybe that'll teach you some gosh darned humility!!!"
"If you think you can go blow for blow with my
Dark Ages. armor you're sorely mistaken!!! A mere Page could NEVER surpass a KNIGHT!!!"
"King Arthur was a Page, dummy! And he was the best knight EVER!!!"
Pastoral's feet crumpled the concrete beneath them, as his powerful legs kicked up pebbles. He stared at Hymn, who lifted his mace to attack. PulseMan had learned something while fighting Cavatino.
It wasn't enough to pour his brute force into damaging something. He had to use finesse.
Pastoral jerked to the side as Hymn swung, circling around. He threw a punch into Hymn's side, managing to knock the robot back. Pastoral avoided yet another strike, as Hymn swung backhanded. PulseMan vaulted over Hymn's swing and brought his foot down, ax-kicking Hymn on the back of the head. Bellowing with rage, SaintMan charged Pastoral, the two dancing.
Each swing from Hymn's mace struck only air. Using his momentum to spring back and forth, staying out of Hymn's strike zones, Pastoral bolted back in when Hymn was off balance, issuing blow after blow. The fight had shifted from a one-sided battle in Hymn's advantage, to Pastoral battering the robot.
Hymn thrust his mace, and Pastoral sidestepped, jerking forward and thrusting his knee. As Pastoral landed to Hymn's left, the violet knight fired his buster. Pastoral ducked the shot, and sprang back in to issue a roundhouse to the side of Hymn's head. Hymn stumbled, as Pastoral fired a charged shot from his left cannon.
"
Silver Splash!!!" The volley of bolts dented and heated SaintMan's armor, the robot seething with rage as he dropped to one knee. The Dark Ages enhancement wore off, leaving Hymn damaged and weakened.
Still, he stood, and aimed his cannon. "I'll show you a
real charged shot!!!
Royal Thunder!!!" A purple blast of energy sailed towards Pastoral, who had already charged both cannons.
Pastoral could see, in a clash of firepower, he would win.
Hymn held far too much back.
"
PLATINUM STAR!!!"
In a glowing burst of vibrant light, Hymn's charged shot was dispersed into flecks of purple energy, Pastoral's shot piercing through. Hymn, unable to dodge in time, was stricken dead on.
In a testament to Hymn's strength and willpower, he was still standing when the blast struck him.
However, both his arms had been evaporated. He stood, for a moment, unflinching and solemn, like a marble statue. The color on most of his armor had been burnt off, but his face, laconic and sphinxlike, was intact.
Hymn slowly tipped over, landing on his back, as Album appeared in the arena to call the victor.
"The duel's victor is PulseMan. You both fought with all your hearts, and though there is a victor, I would like to reiterate, you are both champions for having fought such a stellar match."
The simulation ended, and Hymn's arms were restored. The room shifted back to its white appearance. Hymn sat up, putting his face in his hands. "...Un...forgivable..." The knight clenched his teeth, unable to accept the result of the duel. It was his worst nightmare, losing to Pastoral.
Losing to a trumped up Support Unit.
Pastoral stepped out of the room, speaking over his shoulder. "If you ever want a rematch, you know where to find me. Here's hoping this somehow gets you to be a better person, but...I'm not counting on it."
The battle, though a private match, streamed live to General, who watched it with keen interest.
"...His program reflex is improving..." General, sitting in a quiet room, interlocked his fingers. "He'd benefit from further sparring with you and Vesper."
Cavatino, standing at General's side, nodded, before raising an eyebrow. "At the same time?"
"Perhaps. Octave progressed faster that way. Unfair matches force the trainee to optimize, rather than simply win." General looked up at Cavatino. "Do you differ in opinion?"
"If I may, sir, it seems that Pastoral learns through experience, rather than training. I will see to it that his evolution as a warrior progresses, but formal combat sparring should remain tertiary to his development."
General nodded. "Of course. A mindful response, Cavatino. You are dismissed."
Cavatino stood to leave the room. "...Sir, would it be improper to spread the word of Hymn's defeat."
"Yes, Cavatino. The defeat in and of itself should serve as a wake-up call to him." General, looked at the far wall of the room, speaking to himself. "A knight, knocked from his horse by a mere page. Hilarious."
Cavatino paused, thinking to himself.
...The hell is a Page, anyway? The winner, by mechanical knockout, is the Implacable PULSEMAN!!!