Pausing his memories, the child briefly turned to look up at Fionnlagh and Kerian. As he did so a seemingly obvious question dawned on him.
"Wait, can they see any of this?"
Even if they could see what was happening, it wouldn't be much of a problem. In fact, it might even benefit Finnian, giving him a new way to communicate with them. Letting them witness his past self would help them understand who he was and where he came from.
However, this would not be.
"What the hell!"
As the child looked closer, he realized something. Not only were they not able to see, but it seemed like they couldn't move either.
The entire time Finnian had been watching them, neither the old man nor the young boy had blinked. Their eyes remained fixed, not on the child himself, but on the exact spot where he had been when he first looked up to witness The Upsidedown's descent.
They were frozen.
"No way! So I can freeze time and eat time... Now I get it, I'm the time baby. I can just imagine it now, lines of well-thighed women lining up, 'Oh please Mr. time baby, sign my quad,' and I'll just be there like 'Ladies, ladies, one at a time, don't worry I have... time for all of you,' and then they would all swoon at my puns and...
"I'm getting distracted."
Now done fantasizing, the child fast-forwarded through his older self sleeping. However, as he did so, he realized that he had more power over the situation than he originally presumed.
Since he was able to hear his older self's thoughts, even as he was fast-forwarding, he realized that he would be able to effectively skip to the most important parts.
He couldn't simply wait until he heard the word that got him into this mess, however, as listening to the sped-up version of his internal monologue was no different from listening to someone speak at fifty times their original talking speed. So what he would have to do instead was listen to the cadence and rhythm of his mental exposition, slowing down the memory when something eventful happened.
This strategy was surprisingly successful and brought Finnian some weeks into his past self's future.
Somewhere along the line, my MegaMech design became something of an icon. Bottom-Heavies was the name that caught on. The unorthodox design of my MegaMech was likely what drew soo many people to it. The player base had been captivated by the absurdity of it, by the way I piloted it as if it were the most commonplace thing in the world.
But above all people saw my MegaMech as an answer to one specific player. A counter, an opposing force to the reigning champion: Farlig.
If I was bottom-heavy, then Farlig's MM was the exact opposite, not sporting any legs, but rather an assortment of distinct arm based Zords. His entire build was a monstrous assembly of these limbs, huge mechanical appendages sprouting from every section of the core, each one specialized for different forms of combat. His mech didn't walk, no, it hovered, an ominous presence above the battlefield, always shifting, always reaching, always grabbing. A grotesque display of mechanical superiority that had dominated every opponent who had dared to challenge him.
And I was going to be his next opponent.
As we loaded in the usual state announcement appeared before me.
Map: the Dune Grave
The battlefield spread out in front of me like a vast, unending wasteland. As the wind howled eerily across the landscape, the undulating dunes shaped and reshaped themselves in real time. The environment was dynamic and ever-changing. There were neither obstacles nor cover, just an unending expanse of golden sand. At times, twisted metal sprang out of the sand like the bones of some old war, and sunken wreckages from previous battles protruded like buried skeletons.
It was an endurance test. Anything that attempted to land on the delicate, silky sand moved under its weight. Either adapt or drown.
However this was just the kind of map that I liked the best.
My two massive reinforced legs made it so that I had a uniquely solid footing on the ever moving land. However, it seemed that my opponent was equally prepared for such an environment, as his flotation mechanism made it so that it would never have to engage with the sandy terrain beneath him.
My advantage neutralised, this would seem to be a fair fight.
My MegaMech spawned in first, a towering, ironclad beast. The moment my feet touched down, a shockwave rippled outward, displacing the sand beneath me. My MM, the so-called Bottom-Heavy design, braced itself instantly. No imbalance. No hesitation. Each of my massive leg-Zords adjusted instantly to the shifting terrain, pushing down into the dunes to form a stable stance.
This was my territory.
And then he appeared.
Silently hovering over the desert, untouched by the sand, his MegaMech was a tornado of activity.
Arms.
So many arms.
Each of the thirty appendages—some big, others small—moved independently. Some sported long and whip-like appendages for mid range combat, others were designed to strike from absurd distances, and others still, were made purely for speed, constantly whipping round in a frenzy, almost invisible waiting for a unsuspecting Zord to be caught in the onslaught.
And that was just to name a few of the manifold instruments of destruction that populated the behemoth.
No matter the result, this was going to be a battle for the ages.
He moved strangely. The arms were used for both attack and movement. With the arms extending and pulling him through the air, he glided with great agility, never touching the ground.
It was going to be like fighting a storm.
HP Display:
My MegaMech (Bottom-Heavy Build) Total HP: 44,000
(Made from approximately 30 different Zords)
Farlig's MegaMech (Multi-Arm Build) Total HP: 45,000
(Made from approximately 30 different Zords)
We weren't just evenly matched.
We were the two most extreme designs in the game. And neither of us had lost a match before.
My screen flickered with a neon assault, the announcer's voice erupted across the battlefield, the sound cutting through the wind like an explosion.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!"
A counter appeared in the corner of my screen.
1,720,000 LIVE VIEWERS.
The chat was going so fast that I couldn't even read it.
This wasn't just a battle. This wasn't just a match.
What it was, was a spectacle.
"TWO UNDEFEATED CHALLENGERS. TWO OPPOSING DESIGNS. BUT ONLY ONE WILL REMAIN ON TOP!"
I held the controllers differently. My heart was thumping. I had fought in a lot of battles before, but this? This wasn't like the others.
The countdown began.
"Three..."
The many arms of Farlig's MegaMech flexed, their appendages expanding and coiling like a beast ready to strike.
"Two..."
I could feel my MM's weight shift as its legs perfectly matched the ground beneath me, ready to move forward at a moments notice.
"One..."
Everything became silent.
"BEGIN!"
The instant the announcer's voice cut off, we both moved.
With my two-legged MegaMech ripping across the shifting sand, I shot forward, leaving deep, cratered footprints behind me. The dunes rippled under my charge, but my weight distribution was perfect, each leg adjusting to keep me steady despite the ever-changing ground.
Farlig, though, had little to contend with in terms of sand.
His mech hovered, its many arms unfurling like the petals of some hideous metallic flower, moving with an unnatural grace. He didn't have to navigate the terrain as I did, he simply glided to his desired destination.
HP Display:
My MegaMech: 44,000
Farlig's MegaMech: 45,000
The moment my sensors locked onto his flying form, I launched my opening attack. My huge legs, composed of reinforced Zords built for high-speed impact, surged forward. With a burst of thruster power, I kicked up sand and launched myself toward the underside of the many-handed mech.
I wasn't aiming for his core, that would be an impossible task. Instead, I targeted the dozens of shifting arms, trying to compromise his manoeuvrability.
From the core Zord of my MegaMech, a massive plasma-edged blade cut through the air in a broad arc.
Then, instantly—
He was gone.
In a blur of motion, he vanished.
He didn't dodge like an ordinary MM. He didn't slink away or strafe. His arms seemed to propel him against the air itself, using wind resistance as if it were a solid surface he could push off from. His limbs pulled him mid-air, dragging his whole body to the side in an unnatural, snakelike motion. Like an abomination made of living cables.
And then, he spoke.
Farlig: "Hahahaha! Hva er dette? En mann som stoler på lår? Patetisk!"
"Holy shit! It's the language, the one that they use here in this world.
"You mean to tell me that this isn't some new world magical language, it's actually one that people used to speak from Earth?
"Then again... I could be thinking of this all wrong, it could be the case that this 'Farlig' person is actually from this new world.
"Hmm... so many questions."
I hardly picked up his words. I said nothing. I wasn't going to reply. I was too occupied with the ensuing battle.
Farlig: "Hvorfor skulle jeg trenge lår? Armer er overlegne i alle aspekter."
His mech whipped forward, armaments snapping like mechanical tendrils. Two enormous fists, as big as cars, shot toward me.
I barely avoided them.
My bottom-heavy build let me turn in a way other MMs couldn't. I twisted just in time. The fists slammed into the sand beside me, splitting dunes and generating a dust tsunami across the battlefield.
HP Display:
My MegaMech: 43,500 (-500)
Farlig's MegaMech: 45,000
A little knock-on effect. Nothing I couldn't recover from.
I answered right away. My back thrusters ignited, pushing me forward at top speed. The sheer pressure crusted the sand beneath me.
I bridged the distance immediately.
THWAM!
A devastating kick to his hovering center. I put my full weight into it.
Reeling back, he flung his arms outward to steady himself. And as he did, I set my next attack into motion.
I was a juggernaut. My blade sliced forward, aimed at his exposed thruster module.
It connected.
HP Display:
My MegaMech: 43,500
Farlig's MegaMech: 43,700 (-1,300)
Finally. A legitimate hit.
The chat erupted once more, Farlig's name flashing amid incomprehensible messages.
Farlig: "Du tror at du kan vinne? Du er en vits. Dette er hvorfor lår aldri vil være overlegne."
From the brief glances I took at the text, he didn't come off as annoyed or salty, and I knew salty when I saw it, irrespective of the language. If anything, he sounded slightly amused.
And then he counterattacked.
A rapid whirl of arms. Not just one or two.
All of them.
An onslaught.
Before I could react, they coiled around my legs like chains. He wasn't dodging anymore. He was constricting.
THUNK.
The first impact shook my MegaMech's entire frame, reverberating from the inside out.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
Strike after strike. Mechanical fists pounded me, hundreds of times, simultaneously.
I tried to move, but my legs were too tightly bound.
HP Display:
My MegaMech: 39,200 (-4,300)
Farlig's MegaMech: 43,700
I was taking too much damage. I had to break free.
I activated my thrusters for an emergency manoeuvre. Deeply entrenched in the dunes, my reinforced legs sent a blast of propulsion downward.
It worked; but at a cost. The force was enough to tear me from his grip.
However, among my leg-Zords, one was ripped clean off.
SYSTEM Message:
LEFT LEG—CRITICAL FAILURE
My stance wavered. My weight distribution was off.
Farlig descended.
He was no longer hovering. Now his tactic had changed to keeping pace with me.
The audience count had shot skyward.
2,000,000 LIVE VIEWERS.
This was it.
He was ending it. Right here. Right now.
A final attack.
He brought down thirty arms simultaneously.
I tried to dodge. I tried to counter. But—
I couldn't.
I moved too slowly.
Like a falling meteor, his arms crashed down.
HP Display:
My MegaMech: 0 (-39,200)
Farlig's MegaMech: 41,300 (-2,400)
DEFEAT.
I sat there, stunned.
The dust settled.
Like a wrecked monument, my MegaMech lay in pieces across the dunes.
Farlig hovered above me, his MM still intact.
The screen flickered.
SYSTEM MESSAGE: MATCH OVER.
The chat exploded. Messages flashed across the screen faster than I could read.
And then, finally—
Farlig: "Forstå nå? Armer er alt."
And then he was gone.