Close Nemesis

Chapter Thirty-Three: Rotcetorp Versus Oppugnant

LAIVA:

After killing the leaders of Podplanata, I feel as if my purpose has been fulfilled. Now, I am back on Garbatrak, pondering my next move.

"Ih ih good to ee uh, Oppugnant," GFR-Ruff greets for the tenth time this minute.

"Don't mind him, Oppugnant," Garii responds, staring through his one remaining eye that glows a dusty orange.

"No, do mind him!" shouts the loud robot, Dest.

Another robot working at the console sighs. His metallic armour appears to be rusting, and the wires of his orange eyes are showing. Only a spot of silver from his original plating remains.

"Oppugnant, there's a ship coming to pick up our fuel today. Then, we can continue working through the trash!"

"Okay, you old bot!" I exclaim with a soft chuckle.

The voice changer inside my cylindrical helmet deepens my voice to anyone outside my suit so that my true voice can be obscured.

As a civilian, I'd heard a lot of theories regarding my true identity. Most assume Oppugnant to be a man, and this gives me confidence that Rotcetorp thinks that I am a man as well.

I don't want him to know my identity.

He can't.

It would destroy him.

I am ninety percent sure I know who Rotcetorp is. I don't want to acknowledge their name, as it's too painful for me to do so. But, during my battles with him, I can recognize something familiar.

That's part of why I don't want to fight him anymore. That's why I want to leave my mantle of Oppugnant behind. I've accomplished my goals. The future I saw on Knirdova has been altered through my actions of killing the fake Rotcetorp.

Sure, the mystery remains of how Aacis had the same powers as Xa...I mean Rotcetorp. I don't really care though. I just want to go back home.

It's a pity I destroyed it. It's a pit I killed my acquaintance Perryle. We didn't talk much, but it was always nice to see her in the elevator of our apartment. Now, she's dead.

At least Xalir's still alive.

Suddenly, the concrete ground underneath my boot rattles, and at first, I wonder whether this is an earthquake.

Then, boom!

The roof collapses, causing rubbish to collapse into the control room. I blast another hole through the roof, before elevating myself through it.

Rotcetorp hovers above me, the back of his shadowy armour reflecting the light from the 'sun' of Garbatrak.

"Rotcetorp, listen to me! Why are you fighting me? Is this because I killed someone close to you? Just tell me!"

Rotcetorp slowly rotates towards me, and I glare into his glowing burgundy eyes as static. A person is in this suit. A living breathing person. And this person could be the man I love.

"You killed so many!" he whispers. "You think your actions prevented the civil war, Oppugnant? It only ensured it! And it's all your fault!"

"I only wanted to save lives!"

"By ki-ill-ing them?! snarls Rotcetorp. "You are a monster, Oppugnant! I shall save the galaxy!"

Rotcetorp points his closed fists towards me, before unclenching them to spurt the burning tendrils of angry red fire towards me.

I create an energy shield in front of me, blocking Rotcetorp's flames. Then, these flames break through, and I panic, breathing heavily.

My panic materializes as a powerful burst of lava that erupts from a newly formed crack in the ground. Rotcetorp spins out of the way before he can be hit, and, then I fire a plasma blast towards him. He lands a few metres away from me, and as I float down towards him, he propels water towards me. As I am drenched in freezing water, my suit begins to freeze. But I quickly melt the water away with my powers.

"You fool!" I scowl. "Why are you doing this? I know I've killed innocents, but you do much worse in the future!"

Rotcetorp says nothing as he leans up. His chest armour is becoming lightly scorched, and I quietly decide not to shoot him with any more plasma blasts.

I just need to talk with him.

Unfortunately, he doesn't let me. Instead, he materializes a rocky stalagmite out of thin air, before wrapping it in a blanket of fire. He throws the flaming rock dart towards me, but I attempt to dematerialize the rock with my own rock powers. Instead, the rock teleports way in a flash of blue light.

"TeleVisore, it's you, isn't it?" interrogates Rotcetorp coldly as he stands himself up of the trash littered surface of Garbatrak.

"I have mimicry powers, you idiot!" I retort angrily. "Isn't that obvious? I must've mimicked your powers before I first encountered you!"

"You faced him, then?" Rotcetorp remarks in a cold, animalistic voice.

"Yes!" I exclaim, rolling my eyes behind my visor. "I'm calling for a truce! I couldn't even beat him! But we could return to our normal lives. I have no quarrel with you anymore!"

Rotcetorp remain still.

"You destroyed my normal life, Oppugnant!" Rotcetorp snarls dryly. "For that, I shall execute you!"

My heart beats faster as I hear those words. I'm now certain I am right about Rotcetorp's true identity. It has to be him. It has to be...

"I just want a normal life," I beg tearfully. "I just want to go home!"

"You should've thought about that before you killed my friends, Oppugnant!"

A cage of electricity crackles around Rotcetorp, and the gold lines that decorate his suit reflect the blue lightning that he projects towards me. I draw on my own lightning powers, allowing it to envelope around my suit as Rotcetorp's lightning bolt strikes it.

I absorb the energy from the lightning bolt, and I allow it to charge up. The crackling blue lightning energy rings my suit like a glowing aura, and as this aura expands, it emits tremendous electrical force that knocks us both to the ground.

Then, the dark realm of unconsciousness devours us.