Sigma/Star

Chapter 60: Ice Queen Irina

The Artisan general watched McCormack walking away, slightly confused by the sudden change in events and the bizarre pair of fighters he was up against. The blue tinge around Irina's Goliath, the Jabberwocky, gave out a burst before fading away, turning the raindrops in the air to little crystal tears that hung for a split second before crashing to the ground en masse.

The blue fire continued to burn in Irina's eyes though as ice crawled up the frame of her battlesuit from the ground, crystallizing and hanging off the edges but slowly consuming the lower half of the machine. "Tell me foe," she barked, her voice containing a calm and controlled anger. "What is your name, so that I may record it? I would not wish for your death to be forgotten by history. Let me keep note of it for future generations to read about."

The pilot in his Goliath smirked at what he perceived to be a challenge. "I am Azorus, the Ghost general." The Artisan did a bit of a bow, made awkward by having one arm that was simply a large cannon. "I offer you an equal challenge then if you wish to fight me." Irina slowly nodded, signalling her acceptance of this new trial. "I say that if you were to land a single blow upon me, just one, then I will concede and immediately depart from this battlefield." Azorus raised a single finger for representation.

"One blow?" Irina paused to contemplate the proposal. "You won't be able to leave after one hit." McCormack mouthed the words as Irina said them. He knew her too well after being with her for so long, coupled with his extensive knowledge of action movies.

McCormack turned and rummaged through a pile of items beside his cockpit, personal trinkets he had collected, until he withdrew a small model figure of the Jabberwocky, Irina's Goliath. He kept scrounging until he pulled out another toy, this one of a generic Artisan battlesuit. He then faced the two off against one another in his lap, mimicking the voices of the opponent.

"One hit is all you get!"

"Oh you'll get it alright! Hee-yah!" McCormack smashed the two figures into one another, having them dance around in front of him as he smiled with glee.

"Hah I have overpowered you foolish Artisan lady. Let me now beat you with my lame cannon!"

"Oh no whatever shall I do? All hope is lost!"

"Not so fast!" McCormack rested the Jabberwocky on his knee and pulled down a new model....of his own Goliath. "The amazingly stupendous General McCormack is here to save the fair lady. Take this evil Artisan." The man paused in his re-creation to look around his cockpit. For a moment, it felt like he was being watched by someone who was laughing at him.

On the real battlefield, Irina closed her eyes within her cockpit, focusing mentally on Azorus and his positioning. She could feel his presence nearby, his chi wrapped tightly around his body. It was how she had foreseen the surprise attack he had made on McCormack and it would be how she would strike the Artisan down now.

From beside the Jabberwocky, a thin rod of ice rose up off the ground, forming from the freezing rain in the air. The ends of the rod sharpened, turning it into a javelin that hovered in the air. The weapon shot out at Azorus with lightning speed, whistling through the air as it blew aside the precipitation.

And then it passed straight through the Artisan. The massive icicle harmlessly skidded onto the ground, sliding a little on the quickly freezing grass before coming to a stop. "Control over temperature, over nature, is something quite impressive Enian," Azorus spat. "But it does not matter what you control when you cannot strike me."

"I know what I can and cannot do," Irina stated in a calm manner, her anger suppressed tightly within her core so that she could have clarity in her mind. "By taking your chi and amplifying it through your Goliath, then bringing it back and letting it cling to your body, you can manipulate yourself, turning invisible or even becoming non-existent, if momentarily. But you cannot hit me while I cannot hit you."