The Return of the Universal Tamer Chapter 7- Battle Is Not For The Faint Hearted.

Kudzai had arrived at a swampy area after sprinting faster than a cheetah on anabolic steroids. The lactic acid slowly began to build up as he exhaled air, breathing in and out. Kudzai could see the blue holographic GPS in front of him as if he were wearing a visor. The digits that represented metres became fewer and fewer as he drew nearer to his target. The sound of bugs, frogs, and mosquitoes gave the place a tropical jungle feel that Kudzai surprisingly loved. Kudzai began to mumble inwardly saying, "Come out you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Kudzai is gonna kill you." This muttering was his way of getting into the mood, a method he found most appropriate since serial killers in crime films always did that. Kudzai went on and on, searching until he heard the loud gong, which signalled the death of the first target. Matthew had made his first kill already! Kudzai glanced at the sky and murmured, "Darn it! He already has a lead..." Suddenly Kudzai was dragged into the pool of the swamp. His leg had been yanked by a hand from below, one, which had a firm grip. His body was submerged into the swamp water as he was being drowned by his enemy. Kudzai began to struggle through the vines and several protruding things in the water, mustering a lot of strength to shake off the hand that grabbed his leg. After some quick thinking, he slammed the leg on a ledge that was within the pool and broke free, but another hand grabbed his leg and this time he was thrown out of the water. Kudzai's body flew out like a missile that was deployed by a submarine. He landed badly on one of the eucalyptus trees, smas.h.i.+ng through it like a wrecking ball, cutting down other trees. It was clear that his opponent was strong, but he had to defeat it quickly or else the difference in points between him and Logan would be too much. Kudzai got a few contusions from the cut and picked himself up. He was covered in dirt and fragments of wood on his body, thinking about where his opponent would appear. Luckily for him, he had not released his lance regardless of being tossed by the unknown figure. Suddenly the pool in which Kudzai had been launched from began to ripple and then the unknown figure made its appearance. It was a tiger man who was the spitting image of a Muscle Magazine poster boy. The tiger man had the head of a tiger and human hair line that complemented its face. It had long reddish hair that spread around its nape and back of its body. Its body structure was that of a body builder with hints of fur conspersed all over its body. The skin of the creature had the same colour as the fur of that of a normal tiger. It was all stripes and had white paw like hands. The claws were sharp and savage as that of a grizzly bear; dangerous and packing a lot of slash power. Kudzai heard it growl: a tumultuous feat that sent all the birds and creatures in the swamp fleeing for their safety. The sheer power of its roar ignited the flames of adrenaline and pa.s.sion within him. It was about that time to dance with the enemy, and Kudzai was surely going to show him his best moves.

Kudzai charged with his spear drawn and leaped towards his enemy. The tiger man did the same and they all struck each other simultaneously. The claws of the tiger man grazed the lance causing it to spark, but the sheer force of the tiger man sent Kudzai falling back, landing in a crouch position. The tiger man then berserked and pursued him, knocking down all the trees and obstacles in its path. Kudzai charged once again, waving his deadly blade at the creature. The tiger man managed to dodge and avoid all his attacks, showing such magnificent agility even though it had a bulky body. It then got a hold of his lance and stripped it away from him. A very hard kick in the gut came in Kudzai's way, throwing him far away to the point he traversed through the entire forest until he landed badly on the sea sh.o.r.e. Kudzai had realised that the tiger men or other species of Animorphs he faced at the barracks were nothing compared to this formidable monster coming his way. Kudzai ignored the pain and roared; a roar that actually made the water behind him ripple and the ground beneath him shake. He was p.i.s.sed off and was now planning on dropping the creature on its a.s.s. He charged this time and noticed that the tiger man was wielding his weapon. Kudzai had usually preferred to fight without ever turning to the use of his powers, but he decided to break that code of honour today. Kudzai flexed his right arm, fixed his fingers into a fist shape, and then outwardly struck the air, facing his adversary with his clenched fist. The air around his fist s.h.i.+fted and rushed out like a powerful wave, striking the creature with devastating violence.

The creature that had sent Kudzai flying before was now getting its fair share of air time. It smashed through a number of trees and let go of Kudzai's lance. Kudzai soon enough had grabbed hold of his weapon and began to run sideways on the remaining trees, not missing a single step like a ninja set out to a.s.sa.s.sinate its intended target. Kudzai increased the pace and caught his target mid-air before its velocity had reached inertia. Kudzai swung his blade and managed to slice off a limb, cutting off the right arm of his enemy. The blood sprayed like a burst pipe and covered Kudzai eyes, unintentionally impairing his vision in that moment. The tiger man noticed this sudden loss of vision and twisted its body to enable itself to kick him. This feat was some form of G.o.d tier level of gymnastics and thus Kudzai was sent flying into the sky by this hard kick that felt as if a crane had just pressed on his flesh. The kick however proved detrimental to the tiger man for it smas.h.i.+ng into a huge eucalyptus tree with its leg stretched out. The impact instantly dislocated its leg, causing its lower leg to bend outwardly to the opposite direction of its thigh. The tiger man screamed out loud, as it throbbed over its gruelling pain. It moaned, murmured, and then suddenly stopped. It gazed at the sky and watched Kudzai who was now plummeting to the ground. Its rage nullified its pain to the point that it regained its strength even though it was covered by its own blood. The lacerations and deep cuts from the smas.h.i.+ng into the trees had not depleted its resolve. It soon enough got a hold of its leg and pulled it back into position. Relocating its leg made it scream even more to the point that tears trickled downwards on its face. The monster then set its eyes on Kudzai who was in free fall and began to run like a speed demon. Its legs thumped on the ground leaving a trail of dust, which soon turned, into a fog in the forest. It got faster and faster and then leapt, jumping more than 20meters into the sky. It came at an angle of 50° degrees and caught him mid-air. Kudzai who had temporarily knocked out had woken up once again after feeling a very tight squeeze on his body. The tiger man had grabbed on to him, and had changed the trajectory and velocity of the fall towards the sea sh.o.r.e. Kudzai had experienced pain before in his life, but this time it wasn't a mere punch or kick, it was something far much worse. A body slam from h.e.l.l.

Matthew on the other side of the island was covered in blood, but not his blood. He was standing in a pool of blood and flesh of that of a sea monster. It looked like a typical Chinese dragon, but what he had left of it was purely mincemeat. Its entrails, skin, gelatinous insides, were all exposed. Matthew had bludgeoned this creature to death and looked like a manic butcher who worked at a gore p.o.r.n factory. The gong soon came when the animal's life had ended. Matthew had no injuries at all; he was still fresh and had zero traces of fatigue. Matthew began to wonder, "Um on to my last kill and he still hasn't killed the first thing. Hmm, I guess Tendai is soft on his youngster." Matthew who had believed that his rival's sibling would amaze him had now lost interest in the child. He then looked at his GPS and began to run voraciously towards his next target. In between pacing like a speed demon, he heard the gong that signalled the end of the first target. Matthew halted for a bit and smiled, "I guess I judge too quickly, hmm, I hope he won't take too long with target number 2." Matthew continued running, even exceeding the speed of that of the tiger man. His target was being approached by a man of great murderous skill with a fetish for violence.

Kudzai was at the bottom of a huge crater, the aftermath of a meteorite in the form of his body and the tiger man's body smas.h.i.+ng into the sea sh.o.r.e. His back was in excruciating pain and he had coughed out blood. His mouth was b.l.o.o.d.y and he had sc.r.a.pes, cuts on his face and ears. The tiger man who was on top of him was dead. Apparently when it had caught him, Kudzai had let go of his lance, accepting the fate below, but as soon he had slammed into the dirt, his lance also came along, landing right at the back of the tiger man. The blade had pierced through the flesh of the tiger man, but due to Kudzai's body armour, it only managed to nick his chest and abdomen. He won based on some lucky technicality and was surprisingly glad that it had turned out this way. Kudzai waited for 2minutes to recuperate his strength and then pushed the body away to the side. The scarlet blood of the creature had flowed heavily onto his body, bathing him in warm blood. This had not disturbed Kudzai at all for he had gotten used to the blood and death that came from the VR battles at an earlier age. By the time he was eleven, he was already desensitized and could kill without hesitation. This was a side of him he vowed to never tell a girl he liked about, due to the fact that no normal girl would date someone who exhibited psychotic angst murderer traits such as his in VR games. Kudzai's GPS tracker, which had been offline during the fight, was now on again. This time the indicator showed that his intended target was much closer than he thought. It was 12meters away. However, the distance between him and the next target was somehow lessening by the second. Kudzai plucked out his lance out of the corpse of the tiger man and crawled out of the crater, which looked like half of a cracked egg sh.e.l.l. Kudzai observed the vast blue ocean before him and realised that his next target was going to come from the ocean. A great bubbling of the great deep blue see began and Kudzai took this chance to speak out loud, "s.h.i.+t is real in this game, darn that b.a.s.t.a.r.d really hurt my back." The pain in his back was immense, but unlike a normal person, the pain for him was no different from a regular tackle at a rugby match. The pangs of pain began to dissipate as his adrenaline was seething inside. He gazed at his opponent, the creature still unseen and then shouted, "No matter what you are I am going to end you!" The water burst upwards, revealing a great beast Kudzai had never encountered before. It was a giant mammoth serpent with two slithering long furred human like hands mounted close to its head. Its tusks and horns were well defined, imposing and deserving the t.i.tle of the 9th wonder of the world. Its whole body was heavily coated in fur and its eyes were of that of a viper. Its rise caused a tsunami wave, which sent loads of water rus.h.i.+ng straight into the forest. At that moment, Kudzai had already launched himself into the sky, gliding downwards, avoiding the giant kaiju as he landed on the water. As one of the perks of being a tamer, Kudzai could run on water. Kudzai began to pace on the ocean, running as if he were on land. The monster turned to face him and then deployed its hands at him. The strikes were like fired bullets, doing their worst on whatever they hit. Kudzai had avoided these meticulously and embraced his excitement. Kudzai broke off his run and leaped towards the monster that saw him as a tiny dot in its field of vision. The hands that were preoccupied with trying to crush him had forgotten about the dust mite heading towards the head that was controlling them, but suddenly, that very head defended itself. The mouth of the mammoth serpent opened its reptilian tract and a violent gush of burning hot liquid came out of its trap. It was a geyser which Kudzai quickly blocked by using his air punch. The water, which was blocked, moved around this air s.h.i.+eld and behaved like water ejected violently towards a spherical object. The air fist and geyser soon dissipated, but at the same time. Kudzai's initial momentum was broken by the clash of elements and his end root became the right horn of the beast. His lance was the first to latch onto the bare flesh where the horn sprouted. The lance cut through the meat until it was lodged tightly like a pole in the ground. The mammoth serpent shrilled in pain, almost causing Kudzai to experience deafness due to the sheer magnitude of its voice. The hands that had once neglected their post were now drawing near him with ferocity. Kudzai was now driven into a dilemma, but his quick wittedness soon came in handy as he played a smooth move. The right arm that was going to splatter his body on the creature's tusks missed him. Kudzai let go in time, falling into the sea below. The right hand instead, smashed into the spear that was left mounted on the root of the giant horn. The impact hammered the lance into the flesh of the mammoth serpent, slicing through the internal organs and coming out the other side. The self-inflicted fatal wound made the beast shrill again, making it tumble sideways. The left arm, which was on the verge of striking Kudzai, was blown away by another of his air fists. Kudzai dropped into the ocean, sinking deep as white bubbles encompa.s.sed him. After a while, he began to swim upwards, but then he heard his spear drop into the water. The adrenaline of battle had heightened his senses, causing him to distinguish all the vibrations in the sea. Not wanting to face the creature without his weapon, he began to swim fast, pacing towards his prized weapon. The fluid movement of his swimming was that of an Olympian gold medallist who broke more records than what was normally sanctioned. As he drew nearer to his weapon, something up above had submerged itself. It was the beast pursuing him to the very depths of the deep blue sea.

Matthew had just finished mutilating his target and his last gong finally occurred. He was standing on top of the roof that was the shelter to a hut, which had kept his target safe until he had invaded it. Matthew heard Kudzai's second gong and then clapped his hands immediately. He uttered with a smirk on his face, "That was even faster than the time it took Neo to defeat it. Remarkable, but can he go through with the last target? Hmm, hopefully he will surprise me." Matthew decided to reach the final site that had Kudzai's last target. He carried his heavy weapon with ease, his chiselled and refined muscles showing on his uniform and flung himself to the sky in pursuit of Kudzai.

Kudzai grabbed a hold of his spear and gazed at the coming obscenity before him. Kudzai who had been struggling with water taming under the guidance of his brother, failing the aspects of fluid control and changing its form had at least mastered one thing. The ability to violently thrust water he was immersed in. Kudzai concentrated on his target and gave it his all. He thus released what looked like a spiral of waves that formed a spear with p.r.o.ngs at the end. The mammoth serpent was blasted out of the sea, pierced by the water's sharp like p.r.o.ngs, and landed on the forest. Its body flattened the trees and smashed most of the land marks into rubble. The water, which had been in the form of a violent spiral and spear, smashed itself into the flesh of the beast and ended up ebbing back into the ocean and also forwards into the recesses of the jungle. Kudzai was done and he was rewarded with the gong, giving him relief that the creature was dead. Kudzai then lifted his body out of the water and fell on his back, treating the surface of the water like a water bed. He then uttered with laughter, "I did it! I finally beat that thing!"

Kudzai's GPS had taken him to his last target: an isolated hut with a chimney. The chimney had smoke coming out of it, which gave the impression that there was either someone cooking or it was just a fire. Kudzai approached the thatched hut and opened it hurriedly. What he found was the definition of the ultimate anti-climax. It was a little cute tiger girl nursing her ill tiger mother near the hearth of the fire. Kudzai who intended to end the game quickly with a hack and slash finally was utterly confused. The creature before him looked so innocent and picturesque. It looked harmless, the definition of a pacifist ent.i.ty. Kudzai who had been brought up to believe that the enemy race only looked vicious and dangerous was completely taken away by the inability to strike. What was wrong with him? It was just a VR game, its not like him killing the little girl and the mother was like actual murder in real life. It was just a game he thought, but no fibre of his being could go through with delivering the final blow. In his immense indecisiveness, the tiger girl took notice of the soaked wet Kudzai and cringed in fear. Her majestic cute and large kitten like eyes began to pour out tears of fear. At that moment, the very thing Kudzai had never expected to hear from an Animorph occurred to him. The little cute tiger girl began to speak.

"Please don't kill us, we won't attack you. I promise you that I won't attack. My mother is sick and I need to keep her safe. Please don't kill us!"

The fangs of emotional investment had deeply rooted themselves in Kudzai. He could not kill this girl. He knew that she was part of the program generated by the game, but didn't desire to end her. He was willing to tarnish his first impression of himself over this girl. In that moment, he realised that he had been naive all his life. Hearing about the war stories from his dad and grandfather had been all figurative to him. The only thing that had been real to him in his life had been the harsh training and fear of his father, but a sudden notion dawned at him at once. The casualties of war really made people ugly and rotten inside. Kudzai dropped his spear and began to walk away. Matthew who had traversed the plains of the jungle to get a hold of Kudzai had been watching behind him. Matthew whose face had been smiling at the idea that Kudzai would get the job done was now grimacing.

"Kudzai you made it this far beating the enemy, don't you dare p.u.s.s.y out just because you saw something you didn't like. Go back and end this now!"
"End this? What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you, why did you code such a match up into the system!?"
"Kudzai, I thought you would understand that in a real war, the enemy comes in different shapes and appearances. That family in there is no exception to the norm. Get it done and end the simulation."
"No, you sick b.a.s.t.a.r.d I am not going to do this! To h.e.l.l with this game, I won't kill them!"
"Then you have failed as a son of the military. You, your brother, and I are the future rulers of the state. We are the heirs to Tameria's sovereignty. Even your brother butchered that family on his first try. If he can do it you can do it."
"Shut up! Just shut up! You don't know Tendai like I do. His not sick and demented. He would never make such a move so shut up!"
"I get it now. Your brother didn't show you his dark side so that he could nurture you into a good boy. Its a commendable trait of his, but he has clearly made you soft."
"You're lying Matthew, you're lying!"
"This might hurt you, but everything I have said has been the truth. There are things that your brother hasn't disclosed to you that I wish he had told you. I feel sorry for you for having had a brother who kept you in the dark for so long."
"Shut up you know nothing about Tendai! Shut up before I come there and kick your a.s.s!" he said with a heightened rage that coursed through his blood. He was mad, extremely angry at Matthew. This was surely going to end in a clash between them.
"Very well Kudzai you made your choice," he said, walking towards Kudzai whilst laying his hammer on his shoulder, "you don't get to kill them. The game is over and I won." Kudzai in that moment was relieved. He felt bad that he lost, but his moral code could not make him go through with it. He was also glad that Matthew had stopped pressuring him to kill them. However upon reaching Kudzai he uttered something else, "But the game only ends once you have slain everything."

In that moment, Kudzai's shock had worn him like a deformed and obscene masquerade mask. Kudzai tried to stop Matthew, but was useless. He was awarded with a slap, of the back of the hand. The slap hurt more than the pain he got from the body slam the tiger man had given him. It was as if he was thrown into a comma upon the hand striking his face and woke up as soon as he slammed into the surface below. Kudzai was helpless and watched from a far as Matthew did the unspeakable to this child and her mother. Matthew thrust his hammer onto the little girl with extreme might. The hammer smashed her head like a brick squas.h.i.+ng a bug, the two as a comparison were both gruesome, but his performance of brutality was like an ill.u.s.tration of sadism at best. The base floor of the hut was disgorged and spoiled by the impact of the hammer and by the girl's mangled flesh respectively. Matthew went on to bludgeon everything, painting the thatched walls red and wetting the fire at the hearth with their blood and flesh. Matthew's gratuity was that of a builder plastering a wall with his tools, everything had to be mashed together to bring out the perfect house, in this case, the perfect slaughter. Kudzai screamed out no and no as he laid on the ground. He cried at his weakness and inability to do anything as Matthew gutted away at his innocence. His mind had been violated, the ultimate mind f.u.c.k had dawned on his brain, and to add the icing on the cake, Matthew uttered something disturbing before the game ended.

"The Animorphs are nothing but things. Killing them should be no different from squas.h.i.+ng a bug. They are the enemy dammit not a civilian casualty, don't ever get the two confused!"

Kudzai immediately woke up upon the game's end. The latex and nodes latched onto him became loose, freeing him from the clutches of his seat. Matthew was also awake. Kudzai immediately got off and ran out of the room. Matthew told him to stop, but he didn't even give him the chance. His good start had turned sour fast. He wished he had never encountered Matthew Logan.

Meiko had been pressured by her friend to seek out Kudzai, the guy who had dazzled her with his wonderful words. She was walking near the basketball courts with her glossary of novels and text books in hand, heading towards the car park to be picked up by her mom. As she drew near the tennis ball courts, which were just after the basketball courts, she spotted a Kudzai Mhike pacing fast as if in a rush. She called out his name, but Kudzai's state of mind had blocked out any other voice besides his. Meiko was ignored by the guy she had an interest in; a dreadful experience for any girl her age, but what was clearly visible as he trotted away was that his face looked depressed. His frown was as clear as her infatuation for him was and this had led her to say inwardly, "What happened to my Kudzai?"