Nightsea Outlaw

"Come back here, you whelp!" Goldfist yelled, running after Alex.

His gigantic strides gave him a speed that Alex could only match with 'step.' His chest heaved in and out, every breath sparking a new pain up and down his body. He could keep going, but every push pushed his body closer to the breaking point. Instead of relying on his body alone, he reached out with his curse, sensing along the magnetic fields in the cavern.

The tools the slaves had used to make the bridge pinged in his mind, and he reached out to them as he ran across the cavern. Goldfist was on his heels, the giant holding up his fist again and ready to fire.

Boom!

Thunder cracked through the cavern, and Alex dropped to the ground, rolling to a stop as the fist whistled by above him. As he stopped, Alex reached out a hand, and five axes flew into the air and came for him as he ripped on their magnetic fields.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

He pushed himself up to his knees as the axes rotated around him. Goldfist hadn't waited. He charged even as his fist returned to him, his left hand balled up and ready for a punch. Alex flung his arm forward and let each axe fly out from their orbit as Goldfist closed the distance.

"Iron Circle." Alex came up with the name on the spot, which helped shape his desire.

Whir. Thunk. Whir. Thunk. Whir. Thunk.

Three of the axes cut into the giant, two cutting deep into his thighs, and one embedding itself in his chest. Goldfist barrelled on despite the axes, bringing his non-mechanical fist down on Alex as he towered over the kneeling outlaw. Alex rolled forward between the giant's legs, coming up on the other side and running again.

Boom. Crack.

The rocks parted and cracked under Goldfist's strike, even with a normal punch into the ground. The giant turned as his mechanical fist returned to his arm. Rage filled his eyes as he looked over to where Alex stood. He ripped at the three axes with his free hand, and blood dripped out of his wounds. On something Goldfist's size, the axes were closer to paper cuts than actual damage.

"You're just going to keep running?" Goldfist demanded. "Stand here and die, like a weakling should."

"No." Alex reached along the magnetic fields again, calling up hammers from behind Goldfist and pulling them toward himself. "Return Trip."

Again, he didn't have a real name for the technique, but it helped him focus on what he wanted to do. Goldfist's position meant that the hammers would hit him hard in the back on their path toward Alex. Alex licked his dry lips as he focused on speeding up the hammers, increasing the pull around his body so they would come faster and faster.

"Enough." Goldfist spun his fist, slamming the hammers and knocking them away. "Your tricks won't work on me. Fight me like a man, or I'll go after the girl!"

The giant's eyes shot to the tunnel, and Alex saw Sam next to one of the support beams, doing her best to stay out of sight while the fight continued. He had to give it to her. If he had seen a fight like this back on Earth, he wouldn't have stayed to watch what happened. He would have run for his life.

"Step."

Alex disappeared again while Goldfist was distracted, calling his staff to his hand as he appeared to Goldfist's left. Goldfist turned to him even as he reappeared next to the giant, his golden fist punching forward at Alex.

"Golden Blows!" Goldfist's punch blurred again, one fist becoming hundreds in the blink of an eye.

Alex was caught before his foot hit the ground, each punch striking him in the air. Every hit felt like a sledgehammer striking his body. One to his chest. One to his arm. One knocked his staff into his shoulder. Alex flew back from the punch's force, hitting the wall and sliding to the ground in a heap.

"Got you, whelp," Goldfist said, raising his arm after his attack and pointing it at where Alex landed.

"Yeah," Alex whispered, forcing himself to stand up.

He had lost a lot to get where he wanted to be positioned. Cracked ribs. A dislocated shoulder. A broken nose. However, it would be worth it if Goldfist did what he wanted. It was a gamble. Now, he just needed it to pay off.

"Why don't you take the punch then?" Alex held out his arms, opening himself up as he stood against the wall.

"Hah!" Goldfist said, holding onto his fist with his left hand as he aimed it at Alex. "You accept your defeat then. Hold still, and I'll grant you a quick death."

Whir.

His fist began spinning faster as he glared down at Alex. Alex closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses along the whirring fist. He needed to know the second it fired. Everything in his plan relied on that.

Click. Boom.

Alex felt the mechanism click into place just a fraction of a second before the fist fired off Goldfist's arm. Throwing all his strength into his legs, Alex jumped up into the air, opening his eyes as the fist blurred across the cavern floor below him.

Boom. Crack. Crunch.

The whirling fist hit the stone wall, cracking open a crater and breaking deep into the stone. Alex came down with his staff as the fist stopped, aiming it down at the fist's chains. As he came down to land, he threaded the hole in the chain and whispered as he drew on his strength for what he hoped was the last time.

"Might."

The staff slammed through the chain and into the stone below, cracking through stone and rocks as Alex pushed it down. He stopped when it was halfway through the ground, releasing his focus on the Path of Might. He let go of the staff and fell hard on his shoulder. He groaned as he rolled across the ground, stopping when he lay with his back on the cold stone and staring up at the glowing stones on the ceiling.

Clink. Clink. Clink. Clack.

"What did you do?" Goldfist demanded as he tried to reel back his fist.

"Got you," Alex said, breathing hard as he rolled and forced himself to stand up.

He reached out to all the objects he had grabbed before and more. Axes, saws, and hammers came to his magnetic call, flying across the cavern to him and rotating around him. Alex staggered forward toward Goldfist while the giant pulled against his bound chain. There was nowhere for the giant to run or hide. Alex had him trapped.

"Iron Circle."

"No!" Goldfist yelled as he tried to move, but the chain was taut.

Goldfist could move toward the fist, but that would only drive him closer to the blades and hammers that rotated around Alex. Alex advanced step by step, spinning the tools faster and faster around his body as he walked into Goldfist.

"Have mercy!" Goldfist screamed as the first axe cut across his arm.

Alex stepped back, turning his head ever so slightly as he looked at the giant. Tears flowed down Goldfist's face as he stared down his death. Alex shook his head. Apparently, Goldfist didn't understand his own words.

"You said it yourself," Alex said. "The weak deserve to die. How many people have you killed? How many have you enslaved? How many have you made to suffer for what you wanted?"

Goldfist cried out as Alex took another step closer, and a saw bit into his chest.

"I'm sorry!" Goldfist yelled, his left hand letting go of his arm and going to his side. "Sorry that you're alive!"

The gun came up, but Alex didn't let it fire. An axe flew out from his circle of tools, cutting into Goldfist's wrists and sending the gun clattering to the ground. Alex pushed on the axe harder with his right hand, which cut clean through Goldfist's non-mechanical hand. It flopped to the ground, leaving Goldfist with a bloody stump.

"Aah!" Goldfist fell to the ground, his chain clinking loose next to him as he fell forward and onto his knees.

"Now, you'll understand," Alex said, letting go of his control and letting all the tools drop to the ground.

He spun on one leg, punching as hard as he could into Goldfist's jaw. Bone cracked, and Goldfist dropped to the ground, face first. Alex stood, heaving his breath in and out as he looked around himself. He needed to take a break, but it wasn't over yet. With some effort, he forced himself to walk to his staff, pulling it up and out of the ground. Now, he had something to lean on.

The giant had been a formidable opponent. His body had given him durability and strength that Alex couldn't match. His fist and gun kept anyone at bay, and the strength of his punches couldn't be underestimated. In the end, Alex could only win because of his curse and because he could increase his speed and strength.

It had been an entirely different fight than with Silvertooth. That man's reliance on his curse had made him a glass cannon. Because of Alex's own body, so long as he was willing to take a few hits, he could easily take out someone like that. He and Goldfist were a bad match in comparison.

He shook his head to clear the haze that started to wrap around it. He still had a long way to go. He had to get stronger if he didn't want to die in this world.

"Alex!" Sam ran over from the tunnel, taking a wide path around Goldfist before she stopped by Alex.

"Come on," Alex said, looking over to the small island across the black pool. "Let's go see if we can find your brother."

He started to walk but nearly stumbled. Sam came up next to him, supporting him with her shoulder. Together, they limped more than walked their way over to the bridge and across it. Alex looked across all the slaves as they walked. All of them watched him with wide eyes except one woman who stood on the stone platform in the small island's center.

"You beat him," the woman said, raising one eyebrow.

"You don't sound impressed," Alex said, pushing himself off Sam's shoulder so he could stand alone. "You're all free now. Once the night is over, you can go back to town and get your lives back in order."

"He isn't dead," the woman said, nodding to Goldfist.

"Not yet, anyway," Alex said. "He might bleed out if no one looks after that hand."

"Why didn't you kill him outright? You said yourself that he's caused so much pain. Why let him live?"

"You can't have regrets when you're dead," Alex said. "Simple as that. Maybe he'll learn from his mistakes. Maybe he won't. But if he's dead, he'll never be able to do better."

"Without a hand, he won't be able to do much at all." She looked down at him from the platform, crossing her arms.

"He got the first metal hand somehow. He'll manage."

"Who are you?"

"Alex."

"Why did you fight Goldfist? What do you want?"

"You asked my name, and I gave it. How about you give yours first."

"Li Wen. Now answer the question."

"I'm here for that," Alex said, pointing at the stone structure behind the woman. "She's here to find her brother. Do any of you know her?"

Sam walked away from him and into the slaves who stood on the island. She looked between each one but didn't seem to know any of them. Alex frowned, looking up at Li Wen as she followed Sam with her eyes.

"Does your brother look like you?" Li Wen asked.

"Yes." Sam came back over. "He might have changed some in the last few years, but we've always been almost like twins."

"Your brother's dead. He died three days ago in the last run," Li Wen said it as a matter of fact, like dying was as natural as breathing.

"No!" Sam screamed, collapsing to her knees on the stone.