“I still would not have believed your story unless I had fact checked you regarding Avway and LooMella.” Andrea said while ending in a giggle.

  “Well I have never lied to you, so I don’t know why I would start now.” Pepper replied.

  “They were rated number one power couple in all of photography and fashion.”

  Pepper tilted his head from side to side. “I question the credibility of those who voted.”

  Andrea rolled her eyes “Oh shut up.”

  They both smiled while being lost in one another’s eyes. Pepper shifted in his bed and found Amprages back pressing into his. Pepper shifted again and then looked over his shoulder. “Do you mind? Like, seriously Amp… you don’t need to take so much of the bed.”

  His familiar just groaned in response.

  “Speaking of Amprage, I swung by your house earlier.” Andrea said with a slight uptick in her voice.

  Pepper turned back to the camera. “You did? Why would you do that?”

  “Well, I forgot I needed your permission to visit your family.”

  He sighed, “You know what I meant.”

  “Well, I just thought about them and figured I would stop by. I think your dad appreciated it, Megan practically latched onto me and we decided to go out for a bit and have a girls day.”

  Pepper smiled and felt his heart warm with the heart of his little sister. “How is she doing? She probably misses me.”

  Andrea just stared back at him while her eyes blinked. “Uhh, she told me a lot about Amp… and how she misses… him.” She paused and waited for Pepper to sigh before continuing. “But… overall she is doing good. Getting tall, I swear its been only two months since I saw her last. But that girl is primed for volleyball.”

  “How are mom and dad?”

  “Honestly… he looked tired, like, really tired. Kinda gave me the impression he had been going non-stop and had way too much on his plate.” Andrea stopped and scratched an itch on her face. “Your mom, well, I didn’t see her. Your dad only said that she was taking a nap and Meg and I just stayed outside the whole time. Anyways, how is Brent? Have you talked with him recently?”

  The information about his mom didn’t sit well with him. But there was nothing he could do at the moment, so he buried it in the back of his mind and moved on. “Well, the last time I talked with him was when he was on a toilet. There’s a good chance that is where he is now.”

  “Eww, gross Pep! Why would you even say that.”

  “Cause it’s more than likely true.” Pepper navigated away from his video chat while Andrea buried her face into her pillow and moaned.

  [:::] Hey, what are you doing? [:::]

  It was only a few second delay before he saw the chat bubble appear and a response arrived.

  [:::] Taking a dump, HBU? [:::]

  Pepper turned back to the camera, “See, I was right. He’s taking a dump.”

  Andrea had just turned away from her pillow when Pepper then gave her the update. Her face quickly turned to that of about to vomit and she buried it back into the pillow. “You guys are disgusting!” She called out through the soft padding.

  “Just proving a point.”

  Andrea waited for another few seconds but then re-fluffed her pillow and adjusted herself. “So… I may have something to tell you.”

  “Okay?” He saw the playful look in her eyes and watched as her smiled grew larger and larger.

  “I’m coming to visit you!”

  His heart leapt inside his chest and his smile matched the one beaming on Andrea’s face. “What? Seriously? When? I mean… how?”

  Andrea nodded and giggled. “Well, my probation officer was able to get me written approval to travel. It basically just puts a pause on my hours, but… Eli has got some other volunteers who can cover my work, Kyle is all setup to come stay with my dad in my absence and… I get to come back with you for a couple of days.”

  “That’s awesome babe! That’s a lot of money though, do you want me to send you some…”

  Andrea didn’t let him finish as she raised her finger. “No… do not. This is actually a gift from my dad. He surprised me with the tickets. I feel like he reached out to your dad some how to confirm the information, but yeah… I got home yesterday and had a small card waiting for me.”

  The two couldn’t help but smile as they shared the great news with one another. Pepper was about to ask for more details when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. He turned and curiously called how.

  “Yeah?”

  Pepper had to strain to listen, but was just able to catch Wilson’s soft monotone voice. “Are you gonna come watch the match with us?”

  “Uhh, sure Squints… I’ll be right out.” He turned back to look at Andrea but Wilson called back to him.

  “And… can you make dinner?”

  Andrea had a curious look on her face. She read his face and could tell whatever was asked left him rolling his eyes. Pepper nodded while slowly blinking. “Yes, I can make you and I some dinner.”

  “Can it be Spaghetti?”

  “Uhh, sure… I’ll make us some Spaghetti.”

  “Okay.” Wilson replied and Pepper could just hear the first few thuds of his roommate walking off.

  Pepper turned back to Andrea who had a playful smile on her face. “Spaghetti huh?”

  “Who knew moving away from home meant I would become a parent to two other full grown humans.”

  She tilted her head. “Hey, I’m a grown ass woman taking care of my dad.”

  “Totally different circumstances.” He countered.

  “Well, you better go take off before they come break the door down. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  They ended the call and Pepper began to make his way into the kitchen. Wilson was waiting on his standard barstool while the living room remained filled with Marcus’s group. He started to gather the supplies from the multiple cupboards and called over towards them.

  “You know you guys don’t always have to hangout here. You can watch the match at someone else’s house every once and a while.”

  They collectively moaned and groaned at him. A few called back and asked what his problem was. Marcus quickly buffered the two and stated that Pepper was only joking. Totally wasn’t joking, but sure… you go ahead and tell them that.

  The theme song came on and thankfully distracted them from the matter at hand. Pepper just finished cracking the noodles in half and turned to see the two commentators on the screen. Both Nick and JD sporting business suits and black ties while they stood next to one another.

  “Thanks for tuning in today Golem fans. We have an interesting matchup for you today. Am Immortals League matchup featuring the one and only Steve Campbell out of Canada. He’ll be taking on Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud, the first gladiator out of Saudi Arabia to reach the Immortal League.” Nick started off.

  JD nodded beside his co-anchor. “Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud has gained a lot of support recently. He’s been making himself known on Golem Chat and made it known that the Middle East is here to compete. The crazy thing about it too, is that he reached the Immortal League with a Mechanized golem.”

  “Now JD, that in and of itself is a big statement as well.”

  “Oh yeah man, there are a lot of gladiators and fans out there that think the Golem League is not the right place for Mech’s.” JD shot his hand out towards Nick with emphasis. “Now traditionally, we have not seen Mech’s gain much traction outside of the Middle East. But, the more Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud rises in the rankings, the greater the movement builds to not only keep them in, but to start using them as well.”

  “Now let’s not forget about his competitor, the lovely, Mr. Steve Campbell. What do you have for us on him JD?”

  “Well, okay.” JD rotated shifted between the camera and Nick. His hand moving along with his body as he continued to animate his statements. “Steve Campbell will not only wreck you, he’ll do it in a performance like no other. Everyone knows Steve’s Golem of Many Faces. Additionally, Nick is the only gladiator that uses long range acoustic devices, or LRAD for short.”

  Nick looked like he was about to interject but JD reached over and grabbed his shoulder and continued. “Now, there were a lot of gladiators that complained about Steve’s tactics. But in a surprising decision, the League upheld the tactic and stated that the acoustic attack would be classified within the psyonic classification.”

  “Well, JD. I think the biggest question on many fans minds is, how exactly does that work? “

  “It all comes down to the strength of the signal that is literally cutting through Steve’s competitors golems components. Just like a really loud speaker can incapacitate a person, these extremely loud and extremely precise acoustic attacks practically severe the relay connections of rune cards. I mean, you can easily look back at all of Steve’s previous matches and see it clear as day. But, as you severe these connections, it forces the energy to build up within these relays. Once that connection is re-established, you have this massive surge of energy trying to force itself through these golem’s pathways. Eventually, it all comes crashing down and causes multiple failures and meltdowns to happen.”

  “Well, that sounds like a car pileup on a highway JD.”

  JD smiled and pointed towards Nick. “Yeah man, that’s exactly it. You have got a hundred cars that are just rushing down the highway, they come to a blockage but can’t stop and boom! Chain reaction.”

  “Well one thing is clear JD. Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud doesn’t just have a tough opponent to deal with, he has the weather as well. The Frost Arena of Breheimen, Norway can be merciless and Mohammed is certainly a long way from home.”

  “Don’t worry Nick, I got an extra coat for you.” JD finished as the screen transitioned to the arena.

  Pepper could practically feel the artic chill blow across his skin while he imagined competing at the location. The far end of the arena opened up for Mohammed’s mech to enter the arena. The militant robot was massive in scale and reminded Pepper of the Scudo 5’s that he had watched fight off the demonic attack.

  There were two distinct mini guns attached in between the neck and shoulder joints. He chuckled at the fact that there was a combination head and cockpit area, but it clearly didn’t have a pilot to drive it. The chest plates had distinct hinges along the outer edge and after watched the Immortals Leage opening matchup, Pepper could only guess at what surprises may lay behind it.

  The drone camera faded along and exposed the back area of the mech. Pepper could at least make out sixteen booster rockets, many of which were angled in different directions to aid in rapid reaction efforts. There was a massive winch with a wrapped heavy gauge cable at the center of its back.

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  Pepper thought about the winch and it made sense. The massive force caused by the munitions could easily knock the mech off balance if they didn’t have free floating recoil barrels. Additionally, having to go into different arenas with an array of natural obstacles, he could see there being a use for it, but it certainly didn’t seem very practical.

  The view zoomed in close and that was when Pepper took notice of the rocket pods affixed on the mechs arms. There was a small flash just below the wrist portion and then two large blades sprang out. Small sparks from the metal grinding together trickled down towards the frozen arena floor.

  “Well, that Mech looks ready to cut straight to it JD.” Nick’s voice added.

  The camera zoomed out and showcased a new feature Pepper had not seen yet. The gladiators platform was now incased in a see through bubble. He was just able to see the Mohammed standing inside and making small adjustments to his control module.

  “And there we see the newly modified gladiator platforms. Now don’t worry folks. They are kept at a cold temperature to simulate the exterior environment, but don’t have to run the risk of exposure to the harsh environment.” JD Added.

  “I must say JD, it seemed like it was bound to happen. Now some don’t like it, and I can understand that it is a change away from the original setting. But, there have been at least two gladiators suffer from the exposure to this harsh setting, and frankly JD, that is two too many.”

  “You know man, change is just something that needs to happen from time to time. Some won’t like it, but the league isn’t doing it for them, so it is what it is. We’ll keep moving forward and they can freeze their nuts off for all I care.”

  The room rumbled with laughter while Pepper intently focused on the new golem arriving in the arena. The Golem of Many faces walked in and the camera caught the unique head of the golem which didn’t have one face, but four, all painted in the color of ivory. One pointed in each direction. The front face was sculpted with an appearance of contentment and being at peace. The face pointing to the golem’s left was chiseled with an overly joyed expression.

  Pepper smiled while many in the living room awed at the intricate design. He had watched Steve compete from the beginning and knew that the opposite side was forged with a sad expression. The face which pointed backwards was a portrait of anger and frustration. Pepper’s favorites were the faces which protruded from the shoulder area. They were expressionless, but had filigree patterns etched into them which caused him to appreciation the devoted time and effort to perfecting their appearance.

  To everyone’s surprise, the golem was dressed and fashioned like a Victorian styled violinist. A well-tailored black styled coat which had a long flowing tail that were actively whipping backwards by the wind of the arena. The shirt underneath was not ruffled at the collar, but rather, was finally pressed in its own and matched the jacket’s color.

  Pepper couldn’t help but notice that the golem was carrying a violin in the left hand and a bow in the right. The camera began to pan upwards and show Steve getting ready inside his gladiator orb. A smile formed on Pepper’s face as Steve had matched his golem’s attire and wore a similar suit. Steve then brought the half-faced visor down on his Reaper Torque Monster interface and a faint yellow light illuminated Steve’s face. He brought his hands up and mimicked his golem which brought the musical instrument up as if it were about to play a song.

  Pepper formed a devious smirk on his face as he eagerly awaited to see what exactly Steve had up his sleeve. Pepper turned around and began to serve dinner for he and Wilson while the match countdown ticked down behind him. He turned around and handed the meal over to his roommate.

  By the time the starting horn sounded Steve’s golem and brought the violin up and rested the instrument on its shoulder. Yellow beams of light came to life and ran down the neck of the instrument and the bow came to rest against them. The multiple sets of eyes on the golem glowed with life in the same color as the strings. The bow started to glide down and Pepper smiled as a song began to play.

  Pepper couldn’t help his mind while it wondered with curiosity. How exactly did Steve stall the LRAD speakers within his golems construction. The song played with such volume that Pepper was impressed with how well the camera’s were able to capture the melody.

  “Well, this is quite the surprise JD. I thought we were tuning in to a Golem Match, but here we are being serenaded with a song.”

  “Sounds like a classic Lindsey Sterling song to me, Nick.”

  Mohammed didn’t seem to be a fan of either the song, or how the match was getting underway. He raised up the right arm of his mech and launched two rockets straight towards his opponent. The rockets twirled in a rotational pattern that made them look similar to that of sidewinder missiles.

  They closed the distance in practically a second but Steve took immediate action and halted his performance. The bow paused and the eyes of the golem flashed and a large wall of yellow energy formed directly in front of it. The rockets exploded into the wall and Pepper was just able to see the energy wall pulse with life. He could tell the energy core was recalibrating the energy needed to sustain the forcefield.

  The golem of faces then lifted up as if it was looking directly at its opponent. The head shifted around and now displayed the expression of anger. It raised its hand with the bow still clasped within it and waved it back and forth.

  Pepper appreciated the fact that the production crew shifted into a split screen view. The cameras capturing Steve within his gladiator orb waving his finger in unison with his golem. In stark comparison, they zoomed in to see Mohammed’s jaw clench.

  They quickly shifted back and zoomed out to see the mech open up its chest plates. Six canisters shot out in front of the mech and immediately began to spew smoke out. The mech began to surge forward and slowly picked up speed. It made it a few steps and then the mini guns came to life.

  Tracer rounds streaked across the arena, their orange, yellow, and red colors faintly glowed against the frozen arena floor. They began to pelt against the energy wall and caused a rippling effect all throughout it. Pepper could see that the mech was closing the distance, but to his surprise the smoke canisters were so efficient than the entire valley was quickly filling with smoke.

  While the mech went on an offensive, Steve merely returned to playing his song. The vibrant melody filled the arena and echoed off the jagged canyon walls. The song which opened slow and soft was quickly gaining in its ferocity and tension.

  The camera shifted just in time to catch the bright flash deep within the blanked of smoke. Pepper watched as the large metal mech punched through the smoke, its rocket pods launching it up and to the right side. The machine arriving on the top ridgeline of one of the mountains.

  Mohammed didn’t waste any time taking advantage of his position. He immediately sent a volley of mini gun fire down on his opponent and then launched another set of rockets. The golem of faces calmly swung its left leg around and turned to face the threat it now had.

  Steve removed the energy wall while he continued to reposition his golem. The mini gun fire began to cut across the golem of faces. Pepper watched as the left shoulders face was cut clean off but still Steve kept his composure and continued to play the song for a split second.

  The rockets were flying straight and true and looked like they were about to make a direct impact. A quick snap of the golems wrist, however, and Pepper watched as the bow came to life. The musical instruments device was far more than met the eye.

  A blade of yellow energy flung off the bow and streaked upwards in the shape of an arch. The light flew with expert precision, but it didn’t physically cut the munitions. Instead it slashed through the rocket and kept flying up into the heavens.

  The effect, whatever it was, was instantaneous. As if the signal or guidance system was immediately destroyed, for the rockets immediately shifted off course. It began to twist and turn in random directions and finally slammed into the ground nearby, erupting into a giant fireball.

  Though the rockets failed to hit their target, the mini guns were still cutting into the golem of faces with significant effect. The smoke screen which was once used for the mech, was not Steve’s advantage. He quickly ducted his golem inside the concealment of the fog.

  Pepper couldn’t help but smile as it seemed like Steve had predicted the match would play out this way. The song continued to play, but the rhythm now changed and a suspenseful melody played throughout the match. Though Pepper enjoyed the playful approach to the match, it seemed to infuriate Steve’s opponent.

  The mech now brought both arms up and started to launch rockets from both pods. Four from its right arm, and eight from its left. It was clear that Mohammed had blind fired them down onto the arena, for each rocket streaked in a slightly different direction. Though Steve had used the situation to his advantage, he then made a critical error and Pepper muttered out.

  “You just exposed yourself.”

  Rather than dashing off to a safe distance, the golem of faces launched out another arch of yellow energy. The mech opened up its chest plate and launched four different types of canisters. The four were spherical in size, but had red lights glowing all around it.

  A bright red laser shot out from the mechs cockpit area. It pointed directly at the area The Golem of Faces had launched its attack. Pepper could clearly see the canisters shift in midair. Tiny guidance rockets fired off and directed the sphere’s path. They quickly tumbled down the canyon wall, and homed in on their target.

  “Don’t blink folks!” JD’s voice called out from the broadcast.

  The small spheres disappeared into the thick blanket of smoke, but four bright red flash illuminated the area for a split second. To Pepper’s amazement, it wasn’t four explosions, but sixteen which erupted at their focal point. The force of the blasts dissipated the smoke and replaced it with its own cloud of frosted debris.

  “Those were four guided cluster munition grenades Nick! And man was that awesome to see.”

  “Well, I don’t know what is more awesome JD, the cluster munitions or the fact that The Golem of Faces is still standing!”

  Pepper leaned forward and braced himself against the kitchen island. His heart was racing with excitement. He watched the golem standing strong and resolute amidst the remnants of the scorched earth. The clothing was torn and ripped from the grenade shrapnel. Deep cuts and gashes of the stone flesh were missing from its body.

  Yet, It didn’t even hesitate and returned to giving its performance and the song began to play again. The rythem blared throughout the arena. The defiance Steve portrayed by continuing his performance only seemed to enrage Mohammed as the camera feed shifted over and showed the gladiator. His gritted teeth left Pepper assuming that Mohammed had wanted to get into a direct conflict with Steve.

  It was only another second until the camera transitioned back to the arena view and the mech launched itself downward. The rockets fired off and guided the mech towards the ground, but that was when Steve went on the offensive. The golem of faces snapped its wrist and began to wave the violin’s bow vigorously in the air.

  It looked more like a wizard’s wand, yellow arches of light and energy streaked towards the mech. Pepper counted more than ten beams of energy that were launched out in a salvo. The yellow waves passively flowed through the mech, but all could see their immediate effect.

  Sparks began to scatter away from the mech while it was in midair. The rocket engines on the golem’s right side sputtered out. The golem’s internal lights began to flicker on and off like a strobe light. In an instant, the mech was now tumbling to its right side. The rocket boosters on the left were still firing and they sent the golem rotating around, faster by the second.

  The mech appeared to be on a disaster trajectory towards the earth. But the mechanical winch fired off from its back. The end of the cable expanded out like a claw and clutched onto a massive boulder. A loud pop fired off and the cable snapped back taut. A saving move which slowed the mech’s fast descent significantly while it still crashed onto the frozen earth.

  Pieces of the mech’s armament were now scattered all around. Metal plates, nuts, bolts, and metal guide rods were strewn out like pieces of shattered bone. A quick split screen showed Mohammed who was frantically working to adjust settings within his command module.

  But Pepper noticed The Golem of Faces eyes had now turned to more of a shade of orange. It began to walk towards the mech, its head lowered just enough at an angle that Pepper couldn’t help but imagine it as a real warrior. Its left hand and arm reached back and the violin appeared to snap onto the golem’s back like a magnet. The bow, however, still remained clutched in its right hand and the song still played from the golems speakers.

  The smoke had now dissipated out of the frozen valley. There was a significant amount of the damage to Steve’s golem’s clothing that Pepper could now see some of the details he was curious about. His eyes could see etched slots which ran horizontally across the chest area. The lower abdominal area was covered in a honeycomb pattern. Pepper’s guess was that the speakers used by Steve were installed directly behind the exposed areas.

  Pepper wanted to know more and wished there was a way he could review the construction of the golem, but his attention shifted back to Steve’s opponent. The mech began to slowly buzz with life and worked to get back upright. It looked like an act of desperation, but the mech lifted its left arm up. To Pepper’s shock, the actual rocket pod casing itself fired off and streaked across the field.

  The golem of faces flung its arm and bow upwards. A flash of orange rippled off the edge of the bow and sliced the metal container in half. Each piece fell off to the sides of the golem and skidded for a few feet across the frosted ground. The entire time the golem slowly closed the distance on the mech.

  It was clear that the right mini gun was completely damaged and out of action. The left mini gun seemed to have an electrical issue, its barrels rotating around as if it wanted to fire. But nothing ever left the barrel.

  The mech finally looked like it had overcome the damaged systems. Pepper imagined how much work Mohammed had to do to readjust the power relays. But the diverted energy gave the mech a fighting chance.

  The mech was now back on its feet and wobbled forward to meet Steve’s golem, now only feet away. Mohammed brought a quick slash towards its opponent with its extended blades. The golem of faces quickly deflected the slash with its violin bow.

  Sparks shot out from the two golems weapons as the metal clanging together. Pepper immediately knew there was more to this musical accessory than what originally met his eyes. The bow snapped and swooshed all around. Steve wielding his bow with precision while Mohammed struggled to break through and land a blow.

  Steve’s song continued to build the tension, the electrified excitement bringing everyone to the edge of their seats as the mech continued to slash out with both of its arms. Steve, however, deflected them every time. Mohammed now tried to adjust his technique and started to use thrusts and jabs. But he only found the same result. Mohammed final lunged forward with a desperate thrust from his mechs right arm, but the blade still failed to damage its opponent.

  Steve’s violin bow radiated in blazing orange light. The weaponized accessory looked like heated metal being pulled out of a forge. He snapped it down and Pepper watched as the bow sliced the wrist off the mech.

  A quick flick and rotation of his wrist and he sliced the wrist off the opposite arm. The mech’s left side mini guns power was now restored. Rounds started to fire off and grazed the right side of the golem face.

  Steve quickly slashed upwards with his bow and severed the weapon in half, like a hot knife through butter. The mech was trying to back peddle, its front chest plates launched open, but it never had a chance to finish whatever counter Mohammed wanted to attempt. The golem of many faces twisted around and began to slash the mech to pieces.

  The bow sliced directed down and cut through the mechs shoulder and deep into the chest. Steve continued to use the momentum and dropped his golem down onto a knee. He continued to slash the mech with his bow as he went, leaving a giant gash in the mechs mid-section and then severed the right leg in half.

  Pepper couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. As if Steve had planned it, the song ended at the exact same moment that the mech fell backwards and thudded onto the arena floor. The victory horn blared and Steve’s golem stood upright and then gave a bow as if to signal the end of his epic performance.