After Dawn had missed half of his magazine he could hardly find Erik in the sand he was swirling through the air with his furious evasive maneuvers. He was standing right in the middle of the pit and turned around hectically, wherever his sensors located Erik.
However, Erik never stayed in one place and stroked around like the wind until Dawn noticed a grip around his upper body and a rapid jolt to his weapon, which was ripped from his hand. A short blow to his back ensued, so Dawn made a short leap forward before he dropped headfirst into the sand. He turned on his back and saw the dirt slowly settle on him. The bearded face of Erik, who was wiping the sweat from his forehead, laughed at him and threw Dawn Fusion Pistol out of the sandbox in a high swing.
" What's out of the sandbox can no longer be used," Erik said triumphantly.
Dawn took advantage of Erik's short breather and took out his second fusion pistol while lying on the ground. Erik spotted this and jumped towards Dawn while he simultaneously spun helically around his own axis to avoid the shots. Before he landed he used the built-up momentum for a kick against Dawn's second fusion pistol, which he also removed from the sandbox.
"Quick disarm" Erik commented briefly.
Dawn stood up again and looked around seeking help. He noticed that meanwhile, another man from above was watching the fight, whose face looked familiar to him. He had seen it on various posters in the Arc.
***Is that… the General! Now I need to prove something.***
Dawn took a Universal Grenade out of a round holder in his thorax.
***Let me see what I can do with this gadget!***
" - Universal Hand Grenade v.1.0 HMD Custom Design - "
" - - - - - - - - - - Select Detonation Mode - - - - - - - - - - - - "
In a fraction of a second, Dawn opted for the Fragmentation Mode, whereupon a grenade flicked out of the compartment at his chest and flew towards Erik. While the grenade was in motion, a bar-like slider appeared on Dawn's HUD to set the detonation radius, which he could adjust with his Neuro Engram. He chose the smallest possible radius to avoid being hit himself.
Erik, who was still resting his arm on his back, reacted instinctively, catching the grenade with his teeth quick-wittedly and hurling it back to Dawn before it erupted violently into a bright burst of particles. Dawn, anticipating this, moved to the side with the help of the thrusters on his legs, which were at a right angle, and only encountered a tsunami of grains of sand that overloaded his sensors for a short time, leaving him temporarily stunned.
"Have you got anything else to offer?" he heard Erik's muffled voice echoing through the vast, dim room.
***He's really fierce in battle, now I know why everyone pays so much respect to him. Still, I have to keep trying, to test the limits of my case and to impress the General.***
Dawn climbed up with his thrusters, bending one leg and never losing sight of Erik. When he almost reached the height of the ceiling, he spread his arms and crystallizing luminous light blue blades emerged from his forearms and legs.
" - - - - - - - - - - Jugem Blades activated - - - - - - - - - "
He swirled once around himself before he took the impetus to start a downfall. Dawn sank directly in Erik's direction and just before he hit the ground he initiated a hail of blades, which Erik skilfully avoided with a backflip and in the course of this gave Dawn a short push so that he lost his equilibrium.
Stumbling, Dawn put a few meters between himself and Erik, who still seemed completely unconcerned.
***What a type of guy is he, to get through all this so easily?***
Dawn started a last maneuver in which he picked himself up again and collected his focus. He stretched his blades forward and ran through the sandpit in a curved path, with the ground barely giving way due to the force of his steps, but feeling hard as concrete.
When he was about to reach Erik's grasp, he shifted the weight of his upper body backward but continued to slide forward due to his inertia. The blades on his legs pointed in a straight line at Erik.
***Now I got him!***
Yet, Erik jumped up before Dawn hit him and gave Dawn's head a reverse roundhouse kick when landing.
Dawn was catapulted diagonally through the sandbox and looked upwards, where the General shook his head silently and Jo giggled loudly.
I messed up.
Before Dawn could get up he noticed that Erik was standing right above him, one foot propped on his chest.
"How can a human-like you fight so effectively?"
"Probably because I'm barely human myself anymore. Or it was just the coffee kicking in" Erik answered calmly and took his arm off his back to help Dawn stand up.
The two of them went up to the others. Dawn saluted General McManus who nodded briefly.
Jo amused herself, "The old man kicked your ass ."
"He did all right. Better than all of you the first time and he had to dispense with his special...things," Erik objected.
"Without my protocols, I'm only half as efficient" Dawn admitted.
JP patted Dawn on the shoulder with his big paws, "Don't feel too bad, sonny, only a few people can keep up with Erik."
Shen Hualing asked McManus insecurely, "Are you satisfied with his functions?"
"Doctor Shen, you'll get the promotion only after we see how he does out there. But for now, I'm content."
Thereupon Shen Hualing clenched her hands into a fist, before he continued, "Today we will perhaps already find out. We have an appointment with the Council. They want to see what the HMD can provide for them. Get ready, we're taking the Phoenix for the road. And give DWN-49 something to wear. He can't show up at the Council like that."
Erik showed Dawn the way to the dressing machine. It was a narrow cabin where gleaming rays ran down a ledge from top to bottom and then back again.
" Whoa, what's that?"
"Inside of this, your measurements are recorded. After that, you can choose the clothes to print."
Dawn walked in and was able to watch on a screen how a 3D map of his body was created. He could then choose which templates he wanted to download for a particular type of garment and fabric.
He looked at his Jugem Blades which slowly began to degenerate as more and more gaps opened up in the crystal lattice until the blades disappeared completely.
He asked Erik, "Wouldn't I automatically tear my clothes as soon as my blades or thrusters activated?"
"Why do you think you were scanned before? Pick out the assets to print, then you'll see what I mean."
Dawn had thousands of files to choose from that served as print templates. He had a certain image of his outfit in his head and filtered for a vest, a coat and a pair of pants until he found the ones that matched it. They were designed in a timeless Victorian style that was both noble and simple.
"I've got it," Dawn announced.
"Go ahead and buy it. We still have to get ready for the Council."
He bought the license to print them with a few blanks that were stored as a credit on the printer. He heard a sound from the clothes machine, and a flap opened in the machine.
As if from a vending machine his ordered clothes dropped out, each of them three times. Among them was an anthracite-colored, almost floor-length textile coat with leather shoulder pads and incisions in the places of Dawn's blades, thrusters and compartments. The stand-up collar of the coat was held together by a medallion brooch. He also got a waistcoat made of silky woven material and beige cloth trousers as they had been available in unchanged versions for many generations.
"Can you finish, dandy?" Erik insisted jokingly.
Dawn looked down and readjusted his new coat after he dressed.
"I'm ready, we can start. After all, we don't want the Council to wait, right?"