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The cacophony of guns was prominent in the arena. It was yet another typical day in the Wild West, as brawling all day was the norm. In the desert-like environment, 5 teams were fighting for a victory.
The mode that these fighters were brawling in was none other than duo showdown. Most brawlers here played smart and chose a teammate beforehand to maximize their win rate as much as possible. However, that was not the case for Piper today, even if it was a special day to celebrate love.
Known as the Belle of the Brawl, Piper often had multiple obsessed suitors who usually intervened with her games. They usually ogled at her while practically chasing her around the map, which was quite unnerving, despite Piper’s usual fearlessness.
Not wanting to take her chances and get assigned one of her suitors as her teammate, Piper usually arranged to play with Shelly, her usual duo partner. But today, Shelly was busy doing sheriff duties along with Colt, leaving her to no choice but to trust in the matchmaking.
When Shelly told Piper of her absence yesterday, Piper knew something was up. Shelly had never had shifts during midday, as it was Colt who usually took the day shifts. Colt suddenly asking her to change her shifts on Valentine’s Day to align with his shift was certainly suspicious, but the purple haired ranger was unaware of the implications, poor Colt.
Her other friends weren’t able to make plans with her either, given that Barley was busy running his restaurant for the special occasion, and how all her friends either had dates or performances planned for the day, leaving Piper alone. It seemed like everyone had someone to spend the day with, except for Piper. Barley didn’t count because he was a robot and wasn’t interested in romance.
It was already noon, and her break was ending in 45 minutes. Piper gazed out the window, looking at the love themed decorations outside. All these happy couples and families only reminded her with the feelings of loneliness. She was a socialite, and yet she still couldn’t find the special someone she wanted to spend the day with. Perhaps she was destined to this lonely path in life, to pay the price of her beauty.
She let out a melancholy sigh, looking down at her cup of tea, swirling it around. It was a holiday after all, maybe she shouldn’t risk the chance of her losing trophies and gaining creepy suitors and wait for another day?
However, Piper then thought of her long day ahead at the bakery as Valentine’s Day would probably keep her tiny store filled with customers all day, wanting love themed treats to share with their special ones. Just the mere thought of it made her exhausted. She decided that she really needed a break to prepare for a busy day ahead of her.
The map for showdown today was Skull Creek. Piper admitted it wasn’t her best map with all the walls blocking her view.
She would’ve chosen a different mode, such as going solo. However, there were a lot of brawlers that teamed on others in that mode and would run into the risk of losing more games. Besides, it was Valentine’s Day! Going solo on the day of togetherness would be pretty depressing.
The rest of the maps and modes were even worse for a sharpshooter like her. Too many walls and obstacles that allowed other brawlers to overpower her, and she couldn’t find many safe spots for her to snipe.
Duos was her best shot. The mode had less teaming and was a decent map if her circumstances were in favour of her, in which she would hope that her teammate would be decent enough to make sure those situations happen. The best she could do was cross her fingers and get a compatible partner.
Final with her decision, Piper stood up from her chair and grabbed her gunbrella. She wasn’t going to stay sulky in her home, whether or not she had a valentine.
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Piper walked into the Wild West-like arena to her designated spot, waiting for the siren for the showdown to start. She then noticed a tall, lean robot standing beside her. They must be her duo partner. It looked incredibly similar to the sniper bots Piper had fought against often in boss battles. However, its purple hat and a matching bandana with a pattern of x and o’s made it distinct from the others.
Noticing the bandana, Piper then realized that her teammate was none other than the infamous bounty hunter and the deputy sheriff, Ricochet.
They had never interacted personally before, but she had seen the robot a couple of times here and there.
Piper also heard about some great things the robot sheriff had achieved from Shelly, as she told Piper stories of Ricochet helping Colt and Shelly with numerous captures of high bounty bandits several times before.
She was secretly curious on how he would look in action in real time. Shelly had praised his marksmanship often and even stated that it was even better than Piper’s.
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Piper huffed and put her cup of tea, taking offence when she heard that. “Of course, it’s a robot! It’s probably what it’s made for. It’s supposed to be good at its job, darn right it’s better than me! Haven’t you heard of artificial intelligence?”
Piper took a sip of the sour tea before continuing to rant. “I’m good at what I am through years of intense training, but the robot is good at what it is because it was programmed that way with advanced technology, I’m sure if it were human, it wouldn’t even manage to hit a single bullet on me. After all, humans are superior to robots, we created them. They can only wish they could have emotions like we do.”
Perhaps it was a bit too far, but on that day, Piper had been in an incredibly foul mood. Shelly comparing her with a literal robot in what she had immense pride in didn’t help things either.
Shelly just rolled her eyes in response. She had probably pushed piper too far- who knows what she would do if she lost her temper. She knew she couldn’t convince Piper by bickering with her right now- it was something she should see for herself.
‘Her opinion would change if she ever saw the robot in action, he’s really something else- I think Piper would take a liking to him… She should just set her prejudice aside, but I know how stubborn she is when it comes to these things…’ Shelly thought to herself, taking a large sip from her own cup of tea.
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The horns blared for the showdown to begin, snapping Piper out of her thoughts, focusing on the game. She noticed two power cube boxes nearby, one on her left and the other on her right. She glanced at Ricochet, who had started to shoot at the left box, and Piper took that as a sign to split up and went for the right.
After shooting the crate open, the sniper regrouped with the robot, who she found was already starting to attack the other teams at the middle of the map.
As the blonde helped her teammate drive off opponents for more power cubes and capturing more space, she couldn’t help but notice the unique bullets Ricochet’s gun was firing. They were blue and bounced off the walls and did significant damage to other fighters in the arena.
Ricochet’s precise and steady aim allowed bullets to hit opponents behind walls that were out of range from Piper. Even brawlers like Spike and El Primo were having a tough time getting close to the sheriff and eventually surrendered the area. Ricochet then looked back at Piper and motioned her to follow him towards the heart of the map.
Piper was in complete awe. As a sharpshooter to another, she could sense that the bounty hunter’s accuracy was more than just a bunch of circuits from his system she previously looked down upon.
The fluidity of his movements and the confidence the robot had in every fired shot proved her argument with Shelly wrong. Sure, being a robot had the advantage of quick calculations and thinking, but the way Ricochet handled his gun proved he was something much more than just artificial intelligence. The flawless accuracy was all from experience the robot had adapted from countless encounters with bandits. He was no different from a human- he built his reputation towards countless practice and adapting to opponents, his dedication shone through. Piper understood why Shelly respected him now.
As she and Ricochet were opening more boxes, Piper felt a pang of guilt, feeling compelled to strike up a conversation with her teammate. The sniper was appreciative the robot now, she was ashamed of herself for looking down on Ricochet, just because he was a robot and was compared to Piper by Shelly. How could she?
Although the opinions she held against robots were somewhat fair coming from her experience, given that she fought against robots often. Most of the bots that came from the robot factory were all part of a hivemind and had no other purpose in mind other than to destroy. Perhaps that was why she had a preconceived negative opinion on them.
However, she completely failed to notice the good side of robots, like Barley. He was her only friend when she first arrived and took her under his wing. He was very friendly and often served her drinks, and he wasn’t any different from a human after all. Her entire argument made no sense, if robots were emotionless and dedicated to one purpose, why on earth would Barley be her friend? Perhaps she would pay him a visit at his restaurant later and help him out, as a way to show her appreciation to her dear friend on the day of love.
Her pride and prejudice had her disregarding Ricochet by downplaying his skill when she hadn’t even played with him, not even once. Of course, the robot didn’t even know she had said negative things about him, and things weren’t that serious, but she wanted to make it up to him. She wasn’t sure how he would respond though, the only robot friend she had was Barley, and he was kind. Perhaps Ricochet would be kind as well, although she had no idea what kind of opinion he had on Piper.
Flattery was always the key to give a great first impression. As the duo walked together towards the bush, Piper decided to try a conversation with Ricochet.
“That was some impressive accuracy back there. The aim is quite outstanding, even for a robot.” Piper sweetly smiled, and the robot blinked several times with its single eye before responding, perhaps caught a bit off-guard with her sudden compliment.
“Thank you, you are very admirable as well, it’s no wonder why people call you “The Sniper”.
Piper was surprised, resulting in a small laugh escaping from her mouth. She wasn’t expecting such a praise from the robot. “You sure have a way with your words, don’t you?”
“Perhaps. Ricochet is my name- I assume your name is Piper given how your weapon is a sniper with a parasol attached to it.”
The sniper adjusted her white gloves, maintaining her endearing smile. “Well yes I am Piper, darling.”
He and Piper went inside the central bush, waiting for enemies to pass by the area. “I have heard of you from other brawlers several times. All had praising comments of your beauty and talent in marksmanship.”
“I see.”
Ricochet suddenly went rigid, as if he was in high alert.
“Wait. There is an enemy team is in our proximity. It is most likely Bull and El Primo, who we fought earlier. They seem to have come here to take their territory back.”
Piper held her gunbrella up, looking into her scope and waiting for the 2 figures to appear in her view. Bull and El Primo were now in her sight, they both had 6 power cubes each and were heading towards the bush Piper and Ricochet was in.
“I see. Who should I go for, sugar?” Piper asked, ready to aim.
“Go for the Bull. I have my Super and can attack both of them, El Primo would probably die, but Bull would need a few more shots.” Ricochet said to which Piper agreed.
“Sounds like a solid plan. Go for it, sweetie,” and her partner went out of the bush, as the pair of tanky brawlers spotted him, and seeing he was alone and with 4 power cubes, they charged at him.
Piper then quickly fired 3 sniper shots to Bull, who confusedly looked around, and noticed that Ricochet wasn’t alone. He looked at El Primo, who took quite a few hits from Ricochet’s gun too and tried to retreat behind the walls to heal, avoiding Piper’s shots.
However, it was the perfect place for Ricochet to use his super, as the brawlers were trapped in a small space with walls surrounding them from both sides.
Whether or not if the other duo realized their mistake or not, it was too late to escape. Because at that moment, Ricochet activated his super, launching bigger, faster, and more painful bullets that glowed brighter with every bounce.
Piper put down her scope in admiration, watching the bullets ricochet between the close walls the the tanks were trapped from inside her bush. There was no room and time for Bull and El Primo to dodge the overwhelming storm of bullets.
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“That was an exceptionally intriguing game.” Piper laughed, walking out of the arena with her partner. “It sure was. It was refreshing”, replied Ricochet, inspecting his gun. He started to turn away from Piper, and what she did next wasn’t something she was expecting at all.
“Would you… be open for another round?” Piper blurted, before being able to stop herself. Ricochet turned statuesque, unprepared for her question. She recollected herself before resuming, a lady must always remain composed at all times.
“It’s Valentines Day, and I admit I don’t have anyone else to play with… I had a lot of fun playing, I think it would be great if we played again.” Piper was bashful, noticing how her proposal sounded much like an invitation to a date, and her mentioning Valentines Day made it only worse.
Ricochet broke out of the act a second later.
“I’m glad you had fun. Sure, we can play again.”
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It was their sixth match in a row that they had won.
Matches were getting difficult now, as more skilled and organized teams started emerging. However, they were still out of Piper and Ricochet’s league.
Even without many words being exchanged, both Ricochet and Piper were able to work together perfectly. With their entire focus being on the match, the pair were able to snipe everyone down with ease.
Piper enjoyed playing with Ricochet, a lot. He was trustworthy as a teammate- the robot never missed a shot and was able to pressure brawlers hiding behind walls from Piper’s attacks. The pair separated for their matches. During the early game, Piper usually was in a bush dealing most of the damage while Ricochet finished them off. When they had enough power cubes, they would be from a moderate distance from each other, getting power cubes for the other. Together, they made the perfect pair.
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It was showdown with only two teams left. The toxic mist had consumed most of the map, leaving the arena much smaller than it started as. ‘It should be easy to find the last pair’, the blonde thought, shooting another bush. She and Ricochet were struggling to find the last team.
“I’ll go left, you can go right.” Piper instructed, and Ricochet nodded as they split into opposite directions. They had enough power cubes and supers to overpower a team, so it was pretty much a guaranteed win.
Piper had shot all of the remaining bushes on her side, and there was only one left where the team could be hiding, unless they were on Ricochet’s side. Before she could shoot the bush for survivors, 3 toxic daggers pierced her shoulder, and a trap full of spikes appeared beneath her feet, slowing the vulnerable sniper down. It must be the last team, but she didn’t have enough time to react to the sudden ambush.
Spike walked out of the bush and threw 3 more spikes at her, dodging 2 of her sniper bullets. It wasn’t enough damage to kill her, and she was sure she could kill Spike with one projectile. She had 6 power cubes- this should be simple.
As her scope narrowed on at Spike, ready to pull the trigger. However, she noticed that there was a shadow above her, but by then, it was too late to react.
Crow had swooped down from the sky, stabbing Piper with even more daggers. Crow only had 4 power cubes, but his super had done considerable damage to the sniper. The enemy team was closing in on her, ready to start another wave of attacks.
Piper knew she was in a really tight spot. Face to face combats weren’t her strengths, rather her weaknesses. She was trapped in Spike’s super, like a butterfly that flew into the invisible webs of a spider. A few more attacks from the opposing team would lead to her death, and her power cubes would certainly be enough to overpower Ricochet.
Not having any other options, Piper used her final card to get out of this mess, she used her super.
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Meanwhile, Ricochet was checking bushes for any signs of life until he heard daggers and spikes getting thrown. The robot rushed to the direction from where the noise was coming from- it must be the last team, and not hearing Piper’s loud sniper shots, she must be in trouble.
He knew Piper wouldn’t be able to take down an entire team with her slow reload speed. She did have her super though, although he wasn’t sure what it exactly was, but he assumed that it wouldn’t be enough to wipe an entire team. He then spotted Crow and Spike, closing in on Piper, ready to finish her off.
Just as Ricochet’s singular eye was fixated on Crow, calculating angles to end him as quick as possible. Then Crow suddenly stopped, looking up. Ricochet was confused, until he noticed his teammate was missing. He looked at the direction Crow was gazing- he saw the blonde 5 meters up in the air, gliding towards his direction with her parasol open, leaving behind a massive explosion of purple and pink.
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Ricochet knew Piper had given him a chance to take out Crow, or maybe the bird was already dead from the glittery combustion, along with Spike. Even if the other team had survived the colourful explosion, Ricochet wasn’t focusing on winning the game at all anymore.
He instead watched Piper, capturing every single tiny pixel of detail his robotic eye possibly could, especially the blue butterfly pin she wore in her blond locks, matching her pretty dress.
The gears in his system started to spin as soon as he noticed her hair clip, it was significant, but for what reason? According to the data he quickly processed, analyzing neural patterns, he concluded that he was experiencing an emotion something equivalent to adoration, or perhaps a better word- love.
He had heard from many brawlers of Piper’s supposed beauty multiple times, but he never realized just how beautiful she was. Ricochet was sure he didn’t have receptors for recognizing the standards of human attractiveness, as that was not necessary for the purpose he was built for, but he was wrong.
Ricochet snapped out of his trance and saw Piper getting closer to the ground.
Without thinking, Ricochet stumbled forward to catch the falling Piper. He caught the sniper in time carefully as if she were made of porcelain.
The pair was continuing to stare at each other, with Piper fitting perfectly in the robot’s arms.
He wasn’t thinking straight at this point. All of his systems were overheating, he wasn’t even able to think straight at all. Why was he feeling this way? Why was he frozen in place? This is a susceptible position to be attacked from, but he still couldn’t manage to break out from the position. He had so many questions yet all thoughts were drowned from gazing at the beautiful lady.
Piper looked at the robot in surprise as the pair were in silence, completely forgetting the circumstances they were currently in. Heat rose on her cheeks- she didn’t expect Ricochet to catch her at all. She could feel the bot gazing down at her, but for the first time, she didn’t feel like a jewel being appraised. The way he held her was firm yet gentle, treating her as if she were delicate, she felt like he would always look out for her- maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.
But what if he was? She barely knew Ricochet- could she trust him? Was she just viewed as just another expensive painting one wanted to add to their collection? Or did he have good intentions? Was he capable of liking her that way in the first place? The questions spiraled inside her head endlessly in her head.
The pair came back to reality once as the bells for the victors rang.
Noticing the position they were currently in, Piper quickly jumped out of Ricochet’s arms, and looked off to the side, feeling incredibly embarrassed. Ricochet seemed equally flustered, tipping his hat down to cover his face, and pulling his bandana a bit closer to him.
The duo were walking out of the arena in awkward silence, each giving multiple quick glances at each other when the other wasn’t looking. This continued on until they were outside.
Ricochet spoke first. “Well… I’m surprised about your super. It never occurred to me why you had an umbrella fused with a sniper, I assumed it was for aesthetic purposes…”
Piper laughed, but she was still not exactly facing Ricochet. “How silly of you, but I can’t blame you based on my attire…” She was barely keeping her composure, and now she was in public! She surely couldn’t afford to break her ladylike act, especially in front of Ricochet.
The robot seemed to smile, and he seemed like he was about to say something when Piper cut him off.
“I better get going now, I have to get back to my bakery, that was just my break. Thanks for playing with me darling! See you around!” Piper excused herself as she hurried off before the robot could respond. She knew it was extremely rude to leave a conversation like that, but she didn’t know how to react with all these new feelings emerging. She decided to distract herself with work, and sure enough when she reached her bakery, there was a line of customers waiting for her delicious pastries.
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It had been a long day, and finally at last, with the last customer leaving Piper’s bakery, she could finally close the shop. She sat down on her chair in exhaustion, but seeing the happy faces of her clients made her know it was worth it.
It was great to see happy couples all around, and everyone seemed satisfied with her offerings of sweet treats. She even gave out some free samples of heart shaped donuts to children who passed by.
All of this giving made her mostly feel fulfilled. However, there was still a person in mind she wanted to show appreciation to, the day wasn’t over yet. Piper checked the time, it was 6:30 pm. The baker grabbed her parasol. She then went to the counter and packed some small pastries and placed them in
her basket before heading out.
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She arrived at Barley’s restaurant, and it was busy as usual, as many brawlers were done brawling for the day and usually commuted here. However, it was much quieter and somewhat calm today. Slow, romantic music was playing in the background, and brawlers seemed to be peaceful, as there were only small chatter in the background. She noticed an abnormal number of couples today, and Piper walked over and saw Barley cleaning up a table to a couple who had just left. Barley noticed Piper and looked up at her with his usual warm smile.
“Greetings Piper! What brings you here?” The robot asked, tidying himself up.
Piper hugged the robot tightly without any words, and the bartender seemed slightly surprised at first and then patted her back.
When Piper broke the hug, they both sat down on the table Barley had just finished cleaning.
“I just felt like coming here, to thank you Barley. For everything you’ve done for me. It’s Valentine’s Day after all, I know it’s directed to romantic relationships, but it’s still the day of love. You’re an amazing friend, and I just wanted to help you out around here in the diner.” Piper looked at Barley, who seemed teary-eyed at her gratitude.
Piper pushed the basket of treats onto him. “It’s for you. I had some leftovers, and they’re your favourite.”
“Puff pastries? Piper… You really shouldn’t have…” Barley held the basket and hugged the baker as a thanks, she could feel a drop of oil landing on her shoulder.
“Oh Barley… Don’t cry, you deserve this after all!”
“I apologize, it’s just that you have grown so much since I met you. It’s great to see how you’re more open with me.” Barley wiped his tear with a handkerchief.
“Do you mind if I clear off some plates from some customers? You can finish sending out orders.” Piper offered.
“That would be a pleasure. I appreciate your help Piper.” Barley said standing up and placing the basket on the counter.
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After Piper had finished cleaning up some tables as well as clearing dishes from satisfied customers, Piper returned back to Barley, sitting on one of the pub chairs.
“I see you’re back. I have to serve more drinks, but perhaps we can chat while I’m doing so.”
Barley started to pour drinks, and Piper thanked him when he handed her a hot cup of Earl Grey, her favourite drink.
“Thanks sugar.” Piper thanked Barley, who nodded in response. She started to talk about her day as Barley poured drinks, this was a routine for them.
Piper sighed. She had told Barley all about how she was secretly envious of the gleeful couples today, and how she felt her beauty was cursed, not able to find true love herself. She then told Barley about Ricochet, everything she admired about him.
“Of all the men I’ve met, he’s the only one who made me feel something. The problem is, I barely know him, yet it feels like we’ve met each other somewhere before, known each other in another lifetime.” She never noticed how familiar the robot was to her, it was like she’d encountered him in an alternate timeline, perhaps they were friends or much more.
“It feels like a paradox, I’m scared of loving him, but when he held me, I felt human. Not just a collection of roles- A potential wife, an expensive jewelry, a trophy, or a goddess- but just a raw, beating heart. He stitched the cracks in my heart when he held me in his arms. It scared me, for him to see me unfiltered and exposed.” Barley looked up, looking at the Southern Belle with a tender expression.
“He isn’t made of human flesh like me. He’s a man made of metal. He doesn’t have a heart. Is loving a metal man possible?” Piper was obviously conflicted with her emotions, not knowing how to react with her newfound feelings, and Barley wanted to help her out.
“I am just an old robot devoted to bartending, so what do I know about romance? But if I were you, I would take the risk.” Piper looked up at Barley, an inquisitive expression on her face.
“Love is always a risk, Piper. How can you build relationships if you don’t trust people at all? Look at you, you’ve come so far. You trusted me to be your friend, and you made a lot of friends throughout your time here, right?”
Piper nodded her head in agreement.
“So why not take a chance at Ricochet? Maybe he’s your chance at something special. Trust your judgment Piper, you have a great sense of character. Don’t let your past suitors let you be scared of love- you deserve better than that.”
“Maybe you’re right, I’ll apologize to him the next time I see him and possibly invite him over for a cup of tea. Thank you Barley for listening to me, you’re the apple of my eye.” Piper smiled, sitting up a bit straighter, and Barley could tell her smile was genuine. He was glad he cheered Piper up.
“Speaking of Ricochet… he’s here.” Barley whispered, nudging Piper to look behind her, and there he was, entering the restaurant. Ricochet also seemed to take notice of Piper and was heading towards her direction.
Barley gave Piper a wink and a thumbs up for support, took it as his cue to grab his tray of drinks to hand out to his patrons.
“May I accompany you? You seem quite lonely.” Ricochet came up behind her, pointing at the seat next to her.
Piper smiled warmly as she held her cup of tea. She felt calmer now, Barley’s words had given her back the confidence she always carried. “That would be a real treat, sugar”.
Ricochet sat down on the chair next to Piper, and this time, Piper spoke first.
“I apologize wholeheartedly for what happened earlier, there was no negative intent behind my actions, I was feeling a bit nervous.” Piper looked at Ricochet directly.
“I understand. I was feeling anxious too. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, it just… happened.” Ricochet stared at Piper too, having a sorry expression.
Piper waved her hands off. “No, it’s fine sugar, nothing too big to apologize about.”
Ricochet let out what seemed like a relieved sigh.
“I was worried- I was planning to ask you out for dinner tonight before you ran off. But it seems like things worked out after all, since now that we’re here.”
Piper’s cheeks felt a little warmer. “It sure did. What made you come here anyways? You don’t seem like a regular here.”
Ricochet pointed to a table, and there she found Shelly and Colt, chatting away on a table. “Colt convinced me and Shelly to come here to unwind after work, but I think he was up to something more than that.”
Piper giggled, and Ricochet let out a robotic laugh as well.
“I’ve heard stories about some of your feats with Shelly and Colt, and it seems like you had some quite the adventures with them.”
“Would you like to hear some of them? After all, there’s quite a long night ahead of us.” Ricochet offered.
“Of course.”
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Barley had been watching the pair for quite a while now- he had never seen Piper so incredibly joyful before. Of course, one may say she smiles all the time but Barley had known Piper long enough and could tell the difference of her smile to keep her public image and a rare genuine one.
Most of the customers had left, as it was getting late, but not for these two. The pair had laughed on and talked the entire time, not even noticing how dark outside it was. It had even started to rain quite severely. Barley had finished cleaning the last tables and looked satisfied with the overly clean restaurant. He looked at the clock again, which showed to be 10:20. He then tapped Piper on the shoulder, pointing at the clock.
Piper then gasped and stood up. “Oh my stars, I’m so sorry, Barley! We’ll leave now!”
“Thank you for the drinks, Barley. They were great.” Ricochet pulled a bag full of gold coins and pushed it towards Barley. “Drinks are on me.”
Piper laughed warmly, hooking her arm around the sheriff. “Thanks, Ricochet, I can pay next time.”
Barley tipped his hat. “Thank you for your patronship. Goodnight Piper.”
Piper waved at Barley before exiting the restaurant, and Barley saw Ricochet and Piper outside, sharing her parasol as they headed on their merry way.
Barley leaned against the counter. When did her little girl grow up so fast? Seeing her happy made the bartender happy as well. It was a good day.