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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/KyleKKent on 2025-10-15 21:18:23+00:00.

First

??? (We’re going to need a proper name for Harold focused story beats.)

Shoulder crashes into shoulder as Kudzu tries to run him over and instead he keeps balance and matches his pace as they sprint over the landscape. Behind them both is both a swarm of Tundra Worms trying to catch up and a growing fleet of aircars and drones with cameras running and excited crowds.

“Having fun?” Harold asks.

“First time doing a running duel like this. Where’d you get the idea?”

“Video games! Past couple of days I’ve been bonding with my adopted daughter and in-laws! There is a climatic story fight between two rivals of equal power on opposite sides at a dead sprint!” Harold answers as he pulls back his head and he and Kudzu mutually headbutt each other.

“Fun!” Kudzu says before taking a snap at Harold’s nose and Harold grabs him by the branches and tries to throw him. Harold tears his hand away as the knives come out. Harold then races after him and slams his elbow into Kudzu’s back as he lands. But Kudzu rolls with it like water over stone and Harold leaps backwards with his arms and legs splayed to avoid the edges of the forest of blades. Blades held in the branches of willow like branches, blades tied to the ends of his innumerable bandages. Kudzu has turned himself into a whirlwind of slicing edges, each of them with Axiom running down them and increasing the effective length of them all. Doubling them all.

He flips and tumbles backwards as Kudzu less approaches and more dances towards him in a flurry of flensing knives.

He makes use of the slight frosting on the ground to slide backwards in a low crouch as he gets the feeling of the terrain.

Axiom causes things to stick together, grand him strength and leverage beyond what his frame can afford. And he pulls up and underhand throws a boulder larger than himself and Kudzu together as he passes over it.

It’s sliced into pieces and several are sent his way. Most are dodged, but one is punched back so hard that even as it’s parried the pieces still slam into Kudzu. There is a momentary stagger and a moment where Kudzu seems to broadcast sheer incredulity more than anything. Then he rallies and charges again, a sword held in his hands longer than he is tall and with an enormous handle to give him huge swing strength and control.

Harold slips under the blade, but it makes a tiny circle and shifts direction with seeming ease. No Axiom, just skill.

He reaches the round guard and uses it to hold the keen edge of the weapon away from him as he pulls himself closer and lashes out with his left hand in a spearing jab aimed right between Kuzdu’s eyes. Kudzu leans back to dodge the blow and brings his blades up but is then forced to use the flats to block the brutal knee that Harold just tried to drive into his stomach.

Kudzu staggers back before adjusting his grip on his sword to a reverse grip and races at Harold who slips away from a massive swing that was intended to cut him in half and then carries him further and further away. Harold gives chase.

“Tell me human! You should know that your brother in blood faces my sworn brother! How do you think he fares!?” Kudzu demands as Harold catches up.

“Explosively!” Harold replies eagerly.

•-•-•Scene Change•-•-• (Centris, In Motion At The Highest Levels Of The Spires)•-•-•

A secondary explosion follows the first that Brier causes and sends him staggering as the explosive charge that Herbert had phased onto his back as he dodged the nuclear blast goes off. The backhand from Brier trails massive Axiom shockwaves laced with gamma radiation and Herbert teleports past them and tosses a few small orbs directly at Brier who swats them out of the air. Only for them to unleash explosions as they weren’t standard grenades, just small spheres filled with explosive powder. No timer needed when being hit by your enemy will set them off.

•-•-•Scene Change•-•-• (Zalwore, Between Arcologies, Moving Fast)•-•-•

“So are you trying to bait out my sword?” Harold asks as Kudzu throws his sword at him with a line trailing behind it and then starts swinging it around fast enough to blur.

“Perhaps.” Kudzu replies and Harold smirks, before suddenly diving to the side and teleporting past the swinging blade to kick at Kudzu who blocks his foot with an elbow, thrusts up with his sword to try and stab at Harold as he’s left hanging for a heartbeat by the blocked kick and Harold traps the flat of the blade between his palms and holds it still as they race. They start trying to kick at each other as Harold completely traps the sword and has to move fast and efficient to avoid being tripped, kicked or stabbed by the knives still dangling off the ends of bandages and branches.

He then suddenly skids to a stop and Kudzu is swung out as Harold redirects the momentum as best he can to try and slam Kudzu into the ground. He lets go and Kudzu skids away before charging at him. Harold stops, takes a low stance with one hand out in front and the other pointed directly behind. He takes a deep breath and focuses as Kudzu flashes closer.

His hand snakes around, punches the sword to the side and steps forward as hard as he can to slam his fist into Kudzu’s sternum. He hits hard and also elastic wood. Kudzu is armoured. But not immune to physics as he’s knocked backwards. But he’s far from stunned or winded as he takes a probing swipe that then transfers into an intricate dance where Kudzu tries and fails to so much as nick Harold.

“Is this because you want to face my sword?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a brutal powerful Axiom weapon! I can’t pull it! Even if I hit you with the flat of that sword you’re going to be…” Harold begins to protest before he slips to the side and catches the second sword that Kudzu just threw at him. Identical to Kudzu’s on long straight blade. Harold turns it over in his hands and nods before clipping a small Axiom totem to it’s end and putting on a matching finger. Kudzu raises an eyebrow. Then steps to the side to allow the thrown sword to pass by.

The sword that is suddenly in Harold’s hand and he deflects the swing.

“Well done, I prefer a line though. Allows more interesting techniques.”

“I prefer to not be levered around by my weapon.” Harold says.

“To each their own.” Kudzu says before suddenly shifting his stance and throwing Harold before taking a probing slash. Harold blocks with the handle of his new sword and uses it to turn it around and bury it into the ground point first and then pulls himself through the air and launch himself at Kudzu with his feet first. The Floric leans out of the way and then brings up his sword to parry as Harold summons his sword back to him and swings downward.

“Not very familiar with this form of blade are you?”

“Don’t worry. I learn fast.”

“Of course. This way.” Kudzu says before racing away. Harold gives chase and is soon neck and neck with their mad sprint for the horizon. “Now, I am rather curious about something.”

“And what would that be?”

“How good is that Brand of yours?” Kudzu asks and swings his sword at Harold. He can feel his brand warm up as he parries it. The blade is carrying a current now, curtesy of the storm of Axiom Kudzu is calling in.

“Okay, so a basic electrical attack is ignored. But what about THIS?” Kudzu asks and the ere is a crackling BANG as the sheer amount of electricity crossing their blades sparks off and blasts in to the sky as a lightning bolt. “Hmm… not bad.”

The electrical surge has partially magnetized the swords and the weapons drag on each other as they separate a bit and it takes effort to unhook them from one another.

“Ever fought with giant magnets?” Harold calls over.

“No! This will be new!”

“Then let’s go all out!” Harold says running more current through his own weapon and feeling it’s magnetic force increasing. Kudzu matches it and then they veer towards each other and swing.

The blades pull themselves towards each other and stick with immense force even as they both try to manoeuvre the weapon out of the other guy’s hand. The strange combination between wrestling match, running duel and swordfight as they both seem to mutually agree to use minimal Axiom to pry the now highly magnetized sharp bars that were once swords away from each other.

“This is so stupid.” Kudzu says as he starts chuckling.

“No doubt! Wanna go hand and foot again?”

“Actually, I was thinking more Axiom.” Kudzu says as Harold lets go of the sword he was given and The Withering Groom takes off the tag that Harold used on it and tosses it to him. “You’re good with weapons and like to go hand and foot. But hows your Axiom game?”

“Fair enough. Anything off limit?”

“No Null.”

“Oh, so I need another idea then.” Harold says as Kudzu tucks away the magnetized swords.

“Yes.” Kudzu says. Then points a singular finger at Harold and a blast of lightning shoots off from it. Harold deflects it to the side with his right hand and punches forward with the left. Compressing the air and launching it at Kudzu like a cannonball.

As always Kudzu weaves away and Harold closes the gap between them. Outright eating the next lightning bolt without flinching and kicking to produce a cutting wave of power that Kudzu dodges as well.

But Harold was expecting that and his fingers wrap around a branch and he starts to pull in Kudzu with his left hand as his right erupts in flame.

Kudzu’s own burning fist slams directly int…

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1o7njhs/oocs_into_a_wider_galaxy_part_475/