Arva herded the audience into their seats like animals to a pen. As they shuffled through a single file line, Siergi's fans and admirers turned to look towards him, giving him waves and shots for attention. Siergi turned his head to the side, giving a sly smile and closing his eyes as if he was both embarrassed and humbled by the attention. The crowd continued to give him yells of excitement and praise long after they were all seated against the bleachers.
Siergi and Maluk stood in the middle of the mat that would make up the length of the fight's area. Once all the seats were filled, Arva joined the rest of her team. She waved both of her hands high above her head, smiling at those watching and grabbing their attention. "How's everyone doing today?" Arva shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth as a makeshift megaphone. The audience stomped their feet and applauded. Siergi nodded and rolled his hand in the air, telling them to continue making noise.
"We're so glad you could make it out today!" Arva continued. "Looks like the competition is finally back in Labrisson! And do we have a Broadcast for you today! Isn't that right Maluk?" Arva turned to her teammate. The burly man walked towards next to her, still holding onto the end of his rod with one hand.
"That's right!" Maluk called out. He then faced the audience. They quieted down and waited with bated breath as Maluk's eyes scanned across the bleachers. "When was the last time you saw a Ranked Team Battle?" he asked. The viewers turned to one another and began talking amongst themselves with a soft murmur. "Seems like it's been a while!" Maluk concluded his statement with a laugh. "Good thing we have some guests here to bring you a change of pace from the one-on-one matches that you've been seeing for so long!"
Siergi made his way in between his two teammates. He titled his head back, sending his short black locks of hair out of the way of his face. The audience roared once again as he gave his signature smile followed by a gentle wave of his hands. "Hey everyone." The sound from the crowd doubled. Siergi was taken back by the sudden rush of stomps, shouts and claps. He paused for a moment to give the crowd a chance to calm themselves. "We've got some special guests today," Siergi continued once the noise had quieted down. "A brand new team just formed today for the sole purpose of challenging Siergi and the Sparks. How do you guys feel about that?"
The audience responded in unison with a loud boisterous laugh.
"I know, I know," Siergi let in a bit of air as he laughed while bending forward. He stood up straight once more and addressed the audience again. "That's how it usually goes on this Broadcast, right? But I think this other team will put on a good match. They're some of Labrisson's best Exterminators! They managed to not go missing. As a matter of fact, they played a key role in rescuing the missing people!"
The viewers went quite again save for the few that let out a nearly silent 'wow' from the revelation. "I'm sure some of you wouldn't be here tonight without them," he continued. " But you guys are here to watch some fighting right? You've been waiting long enough," Siergi turned towards a door that led into one of the storage rooms. " Let me introduce you to The Labrisson Slayers!"
"Who was supposed to go out first again?" Itzel whispered. Her front was pressed against one of the walls of the storage room. Gurk wedged both her and Janus against opposite walls as they both tried to squirm out to get more space to move. "You think they could have found... a bigger place to store their stuff considering how much money they rank in with each Broadcast," she muttered to herself.
"And here comes... the Labrisson Slayers!" Siergi shouted once more from the center of the room. "Any second now!"
"You save the best for last, right?" Janus asked as he began to free himself from being by Gurk's side.
"Usually. Yeah," Itzel replied.
"Guess that means I'm going out first." Janus jumped forward, dislodging himself from the confines of the closet. He staggered forward, nearly falling forward before regaining his balance. All the eyes of the audience stared at him as he set himself upright. He tugged on his jacket, fixing the misalignment of his collar as he walked towards the center of the arena. He gave the audience a brief wave and a big smile before meeting up with Sierigi's team.
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"This here is Janus Campbell," Arva began. "He's the first member of The Labrisson Slayers. He's got a Plasma-based Affinity and a knack for physics!" The crowd oohed at the information. Janus kept his head down, trying to avoid making eye contact with audience. Arva then turned her attention back to the storage room.
"Who's going to be the next member of the Labrisson Slayers to show themself?" she said with a voice that boomed throughout the area. There was a pause as everyone kept their eyes on the door, waiting for someone to exit. There was a short moment of quiet. Itzel put one foot out before slowly letting the rest of her body step outside. She walked in Janus' direction, receiving a roar of applause. She bore a look of determination as she made her way towards her teammate. The woman's calm and deliberate walk went undeterred by the sound of the audience.
"Here's Itzel de Vuera!" Arva said. Itzel kept her hands behind her back as she tapped her foot against the ground in a rhythmic manner, showing off her eagerness. "She's one of Labrisson's top Exterminators and she plans on using her wind Techniques to try and take home the win for her team!" The audience continued their clapping for a brief period before going silent. Siergi stepped forward and reclaimed the attention of the crowd for himself.
"Last but certainly not least..." Siergi smiled as he made his way to the closet. He opened the door wide and stepped inside. He walked out with Gurk right beside him. Siergi raised the crocodile's arm upwards, nodding as he basked in the quiet awe of his viewers. An abrupt hush passed over everyone in the seats as they stared at Gurk with bewilderment. They began talking among themselves in low whispers, shifting their attention between one another and the guest competitor. Gurk trudged his way towards the center mat, indifferent to the looks and reactions he received. Arva stood beside him and placed one hand on the back of his jacket.
"And here's the man you've been waiting to see! Gurk! He's got all manner of ice powers to chill the competition. He looks fierce but he's got anything but a cold heart." Arva stood on the ball of her foot so she could reach Gurk's ear. "Say something to them," she said too quietly for the audience to hear but just loud enough for Janus and Itzel listen. Gurk lifted his head and panned the audience from to right.
"Hi." The crocodile waved one hand.
The audience erupted in excitement. The applause and cheering made the stands shake. Gurk grinned as Arva led him to stand with the rest of The Labrisson Slayers. With both teams together, they converged at the center of the mat and faced off. "You guys have your team order set, right?" Arva asked?
Itzel nodded. "Yep."
Arva looked at Siergi. "And you did the same for us?"
"Of course."
"No point in keeping the audience waiting any longer then. Unless any of you three need anything, then we can get started with the fight." Arva told the others.
"We're ready to start whenever," Itzel replied.
"Excellent!" Siergi brought up his projection. A massive screen appeared in front of the bleachers, mimicking his so that the audience could see the Rumble Circuit page. "Once I press the 'Begin' button, it'll show what order we selected and give us the first match-up."
Without hesitation, Siergi tapped the button. Images of all six fighters were placed in two separate columns, organized by team. The portraits danced across the screen, arranging themselves into vertical columns. Janus' face was at the top of the side for his team. Beneath him was Itzel's portrait and Gurk at the very bottom. Opposite of The Labrisson Slayers column was Maluk, Arva and Siergi, descending in that order. A line connected Janus' portrait with Maluk's.
"Told you," Itzel whispered to Janus.
"Round One!" Arva called out to the crowd. "Janus versus Maluk!" The audience applauded. Siergi and Arva made their way off the mat.
"Go ahead and step out of the challenge area Gurk. I'm just going to give Janus here a bit of advice before his first big fight," Itzel said as she pointed to the complimentary seats at the edge of the mat. The crocodile listened and took a seat on the crate provided. Itzel then leaned in close to Janus.
"Remember what I said?" she whispered.
Janus gave a quick bob of his head. "Yep. Just play it safe."
"You got it. Just fight smart, alright? Remember, even if you don't win, we can still come back."
"Right."
Itzel patted him on his back and headed next to Gurk. Only Janus and Maluk stood in the challenge area. The perimeter of the mat flashed with tall red, digital-like walls marking the border of the challenge area before disappearing completely. Maluk stood in front of Janus and pressed a button on the rod that he was carrying. A long electric tether shot out from the end, dropping a spherical orb in the process that dangled from the blue electricity. Maluk took the flail off his shoulder and held it with both hands, propping it in front of his body. "Good luck, my friend," Maluk said with a grin.
"Likewise," Janus replied as he got into the same karate stance that Itzel had shown him.