Chapter 81
The morning after the big bar blowout, Ken woke up on his bedroom floor with a quilt draped over him and a pillow leaning against his arm. These “mornings after” a surprise visit from Samurai Tortoise always derailed Ken’s day. He liked to wake up precisely at 5:30 to begin his morning routine: meditation, workout, and a shower, followed by breakfast. But it was already well past breakfast time, and Ken was just waking up with a lingering headache and the vague feeling that he had much to apologize for from the previous night.
Jax wasn’t around, so Ken decided he would further stray from his routine, and sat up on the floor to begin his meditation. It had been a long time since Samurai Tortoise had broken through on his own without having been “handed the keys” by Ken. In these instances, the only way to retrieve his alter ego’s memories was through deep meditation. His sensei had taught him the practice as a child because Ken hadn’t yet developed the emotional control to stop Samurai Tortoise from breaking through during times of either anger, excitement, or frustration. These days, he did have coping mechanisms in place: breathing exercises and visualization techniques.
Ken’s meditations showed him last night’s fight, his anger at seeing June attacked, and Samurai Tortoise jumping into the melee before Bobby had sonically guided him out of the bar. Like many other challengers, he passed out immediately upon returning to The Spire. Relief washed over Ken. There was nothing to apologize for. But he did want to check in on June.
That check-in would be delayed, however, because just as Ken had finished getting dressed, a production assistant knocked on his bedroom door to wrangle him for the big awards ceremony that afternoon. The P.A. explained that they had wardrobe and makeup waiting for the competitors backstage, as well as some confessionals to film. Therefore, Ken would be tied up with production details for the rest of the day in the lead-up to the big event.
The wrangler walked Ken to the elevator, which transported them to the lowest level of The Spire and opened onto the expansive room where registration and orientation had taken place on day one of the competition. The room was quartered and bedecked with huge banners and streamers flying the colors of each of the War Games teams. There was a circular stage right in the center with a four-sided screen floating above. In addition, 24 monitors were mounted high up on all the walls and were playing action highlights from the past challenge. In the center of the stage, a huge bust of The Council’s Warrior, “The War,” loomed over 24 chairs aligned in four groups of six, all color-coded to match the four team flags from War Games. The catering crew was setting up clusters of tables and stools around the stage and draping them with tablecloths. Stacks of chairs lined the perimeter, still waiting to be set up for the future audience. Ken wondered where the VIP seating would be. There was no way a council member would be sitting in the mix of the less connected onlookers.
While Ken was still surveying the area, June and Jax arrived with a different production assistant. They had been “wrangled” from the gym where they had been sparring. But instead of shouting at him, they decided to sneak up on him.
June greeted him by throwing her hands in front of his eyes from behind, like a blindfold, and kissing him on the cheek. “Hey there, Big Green. Guess who?”
Ken had a split second to decide how to respond. Should he play it straight? He obviously knew it was June, and she knew that he knew, so that seemed boring. But he hated flirting and was terrible at it. He needed to come up with a clever line, but wit eluded him at the moment. He went with a joke—a bad one. “Ashley?”
He felt the hands pull away from his face. But, before his eyes could adjust to the light, Ken felt a hard punch to his shoulder and a hard stomp on his foot. He reeled from the pain. Blinking a few times, Ken regained his sight and saw Jax standing in front of him, shaking his head.
“Real nice, dude,” he playfully taunted.
“Yes. I regretted the joke even as I was saying it.”
“Honestly, man... It’s pretty much what I expected as I watched the whole thing unfold. Wanna go see what they are gonna force us to wear tonight?”
“That sounds like a good idea. Although, I am dreading the outcome of our upcoming investigation.”
“Yeah, me too, bro. Me fucking too.”
The two young metas walked around the stage to a door that had a big “Authorized Personnel Only” sign. “That’s us, right?” Jax asked rhetorically as he pushed the door open, entering a bustling backstage. People carrying boom microphones and lights rushed this way and that, miraculously avoiding collision. A man with a tablet and headphones stood by a door labeled “wardrobe,” and a similarly accessorized woman next to a door with a plaque that read, “makeup.”
Jax went to open the “wardrobe” door, but the tablet man stopped him. “Name?” he asked them both without looking up from his screen.
“You need to know our names?” Jax mocked, astounded that anyone didn’t recognize them at this point.
“Yes. If you aren’t on the list, I can’t-” The room’s guard finally looked up to see two of the stars of Top Seed standing before him and froze.
“Uh-huh.” Jax smiled back. “I think you will find us on the list somewhere.”
“My apologies, Borealis… Mr. Samurai,” the guard stuttered as he opened the door for the two.
“Thank you, sir,” Ken acknowledged as he brushed past into the large, wardrobe-lined room with racks and racks of clothes. Each rack had the name of a member of the cast taped to it, scribbled with marker on a piece of paper. Jax and Ken wandered the perimeter of the room until they came upon Ken’s potential clothes hanging on wire hangers on one of the racks. Every single item was black yet varied in style, from cargo pants and sweatshirts to an all-black tuxedo.
Jax rifled through the clothing and pulled out a tank top that would be very uncharacteristic of Ken to choose to wear to the ceremony. “Tres chic.”
“Indeed, maybe the wardrobe team has confused my look with Hanzel’s,” Ken joked.
Jax began to laugh uncontrollably. The joke itself wasn’t exactly worthy of SNL, but it was so unusual for Ken to jest at all that it caught his friend off guard. “Dude, who are you, and what have you done with my roommate? How hard did June sock you? We may need to get you to medical in case you are concussed. Wait! Did Samurai Tortoise take over without fully shifting?”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“I assure you I am fine. It was merely momentary insanity brought on by that hideous sleeveless shirt. Is it cropped?” Ken made a face that looked like he had just smelled stinky, moldy cheese that had been left out in the sun all day on the Fourth of July in the desert on a tin roof.
As Jax’s fit of laughter subdued, Ken found what he was looking for: a tasteful ensemble of slacks and a charcoal-colored button-up shirt that he intended to wear together and without a tie.
Ken held the items out, displaying them for Jax, who looked them up and down with a nod of approval. “Nice. Now, let's go see what they’ve got for me. Where’s my rack?”
The two finished up in wardrobe and then headed over to hair and makeup, where a team of experts got them both camera-ready. It took longer than either had expected, so by the time they were all set, it was nearly time for the show to begin.
Two wranglers arrived to split up the young men and lead them to the waiting areas for their respective War Games teams. The teams were organized into lines backstage, with a production wrangler standing next to each team’s leader at the front. The crowd had grown since Ken had first wandered the room, a growing hum building from the excited conversations of the audience. Once all 24 competitors were finally assembled, they were guided to their seats through a large curtain tunnel that led from backstage and up the stairs to the raised circular stage in the center of the theater hall. For their part, the Top Seed cast remained quiet as they settled. No need to ruin any potentially surprising reveals with needless chatter.
Then, gradually, the crowd quieted, and a stillness swept through the room. The stillness stayed for about a minute until applause erupted out of nowhere. The cast was behind a circular curtain and was unable to see what had caused the explosive reaction, but Ken would have bet his life that The Show had just made his grand entrance. That bet would prove correct, confirmed when Flint’s voice boomed through the auditorium, beginning his big opening monologue.
“Good evening! Thank you, thank you,” he started by quieting the adoring audience so that the mass of fans, Heralds, and influencers in the room could hear his speech as well as those watching at home. “War Games have concluded! And wasn’t that the most exciting month of television ever?” Flint waited as if the entire crowd would answer in unison somehow. “Ratings would suggest so. This month, Top Seed broke every single television event record, making it the most-watched television event in history!” The statement prompted another uproar of approval. For his part, Ken was waiting anxiously. He wondered how the points were going to be assigned. He was part of the winning team, but how much would the individual awards factor?
“So! Without further ado, our incredible cast of colossal competitors… Your top 24!” The curtain surrounding the stage dropped, revealing the 24 contestants sitting with their teams on chairs painted to match their War Games flags. The huge screens that flanked the room and the jumbotron above the stage all began playing different clips of some of the amazing action that had taken place during the War Games trial. Ken perused the monitors, taking in some of the encounters that he hadn’t been around to witness, or take part in, in real-time. A surprising scene of Ralph taking on the duo of Arsenal and Migraine caught Ken off guard. That guy had a habit of exceeding expectations; it was something he would have to keep an eye on going forward.
“Tonight, we will be giving out ten awards to the winners and runners-up in five categories. The first of which will be ‘Best Offensive Weapon’!” As he spoke, lights dimmed in the room and a montage played of some of the biggest and best attacks and point captures. Ken was amazed at how much had taken place outside of his awareness. From huge explosive fortress felling explosions to subtle tactical point victories, a wide variety of offensive prowess was on display in the video package. Weirdly, he wasn’t featured prominently. But Olympian, Borealis, Skyrocket, and even UFO were. And Horizon… Wow! His cousin was a main character in the clips, yet somehow, she had been able to keep the root of her power hidden. It was as though she had been able to just conjure opponents flags out of thin air. Ken knew what his cousin could do, but to the audience, based on what she had shown, she could have been a telepath, teleporter, illusionist, speedster, or some other god-tier meta.
His thoughts were interrupted as the house lights came back on, and The Show continued, “Before we announce our Offensive Weapon winner, let's start with the runner-up. This All-Star showed that her seemingly limited power could be used to great effect in many offensive situations. She scored a point for her team and was able to break even the most stalwart defenses. In the Offensive Weapon category, our runner up, earning five leaderboard points, and this handy dandy bronze statue,” he held up a small bronze statue of a cartoon-looking bomb, “...is Olympian!” As the crowd clapped, Athena stood up and headed to center stage to accept her award. Ken noticed her forced smile and wondered why she wasn’t legitimately happy. He would have liked to achieve runner-up, knowing who was likely going to win this award.
The Show quietly directed Athena to stay standing next to him before turning his attention back to the crowd and the cameras. “As for the winner, I doubt anyone will be shocked. This All-Star captured five of her teams' six points, a winning sum, most of which she achieved on day one. Give it up for the Herald known to the world as Horizon! Congratulations!” Lizzy made her was to center stage to stand next to Athena and receive her slightly larger silver cartoon bomb statue. She waved to the audience with regality. Ken had mixed feelings about his cousin winning this category. He was annoyed he couldn’t have been the hero for his team, even if they did end up winning. He was also bummed out he couldn't convince his cousin to align with his Challenger friends. Maybe had he been team captain, things would have turned out differently. But, he also couldn’t fault anything Bailey did, except maybe the block party. But, at the time it seemed like a refresh was much needed for the final push.
“Let’s give it up one last time for our offensive MVPs!” Flint wrapped up that section of the ceremony and transitioned smoothly into the next award. “Now, as we know, offense wins games, but defense wins wars. This adage applies in sports and in War Games. The next award will be Best Defensive Stallwart!” Another short video presentation played of the many defensive maneuvers that the different teams applied. Ken was focused elsewhere, though. He looked over at June, who seemed to be holding back tears. While he was reflecting on his failures in the offensive arena, it seemed she was taking the loss much harder. He hoped that future categories would reward the gorgeous warrior. In fact, he had witnessed her prowess firsthand and would have bet anything that she would be standing up there holding an award before the night was over.
The video ended as The Show named Animatorch runner-up, which, in retrospect, made perfect sense. Turning his fortress into a living cartoon nightmare was the most talked-about defensive strategy. In fact, as Animatorch humbly stared at his feet while walking to center stage, Ken wondered who had beaten the All-Star in this bracket. His curiosity was sated as Flint continued as master of ceremony,” But, the winner of this category has to be the challenger that stopped the bleeding on day one. Horizon and her team were running away with the competition until Triple Z figured out how to negate her offensive strengths by putting anyone who entered the area around his team’s fortress to sleep! The only time his team lost points after he was put on defense was when he, himself, was asleep. Zzz, come on up and grab your award, and the ten points that come along with it.” As Joel walked to grab the silver award in the shape of a small brick wall, Ken beamed with pride for his friend. Joel, the stranger who offered to film videos that he could pass to his alter-ego in an attempt to connect on a deeper level, who always seemed concerned with everyone’s wellbeing but also seemed in over his head, had just become the first non-All-Star to win an award tonight. Ken knew that no one deserved this particular award more than this unassuming young Herald, who went by the codename Zzz.
Ken had also locked in on the fact that the awards being given out tonight were silver and bronze instead of gold and silver. But before he could mentally dig in further, Flint moved on to the next category. “Those two awards were the most obvious, but the next group is my personal favorite. Next, we are going to reward those who won the most duels. Whether it be one versus one or two versus two, many duels were attempted over the course of the month. Let’s take a look at some of the most exciting!”
Another montage played, this time of some of the most exciting moments from different fights that took place during the trial. This time, Samurai Tortoise was front and center, especially highlighting his fight with Skyrocket. He glanced over at June once again. Her mood seemed to shift. He saw the hope grow in her expression. He just wished that her hopes wouldn’t be dashed. With how many fights had occurred over the course of the month, these points would be ultra-competitive. His wish was about to come true, though, and then some.
“Our runner-up for the Best Duellist is…” The Show let the tension build with a long pause. “...Skyrocket!” Ken beamed. He figured June would be happy with five points and the second prize for this particular group, but her ambition was one of her most admirable traits, so he locked eyes with her as she made her way to The Show to accept her award. He hadn’t seen her happier in this entire competition. June hadn’t held a grudge when it came to Jax not recognizing her with points in The Tycoon Challenge, but Ken knew she had been pretty down about her point total thus far. The look on her face said it all. She was ecstatic. “And our best duellist, with ten leaderboard points, is…Samurai Tortoise. Oh shit! Should he shift before accepting the prize? Ken froze in momentary panic, and The Show noticed. “Come on up here, son, before we decide to give the award to someone else. Ken stood rigidly and awkwardly walked to center stage.
“By the way,” Ken said softly to Flint as he took the silver award resembling two crossed rapiers, “When I am not shifted, you can call me Ronin.”
“You heard it here first, America! And congratulations, Ronin, on your trophy and the ten points that come along with it.” Flint’s boisterous voice boomed through the auditorium, and as Ken made his way back to his seat, the crowd began chanting his new Herald name. Ronin! Ronin! Ronin!