Chapter 8
The Parents
There was something frightening about Vivian’s father.
Maybe it was that he dwarfed all others around him in size and stature. Maybe it was the black beard that adorned his chin, or the military bearing with which he walked. It could have even been the way he made the other parents stand back and mutter amongst themselves. For Meredith, however, it was something very different.
It was the way he made Vivian look like a little girl.
“Your apology is meaningless, Viv.” His words were barking as his eyes narrowed on his daughter. She flinched, but straightened her back. “If you’re aware of your failings these two days, then perhaps you’d best work to correct them. I’ll not have another poor ranking as you did at the Trial of Desert, or that slipshod event at the settlement.”
“Yes, father.”
Meredith swallowed, fearing the man could hear it as he turned his eyes on to her. They were black pools, or just deep-blue ones, sizing her up. She was certain Vivian’s father was aware of her own role in Vivian getting that rank, and wanted to hurl a scathing insult at her. She didn’t give him the satisfaction, eyes narrowing back until Eddie elbowed her.
“If you know that, why are you still standing here, girl?”
“Because we’re having a team dinner, Victor.” Amelia’s voice cut across the tension, allowing Meredith to let just a small amount of breath escape her lips. “Surely you remember from your days in the Corps: a squad eats together.”
“Commander Chavez…” Victor Lacroix’s eyes swiveled around to look at the woman that had arrived behind them. She didn’t look intimidated in the slightest, as though familiar with the older, graying man that had intruded on the otherwise pleasant family reunions. “Does this mean you’re not giving requisite training? Am I to expect a disappointing result?”
“Not at all.” Meredith felt weight settle on her shoulders, along with Eddie’s, Emil’s and Vivian’s. The commander hung off them, tilting her head and wearing a crooked smile towards Victor. “This team’s going to win the whole thing. Just a little trouble on startup. No different than a rusty skyship, aye, Childs family?”
“Er…yes…?” Meredith’s father answered, rustling his hair and looking embarrassed.
“Childs, hm? So, it is you…” Victor’s eyes were back on Meredith, but with the support of her commander, she returned the gaze with all the steeliness that she could hold on to. His lips twitched. “Hmph. Do what you will, Chavez. I expect you to show a precise victory tomorrow, Viv.”
“Didn’t need your permission anyway, Lacroix,” Amelia said. Her response was on deaf ears, given Victor Lacroix had spun on his heel and begun to stomp towards the crowds that had made themselves evident. Their sound also returned, alongside the vision of Max reaching Vivian’s father. He looked more harried than ever. “Don’t take it personally, any of you. Victor Lacroix is a cold man.”
“He’s right.” Vivian sloughed off Amelia’s arm, beginning to walk away before the commander grabbed her hair. “Let go of me. I don’t have time for a dinner.”
“You’ll make time.” Vivian struggled a moment, but soon relented when Amelia gave another tug. “Good. Families, up for some good grub? I know a tasty restaurant near the inn.”
“We’re in! It’s good to not cook for a change!”
“Uh…mom, who is running the restaurant back home?” Eddie asked, finally free of Amelia’s hold to join his parents. Meredith did the same, stepping up to her own and Matthew. Vivian was a bit ahead, arms folded and stomping, every movement designed to hide the little shakes of her body.
“Some of Captain Clive’s men offered. I think they said something about holding daily parties to celebrate two kids from Lumarina taking part in this!” Eddie’s father answered. Eddie groaned in turn.
“The restaurant’s doomed!”
“Hey, I didn’t know you came from a restaurant. No wonder you’re so good at cooking.” Emil’s intrusion into the conversation opened up a whole new world of dialogue with the Montgomerys. Behind Meredith, Amelia had begun conversing with her own parents; likely something regarding Raymond. Matthew, naturally, came in step with her, but said nothing when he noticed her eyes on Vivian’s retreating back, leading their procession out of the stadium.
Seeing her father had changed something in the blonde. She felt more…submissive. Scared. It was as if someone had taken out Vivian Lacroix, and replaced her with…something else. Meredith couldn’t put her finger on it, at least until she remembered what Victor Lacroix had called his daughter.
Viv. It was something she had used so mockingly towards the girl that utterly infuriated her. At the same time, it felt, to her, that she acknowledged Vivian’s strength with it. She had, for all their bickering, become someone close enough that a nickname could be used…well, from time to time. Victor Lacroix’s usage of it, however, was something else altogether. A cold, clinical, neutral term, devoid of any love or affection. The thought caused Meredith to tilt her head, wanting to ask Vivian just what that name meant to her, particularly given her outburst the day before. Matthew interrupted before she could.
“So, the Earth-Splitter is forged. You were successful at the settlement?”
“If you call all the stuff that happened there successful…” A frown creased Meredith’s lips, but at the twitching of the blade she held, she wiped it off and grinned at her magical mentor. “But yeah, our theory was dead on!”
“Fascinating…like the Violent Staff, it looks no different to any other weapon. Perhaps a different style from ages long past, but other than that, you’d be hard-pressed to know it was ever considered ‘legendary’,” Matthew said. His face had come close, even as they squeezed through a hallway that led to the exterior of the stadium. Once more, the blade quivered, but Meredith paid little attention, endeavoring to keep up with her group. “And the soul?”
Meredith’s steps slowed, eyes drawn to the skyline of the Metropolis in the late-afternoon sun. There was a familiarity in Terrill’s disposition, she could sense it. A sadness, almost, and a regret for ages long past. “We’ve talked.”
“Then you’ve continued to improve. Your performance today was a far cry from the first battle I saw you in.”
“I guess you could say he helped me improve,” Meredith said, tapping the sword. “Which, for the record, Ray doesn’t help me with at all! Mom, dad, my brother is a useless pile of junk! Well, most of the time.”
Matthew found humor in this, chuckling heartily as they met up with Meredith’s parents. Amelia shook her head before her focus reverted to Vivian, still a few feet in front of them and scowling at any person or blade of grass that dared to get in her path. Meredith shared her focus, but her parents speaking to her distracted her from the blonde. “Considering he still hasn’t seen fit to call us…Mera, you must tell us the gossip on your brother. Any rumors of relationships?”
“What, you want him to make babies and carry on the Childs’ name or something?” Meredith said, unable to stifle her giggles. Vivian froze ahead, offering Amelia the chance to catch up to her and begin dragging her along. “I’m pretty sure someone has a thing for him, but he’s pretty focused.”
“Yes, that’s something both of you have always had in common,” her father said, slapping Meredith’s back. “So focused you even learned magic!”
“Meredith is quite skilled, if unpolished from her youth.”
“So, it’s like when she started as a mechanic. You must be quite the teacher to have gotten her this far…Mr. Matthew?”
“Hey, I’m not that bad!”
Whether she was or wasn’t, her parents and teacher had a good laugh, extending into the city proper and down the sunset-tinged streets which led to their restaurant. The screens on the skyscrapers reflected that day’s results and action, playing out with gritty detail, particularly her own showdown with Brynn, an event that commentators appeared to love dissecting and people stopped to watch. The thought made her flush, seeing her face so up close on the screen like that.
Yet, in all of that, it provided an extra flame inside her. That extra push to win the tournament in the coming days. She had what it took, and seeing the young woman that had pushed her there, their clash drawing out a new power, Meredith felt more than ready for the next battle they’d have.
The same couldn’t be said for her two raucous male teammates or silent female.
By the time they’d sat in the restaurant, a place just as lively as the streets, with just as many screens of tournament footage, both boys were relentlessly needling each other about the events of the tournament so far. Eddie’s parents had already turned to Matthew, Amelia and her own, leaving Meredith to exhale deeply upon sitting on a chair. The restaurant was packed with people ordering dinner or watching the screens. Some were discussing the matches, or watching the after-game shows. Others were happy to just sit at the restaurant bar and drink away, as if they’d bet on either the Renegades or themselves and were sorely disappointed.
Your loss for now…Meredith thought to herself, shaking her head. The action caused her to catch sight of Vivian. The girl’s arms were folded, and her body barely even reacted as water and appetizers were brought to the table. Only the twitching of her fingers offered any hint as to what was roiling behind that head of hers, like a desire to bolt, if Amelia wasn’t going to strike her where she sat. Meredith wanted to offer words, or ask what was going on, but the girl’s continued silence indicated another silence. Everything okay, Terrill? You’ve been quiet.
Mm…just reminiscing. Your teacher reminds me of someone is all…
Somehow, the information didn’t surprise her, thinking back on it. Not that she addressed it with Terrill, in part thanks to the arm now slung on her shoulder.
“Yo, Mera, nice job out there. Almost gave Autumn a run for her money!”
“She did not!”
“Autumn, don’t ruin my game here.”
“You have game?” Emil asked, drawing attention the Lacardian team that had arrived, looking swelled with their victory that day. Meredith tilted back on her chair, glaring at Conrad as he hovered right above her. He retracted his arm, just in time for Felix to pull him off. “What’s your record when it comes to the ladies?”
“Not a question he wants to answer, I think.” Summer’s response was cold, as usual, but she and Autumn still saw fit to wave to Eddie. It was no surprise that his parents saw.
“Eddie, are these your friends? Why don’t they join us? I didn’t realize you and the opposing teams got along so well,” Eddie’s mother said. His father (and Meredith’s own) had likewise stood to drag some more chairs and tables over, in order to make a large grouping for them. “Very pretty girls, Eddie. You never said.”
“Mom, how about we don’t?”
“Hey, so this is like a big family reunion. Those your parents, Mera? Is it too early to ask for a blessing?” Conrad’s intentions were naked enough that Felix yanked him down into an open chair, far away from both Meredith and her parents.
“That’s enough out of you. I hope you don’t mind our intrusion. We just came to eat,” he apologized, bowing before seating himself.
“More the merrier! Ain’t that right, Viv?” Emil asked. He poked Vivian on the shoulder, but the blonde swatted him away. Her thoughts on the matter were clear, and the Lacardian team was equally unhappy about her presence there. “You’re such a sourpuss, Viv. Lighten up alrea-”
Emil’s voice died, and his own stance became as rigid as Vivian’s. A clatter on the table followed and next to Meredith, Matthew stood. Amelia also reacted, her eyes lighting up, and it gave Meredith at least some guide as to who was there. She tilted on her chair legs, swinging the whole thing around to see who had entered the restaurant.
There was no surprise that Benjamin was at the front, coming to greet his students and, presumably, girlfriend. With him was the unmistakable form of Headmistress Unda, her earrings jingling with every single step she took as she massaged an arm of hers. It was strange to see her up close, more than she ever had before, but the woman with dyed hair and wobbling hat made her presence known, just from the sheer amount of eyes that turned to her in the room. Not that she had eyes for any of them and simply approached Matthew like an old friend. Whatever she said to him, or whatever discourse Benjamin and Amelia had, became rather irrelevant upon observation of the last two that had arrived with the pair.
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They were very clearly a couple, older in age than her own parents (though not by much), and far more refined. They wore robes with the Lacardian crest, but hardly seemed to care about the team or teachers from their own state. The woman was speaking with a tablet, issuing some kind of orders, while the man adjusted the pince-nez on his nose to scrutinize the table that was before them. Behind the pair were some other robed individuals, looking distinctly like security, spelling out what a big deal these two were.
The most identifying features, leastways to Meredith, and the one that gave away just who these two were, were the hazel eyes of the woman and the messy, dirty-blond hair of the man…plus the fact that the woman appeared to be hovering just inches off the ground. The doubt of who they could have been vanished.
“Yes, I’ll expect you to keep the paling up until Unda’s return tomorrow. No, I won’t hear excuses. This won’t be an issue for the president. Good day, Lester.” She clicked off, but her sharp, commanding tone was enough for all eyes at their table to lock on to her. “Everything is prepared for your return home.”
“I’d expect no less, Secretary Baroné.”
“What are you doing here?” Emil was straight to the point. His chair clattered to the ground and he stomped the distance between their table and his parents. “Why are you here?”
“Is that any way to greet your parents, Emil? We came to see you in the competition. Escorting the headmistress was an easy enough reason to-”
“I don’t care. Why are you here?” The table had gone quiet. Emil’s father reached up, touching the bridge of his pince-nez and removing it before rubbing his temples.
“Calm down, Emil. Is it so bad for a parent to come watch their child?” he spoke, even-measured, like he was afraid of any meaning being lost in his words. From Meredith’s observations, Emil didn’t care about that, intended meaning or otherwise. His father noticed. “Your face was on the news. Twice.”
“Yes. It was heartening. When do you plan to return home?” Meredith blinked at the curtness.
“I don’t.”
“And why not?” Emil didn’t provide an answer to his mother. “Are you still having this ridiculous temper tantrum? Honestly, we put you through school and you don’t even keep in contact with-”
“Shove off. Like you give a damn about anything but your own appearance.” Emil had had enough. Shoving his hands in his pockets, and caring nothing for the teammates or families he was leaving behind, the dirty-blond began to shove his way between his parents. He was in the process of knocking both their shoulders when his father caught his arm. “Let go.”
“Emil, come now. We came all this way to see you take part. Can’t you talk with us for-”
“Talk with yourself.” Emil jerked, forcing his father’s hand off, only to find his mother floating directly in front of him. Her lips were pursed and scolding. Emil matched her glare, his own toes rising off the ground. “We both know the only reason either of you are here. Lacardia has a stake in this and you want to make sure everything’s perfect. You don’t give a damn I’m here except for how I could stain your reputation. Well, don’t worry. I’m not Emil Baroné here, so leave me the hell alone.”
“Emil!” His mother was insistent. So was Emil. His body floated forward, knocking into his mother’s and carrying him towards the door out before the security guards could stop him.
“Oh, we can leave? About time…” The scraping of chair legs indicated Vivian’s imminent departure. Eddie’s sudden splutter indicated a failed attempt to stop her, but the blonde was already blowing past the Baronés with the same speed that their son had left. Meredith slammed her own chair down and stood as Amelia sighed behind her.
“You have to be kidding me right now…”
“It’s all right, Amelia. Who’s hungry?” Benjamin asked. He picked a piece of bread from the table, chewing furiously as his eyes darted between the secretaries and Unda. Meredith groaned, and shoved her hands in her pockets.
“Viv, hold up!” Hardly giving Emil’s parents the respect they demanded, Meredith skirted the edge of their presence and charged through the restaurant doors, to the cobblestone street just outside.
Night was falling, bathing the Metropolis streets in navy, and Meredith realized how difficult it was to see. Lamplights were turned on, but only barely bathed the street with the minimum amount of light, while any remaining luminescence came from the dotted windows of the inn or satellite school. Very few people were on the street, at least this street, at this hour, which made it all the more baffling that neither Vivian nor Emil could be seen regardless of the inky darkness. Meredith kicked at the road, and activated her Soul Vision.
The dots of light appeared on the connecting streets and alleyways, but Meredith tried to locate the two most identifiable souls. A third was approaching the restaurant, also familiar, but Meredith turned and began heading in the direction of Emil’s soul, furious and trembling. Vivian’s was farther away, pulsing erratically and leaving her all the pricklier. Meredith blew upwards, her hair flopping on her forehead as she turned down a side street.
A group of alleyways was visible, however dark it was, but Emil’s soul cut through the darkness, as did the few other souls in the area. With closer introspection, Meredith could tell the souls were almost converged where Emil’s was. She picked up her pace, and voices became clearer.
“To the stadium?”
“How should I know? What do you want from me here?” Emil’s voice made Meredith tilt her head to the side, and her footsteps slowed as she reached the alleyway that her teammate was down. She turned and managed to see a grouping of three in the alleyway, the bright white scarf of Emil’s standing out. “Look, just…I don’t want-”
“Emil!” Meredith’s shout took the attention of the dirty-blond, as well as those he was meeting with. Their faces were recognizable, and she sped down the alley to slap a hand on Emil’s shoulder. “What are you doing with the Renegades?”
“They were asking me questions. Trying to get insider information.”
“We hardly need that.” Rico’s tone was brusque, his face concealed in twisted shadows. “Merely a curiosity.”
“I doubt that, Rico…” Meredith’s doubt cut the tension of the encounter with a knife. Now that she was close up for the first time since the alchemic settlement, she could see how truly different Rico looked. With his previous facial hair gone, he looked far more approachable, yet driven. The sharp gleam behind his eyes betrayed his intent, however, and Meredith pulled Emil back. “What was that about the stadium?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know, trial-girl.” His lips quirked upwards, almost smirking. The feature remained difficult to ascertain as the man turned away, his silent subordinate of Lovelia with him. “Merely leveling the playing field. Take care.”
Another insistent look later, and the two Renegades were retreating into the shadows. Under Meredith’s hold, Emil tensed, watching them go. He said nothing, and Meredith asked little. All she did was observe him and his vacillating soul. He had been unsettled. “What was that about?”
“I told you. They were trying to get information.”
“Why from you?”
“Not like our location is a secret.” Like his parents, Emil brushed her hand off and began to exit the alley in the opposite direction. His evasive answers caused Meredith to speed her steps and match pace with him.
“And what were they asking about the stadium for?” Emil gave no answer, every part of his soul standoffish. “Emil, if they’re planning on rigging the stadium to win or something, we need to tell people.”
“It’s just a dumb tournament, Mera. I doubt they care that much. There are more important things.”
“Your parents might be there,” Meredith countered with. That made Emil increase his pace, beginning to float and get away from her. She reached outwards, grabbing his scarf and dragging him back. “My parents will be there.”
“So, what do you expect me to do about it?” Emil gripped his scarf and yanked it out of her hold. “They found me. They asked me something. If they’re planning something or not, I doubt it’ll matter during the tournament. So, don’t worry about winning or losing the stupid thing. I’ll see you later.”
He floated upward, a clear attempt to get out of her range, but Meredith stomped the ground, and before he could get out of earshot, she yelled at him. “You know, I don’t care what your parents did or didn’t do. We’re still a team, got it? Don’t you forget that!”
Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but Emil was out of range, and gave no further response. Meredith scowled, and sensing that Vivian’s soul was also far away, she left the alleyway, her feet carrying her back to the restaurant. The words she’d heard began to fill her mind, like a threat.
The Renegades are planning something with the stadium…? Of course, they are, because I always have to hear these things. Meredith shook her head, resolved to tell someone about the newest rumor she’d been forced to hear, only to find an unexpected sight upon entering where their group was gathered.
“Mera! You’re back! I think your commander is a lightweight or something. She and the professor have been giggling like schoolgirls…” Conrad said. Food had arrived at the table, but Amelia and Benjamin were already clearly enjoying their own company, as were the other adults. Eddie was equally comfortable between the other members of A-Class, though his questioning look showed his own worry for what had just occurred. “The Baronés left with the headmistress and Mr. Matthew while you were out. Everything okay?”
“Hm…yeah. Yeah,” Meredith insisted, seating herself on her chair. She reached over to grab a roll, munching furiously on it. “Just something I overheard.”
“Hey, if it’s info on another team, share it!” Conrad sidled closer to her, but she kicked her feet underneath his chair, causing him to stop and steady himself.
“It’s nothing. And like I’d ever give you an upper hand, Conrad. Friends we may be, but you’re crazy if you think I’m gonna let you and Lacardia take first place again tomorrow. Our team’s moving on up!”
“If we can actually pull it together…” Eddie lamented, only for Amelia to swing a glass bottle at him that he barely dodged.
“Whoops! Nearly spilled something!” she cackled out, her eyes lingering on Meredith before she went back to cuddling her boyfriend.
“Damn, Professor Benjamin is good, and I’m sitting here friend-zoned. Mera, you sure you’re…”
She’d stopped paying attention, Conrad’s words fading into the darkest recesses of her mind. There was too much else occupying it. Victor Lacroix and his daughter. The Baronés and Emil’s clear dismissal. Her own parents having come to watch her in action.
Then, in the center of it all, there were the Renegades and whatever designs they had on the tournament, benign or not.
All of it was a cocktail of distress in Meredith’s mind, and even long after dinner and a shower, she lay in bed, listening to Eddie snore while her thoughts swirled deeper down the rabbit hole. She only managed to fall asleep when she heard the door open and Emil return from his night on the city.
Vivian never came back that night.
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The next morning was no better, thanks to a still grumpy and sluggish Emil, contrasting a far more rested but worried Eddie. Meredith was just mentally exhausted, not helped at all by Amelia slamming the door open and dragging them all out of bed, as though she’d never been drunk the night before. The commander showed such strength dragging them out of the Lightwing Inn and towards the stadium, that Meredith had the inkling that the woman might not have been drunk at all…or at least was exaggerating the whole thing. Either way, none of the teammates said a word until the stadium and its streaming people were visible.
“Where’s Lacroix?” Amelia asked. All three of them shrugged, and to their gratitude, didn’t receive a reprimand from the commander.
The only one who did was Vivian, already in their assigned section of the stadium and looking haggard. It was bad enough that the blonde didn’t react when Amelia slapped her behind the head. Nor did she make a snarky remark when Meredith sat next to her, arms folded and staring across the way. The stadium may have been filling, but it was clear what she was staring at: a surly Victor Lacroix, whose gaze screamed that he expected Vivian to fulfill his wishes in the upcoming competition.
“You look like crap, Viv.”
“Shut up, trash,” Vivian snapped back, the first spark of life she’d yet shown. Meredith said no more, but noticed the bruises on the girl’s body, particularly around her fingers, like she’d spent the whole night mercilessly training herself.
“All right, peons, I expect a better result than we’ve been getting. Go out there and show them the strength of the Corps,” Amelia said, cracking her knuckles as she sat at the edge of the balcony. Meredith got to her feet on that order.
“Yes, sir!” The others mumbled their agreement, and none too soon as the stadium speakers crackled and Chapman’s now familiar voice began to echo.
“Hello and welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, fans and viewers! It’s day three of the Alliance Games, and I’m sure our teams are ready to rumble!” The crowd agreed, raising a storm of cheers. “The current rankings have the Home Guard in first place, while to our surprise, the Guardian Corps is in last! What will happen? Will there be role reversals? With me here is Commander Masters to find out.”
“I look forward to the result, and if I’ll let my bias permit me a moment, I hope the Corps’ team can step up its game,” Masters said. Chapman offered a hearty laugh at that statement.
“We’ll find out today. So, before we announce today’s competition, will all members of all teams make their way to the stadium floor,” he said. The crowd began to mutter, but it was replaced by cheers at Chapman’s follow-up. “That’s right, folks, today’s competition is a full-team event!”
“Well, this should be fun…Get going, peons.” Amelia’s strange form of encouragement (if that’s what it was) caused Meredith to sigh. She reached down, grabbing Vivian’s clothes and hauling her up. The girl batted her aside and brushed past her, leading the procession towards the stadium floor.
Meredith followed after, keeping her eyes on both the cranky blonde and their equally grumpy prodigal son, who was glaring in any and all directions, like his parents could be anywhere. She wondered, in part, where her own parents, Eddie’s, and Matthew could have been, but she pushed the excess thought away as she and the rest of her team strode on to the stadium ground, where the other three teams were also gathered.
In moments, she was drawn to Rico and the Renegades, all four standing around and chatting with each other conspiratorially. Maria had returned, still as smirky as ever and her arm normal, but Meredith had eyes only for Rico. The encounter last night came back to her, and the threat of something to do with the stadium. Her fist clenched.
There was little she could do, not with the competition about to start, and little else but potentially unfounded rumors. Amelia certainly wouldn’t listen, and she wasn’t about to feed information on something she knew very little about; she’d learned that lesson more than enough times already. In spite of that, however, her feet were already carrying her to the next best option, and one that could provide a clearer picture, if there was a clearer picture to be gotten.
“Hey, Brynn, how about that bet?” The bubblegum-haired leader of the Home Guard turned, her boys blinking with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Once she’d faced Meredith, her eyebrow quirked. It didn’t take long before she cracked a smile and Meredith knew she had permission to continue. “If we beat you in today’s competition, I have a favor to ask.”
“That’s it?” the girl asked. It was Meredith’s turn to quirk an eyebrow, but she nodded nonetheless. “All right. Sounds like a bet, then…if you can manage it. The way your team’s looking, it’ll be hard for you to get anything but last.”
“I think we’ll surprise you, then. Get ready to get your ass kicked.”
“Looking forward to it, Meredith.” Both nodded, and began to turn away, though before Meredith could rejoin her team, Brynn yelled over to her. “Oh, and if I win, you go shopping with me. Goodness knows I can’t get these boys to do it.”
“Brynn, are you trying to kill the poor girl?”
“I’d not wish so cruel a fate on anyone.”
“Shut it, boys. We need to figure out a game plan.” Brynn’s reigning remarks brought a solidarity to her team, one sorely lacking from Meredith’s own. Eddie was questioning what she was doing, but Meredith saw no need to answer.
Indeed, there was no time as the stadium floor began to rumble, a large flow of magic coalescing on the edges. Chapman’s face appeared on the screen, ready for the announcement, but his words just confirmed that which Meredith suspected when the magic flow ended and in its place were four differently-colored spheres of water, each as large as the stadium floor’s walls.
“Everybody grab your concessions and keep your voice primed to scream, ‘cause we’re ready for day three’s event: Aqua Shooting!”