“Good morning, Versus fans, and welcome back to the 2350 Versus Prelims on Earth! We are back with another exciting solo round on a beautiful morning. You excited, Yvonne?”
“I sure am, Xavier. This entire Versus is one of the most interesting ones yet. Yesterday’s round came with really unexpected surprises, starting with the new rule preventing competitors from knowing what game they’re playing in each round. We’ve tried to get an inside scoop on what today’s round could be, but so far, it’s all rumors.”
“I’m wondering who else is going to be eliminated. There were a lot of good fighters that got bad luck yesterday.”
“Tell me about it. Yesterday, seven— that’s right, seven— entire teams were eliminated. Seven countries. Over a thousand fighters. That’s crazy.”
“Teams Canada, India, El Salvador, Panama, Denmark, Uruguay, and Senegal were all completely eliminated from the competition yesterday. It’s not uncommon for entire teams to get kicked out, but this was a lot for the first round. There are some remaining teams that only have a few fighters left. It seemed like there were more traps and obstacles than usual. Probably has something to do with the new leadership. Maybe the admins want the Chaos Rounds to be more challenging.”
“Not to mention the many accidental traps caused by one of Team USA’s members. Which moves us on to the null elimination at the end of the round. Calista Medley from Team USA garnered attention with her… loud performance. Instead of fighting opponents and adapting to the environment, the girl was screaming and running around like she was about to die.”
“And while hundreds of fighters were unfortunately eliminated, this girl was saved by the timer when it hit 0 right before she hit the elimination barrier, rendering her elimination null and keeping her in the game. Xavier, Ms. Medley’s caused a stir on Planet Earth since she was accepted at Fistborn. She doesn’t seem to fit in either of the largest communities on Earth; fighters or Socializers.”
“I’m really wondering how she’ll do in this round. Pure luck saved her in the last round… although… I do admit she held her own against Fíadh. Those were some fancy kicks. Still, if she paid attention to taking her opponent down instead of looking good, she could’ve had a better chance. She was supposed to be cut.”
“Old habits die hard. But, yeah, we’ll see how she does in this round. It’s ten minutes longer. It’s unlikely the same thing will happen.”
“And Fíadh is probably going to target her to eliminate her for real this time. Miss Medley is going to have to really train if she wants to make it.”
===
At 11:30 AM, the qualifying members of the team gathered in the elevator for the next solo round. Everyone seemed less nervous than before, confident they could pass the round without knowing what game it was.
Calista knew she wouldn’t be able to pull off the same thing this time, especially now that the round was longer. At least she wouldn’t be a headless chicken anymore. She was prepared for chaos, really prepared. Now she knew exactly what to expect, and she was ready to not scream and cry like a little girl anymore. This was her heaven-sent chance to make a comeback, and she wouldn’t waste it.
“You ready?” Harrison asked her.
“I hope so.”
“Just be prepared for anything. None of us know what’ll happen.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Harrison hesitated, then silenced. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Calista smirked. “What?”
“Just… know that if you see me out there, I’m willing to help you.”
“Thanks, Harrison.”
The elevator opened and all 134 of them gathered in their dugout room, separating into their columns. On the left, once again, they saw themselves appearing in order of rank on the news. The timer counted down from 60 seconds.
A hand touched Calista’s shoulder. She looked behind her, shocked when she saw Lisa White standing next to her. The woman put a finger to her mouth and put an earpiece on, tapping her ear. Calista turned on the private earpiece in her helmet.
“I wanted to have a word with you before you went out,” Lisa said. “I know yesterday was hard for you, and I’m sorry if I was too harsh on you during training. I get it, it’s a new environment.” She hesitated. “I don’t know your whole story, Calista. But I see a fighter in you. Maybe you’re…” She chuckled. “The best of both worlds.”
Calista smiled, but was still a bit shocked that Lisa White was personally talking to her. Being one of her biggest fans, the experience was surreal. She’d talked to her at the academy before, but this was a more direct approach.
“As the Dean of the Versus School, it’s my duty to make sure all my students are performing to the standard. In that case, if you need any advice from a professional, especially one of your same species who was also doubted by others… you can talk to me. My line is open to all of you.”
“Th-thank you, Dean White.”
“Just do the absolute best you can. Doubting yourself is dangerous,” she added. “And rely on your teammates. That’s what they’re there for— at least some of them. You’ll probably want to steer clear from a select few.”
Calista chuckled. “Probably, yeah.”
The counter reached 0. Lisa patted her shoulder again. “Good luck.” She took off the earpiece and Calista disconnected her helmet.
The American national anthem played once again as they exited onto the arena, circling the ERMM barrier. This time, the anthem singing only lasted a bit over 45 minutes, with ten teams cut off. Calista still couldn’t believe there were so many people already out of the Versus.
They did their stretches and waited for Adrian Lasso to start announcing. The randomizer wheel appeared above the ERMM, exciting the crowd.
“Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!” Lasso exclaimed. “Who’s ready for Round 2?!”
The crowd roared. Calista’s heart kicked into action, the same panic as before flooding her. She took deep breaths to try and calm down.
“What a game yesterday! My sympathies to those countries whose teams have been cut out. I hope you are all still enjoying this renowned tournament with us at this time. Now for the second round; who else will be cut out? What other teams will meet their demise? Only one way to find out! Let’s see what the wheel has for us!”
The wheel turned, slowing until it highlighted one of the options: ‘CUBIC RACE’.
Oh, glitches. Calista hated that game.
“Let’s start without further ado!”
They got into running positions. Calista’s gloves sifted in the sand, breaking it gently. She squeezed the soft sand, finding some comfort in it.
“10… 9… 8…” The stomping began. Boom-boom, boom-boom…
Cubic Race was a simple racing game where the fighters would drive cube-shaped vehicles. Nothing to it. They didn’t even have a finish line here. She just had to not get thrown off.
“FIGHT!”
Everyone bolted and dissolved into blue streaks flying around the barrier, which expanded to include the crowd in the environment. Calista closed her eyes, waiting until her feet hit solid ground.
She found herself in a tunnel of neon blue light. A large, blue cube with red edges floated in front of her, waiting to be driven. The sudden quiet, save for the muffled cheers of the audience, unnerved her. Her stomach turned with anxiety.
No. No more breakdowns. She could do this.
Gulping, she walked up to the cube. The wall opened as she tentatively stepped inside. It then closed and a window opened, covering all four walls. A control panel surrounded her. She hesitantly reached out to the two red joysticks.
“Wait, Calista, don’t-”
She screamed when the cube zoomed away. It plunged down a steep incline, then entered a tunnel of multicolored neon, which had AI music playing.
“Okay, you’re driving now. Try to control it,” Lindsay told her.
Calista erratically steered, swerving left and right. The cube prevented her from developing motion sickness, but she was still confused and disoriented. Her seat turned with the motion.
“Just drive straight!”
She steadied the joysticks and sat still. The cube now sped forward, under control.
“That’s more like it.” Lindsay sounded a bit prouder now.
It was an embarrassing start to the round, but at least she was able to recover in some way. “Okay… just the joysticks… and weapons?” Calista studied the buttons on her panel. There were red and blue buttons with different icons on them. Red for offense, blue for defense, if she recalled correctly.
“Is there a brake?” She pulled back on the joysticks, successfully slowing down. She took a breath and tried to remember her studies. “Okay… and I have to jump, right?”
“Buttons on the joysticks,” said Lindsay.
“Right.” She tapped the buttons, making the cube bounce and rotate. Her chamber was locked, so she wouldn’t follow the motion and get sick.
“There’s gonna be obstacles ahead. All you have to do is not hit them, and you’ll be fine. If you hit them, it’s game over.”
Her helmet beeped with a warning from the right. Prepared, she turned to the left, avoiding an incoming cube as it tried to slam into her. She turned, driving backwards so she could see her opponent. It was a Mearthian girl from Germany.
The girl smiled and started shooting. Calista grunted in effort, turning her cube to dodge. She felt a bit surprised at herself, not expecting to control the cube so easily. She pressed one of the blue shield buttons, blocking most of the girl’s shots, and turned to drive ahead. It was too early in the fight to engage. She wanted to get ahead.
“Remember, shields take a bit to recharge,” said Lindsay. As she spoke, the shield deactivated and the button greyed out, slowly refilling in blue.
Calista gently pressed the joysticks forward. So far, it was clear of obstacles, so she was probably far behind. Up ahead, a black object approached. Her hand hovered over the offense buttons, ready to attack.
“Calista, that’s a spike, dodge!” Her helmet beeped at the same time to warn her, highlighting the obstacle’s shape in red.
“Oh, bugs!” Calista quickly bounced over the spike, keeping her thumbs pressed on the buttons. The cube continued jumping over the line of spikes, jumping onto a higher platform. “Here we go,” she muttered.
“When the walls turn purple, you won’t be able to swerve left or right. Be ready,” Lindsay warned. At the moment, the walls were green.
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A laser deflected off of Calista’s side, causing her to wobble. The German girl had caught up, aiming at her with the same smile. Calista squealed in fright and try to get back in her groove.
“You need to counterattack!” Lindsay yelled. “You have weapons, use them!”
“I don’t know which one!” Calista glanced at the many red buttons on her console.
“Any!” A selection of weapons appeared in the corner of her visor, scrolling slowly so she could see them.
“Wait, I can use my weapons?”
“Yes, remember?!” Lindsay groaned in annoyance. “It’s the red button with a ‘C’.”
One caught her eye; a pair of ribbons titled ‘Power Sashes’. “That one!”
The sashes were selected and she pressed the ‘C’ button. The sashes lashed out of the cube’s sides.
“Now use your hand to control them,” said Lindsay. “You’re gonna have to let go of the joysticks.”
Calista did so, raising her hands. Her arm guards glowed as she controlled the outer sashes, throwing them at the German girl. They wrapped around one of her protruding guns and yanked it off.
“Cool.” She then grabbed the cube and pulled hard, veering the girl off course. The girl screamed as she grabbed her sticks, not expecting Calista’s attack. Her cube skidded and spun, falling behind, but she wasn’t eliminated.
“Good job. You need to get used to weapons, Cali,” Lindsay told her. “It’s essential. Your fists and feet can’t do all the work, especially in a Chaos Round.”
“I know, I just feel… it feels weird.”
“You’re gonna have to get used to it. Also, you have to slam opponents into the far walls or the obstacles to eliminate them.”
The path suddenly dipped like a rollercoaster. Calista yelled and held on tight to her handles. When she landed, she found herself in a larger tunnel of changing colors, surrounded by multiple fighters. Everyone was maneuvering around the obstacles, shooting fire, water, ice, and other powers at each other. Weapons fired haphazardly.
Calista’s anxiety rose, but she tried not to think about it. She promised herself she wouldn’t panic. She grabbed her sticks and paid attention to the path ahead, watching for obstacles.
Her helmet beeped. A British fighter came barreling towards her. A large mech arm came out of his cube, swiping at her.
Calista turned to avoid him, but a second too late. Her vehicle spun around from the force.
She tried to regain control, but the man slammed into her headfirst, forcing her up the trail. Her helmet warned her of an incoming obstacle behind her. He was going to crush her!
“Your weapons!”
She threw one of her sashes up, wrapping it around the fighter’s mech arm, and pulled. They turned and he skidded towards the incoming spike. She bounced over him as he applied the brakes in time, stopping just inches from being eliminated.
“Get away from him now! He’s a Legend. He’ll bounce back.”
Calista pushed on her joysticks and looked back at the man, who was now chasing her. Her helmet identified him as Winston ‘Crusher’ Hamilton.
All these call signs were pretty accurate.
She threw her sash forward, but Winston was ready this time. His mech arm caught her sash and pulled. Her cube flew towards him and crashed harshly, windshield to windshield. She gasped in surprise when a fist of light slammed into her nose, shattering it.
The pain distracted her, her head spinning, but she wouldn’t let go of her joysticks. She wasn’t going to be eliminated. She wouldn’t let it happen.
But her luck was running out.
“H-how did…?”
“Press that red button,” said Lindsay. One of the offense buttons blinked. Calista pressed it. “Now punch!” She did so. Winston’s head jerked back.
“Now press that one!” A blue button blinked. It activated an impulse that sent her flying backwards, away from the fighter. She regained her control and landed safely.
“Oh, that was crazy!” She sniffed and wiped her bloody nose. “Great.” She pressed the jump buttons as another round of spikes came up. The walls suddenly turned purple and the music changed. Calista could no longer steer sideways.
“Now just avoid obstacles. You can go forwards and backwards, and you can bump people next to you. Whatever you do, DON’T CONFRONT LEGENDS,” said Lindsay. “If you see any, get as far away as possible.”
A Team Mexico fighter caught up to her on the left lane. Calista’s guard went up, but his face looked familiar…
“Hey,” said the fighter. “Javier,” he clarified just as Calista’s helmet identified him. “From the lunch thing?”
“Oh- oh. Hey!” She waved her fingers. She sniffled again and wiped her nose, not daring to look at her stained glove.
“No problem. Glad you made it. I don’t regret helping you out.”
“Helping me out?”
“Yesterday. That Emitonian who was fighting you.”
Realization struck. “That was you?”
He chuckled. “I felt bad for you. You looked like a scared rabbit.”
Her face withered. She held her broken nose.
“Well, you’re obviously doing better now,” he added. He looked ahead. “Get ready.”
They gripped their joysticks as they came up on another series of obstacles. Some cubes puffed into purple powder when they hit the spikes and edges. One cube skidded off its course and hit the boundary.
“And another elimination for Team Australia; Bodhi Graham has crashed into a wall!”
Calista’s helmet beeped as Lindsay yelled, “INCOMING!” She turned sharply, avoiding a bump. It was someone from her team, a Martian. She looked vaguely familiar, but Calista couldn’t remember her name. The girl smiled slyly.
“Well, you’re not Belinda, but beggars can’t be choosers,” she said.
Belinda?
As a weapon, she had a laser gun equipped. Calista dodged her shots, which sent powerful beams of light everywhere. At one point, a fighter got blasted off his trail and into the barrier.
“Tough break for Hamidi Magero from Kenya’s Mkali Fighter School!”
“You’re faster than I thought,” the girl said.
“Okay, look, we’re from the same team. Let’s talk about- ah!” Calista dodged another shot, pulling back on her sticks.
“What is with that scream? Such a wimp.”
“For the last time, Calista. Use. Your. Glitching. WEAPONS,” Lindsay snapped.
Calista brought out her sashes again. She threw one of them forward and tried to pull the shotgun off her opponent’s vehicle. The girl predicted the move and pulled Calista towards her.
They both held their jump buttons as they passed over more obstacles. Calista yelled as they suddenly shot upwards, gravity inverting. Her sash was still tied around the girl’s mech arm.
A large wall approached. Would they both end up eliminated?
“Hey, Liiim!”
Distracted, the girl turned. Calista pressed the ‘Transfer Hit’ button and punched her in the face, then kicked her in the chin. She finally pulled the girl’s laser gun off with her sash. The purple neon walls changed into yellow and they could steer left and right again.
The Martian was now in a struggle with another fighter from their same team. She seemed overwhelmed as her opponent grabbed her with mech arms and spun around with her, throwing her into another fighter’s cube. The Martian escaped, speeding ahead, and the other fighter crashed into a spike.
The American fighter turned, her face filled with hostility, but stopped when she saw Calista.
“Cali?”
“Bel?”
“Sorry about that. Come on, we need to get ahead.” She pushed on her sticks. Calista shook away the confusion and followed her, speeding ahead. Gravity inverted once again and they flipped back down.
“How’s the round going for you?” Belinda asked. Noticing her nose, she winced. “You feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I found this guy from Team Mexico… there he is.” She pointed at Javier, who was in a gunfight with a fighter from Team France. He was quite the brave rookie.
“Nice.” Belinda swerved, avoiding a rocket. “You want to team up?”
“Totally. That’ll be stellar.”
“I want to find that glitch,” Belinda muttered.
“Who?”
“Liiim. The girl you were fighting. Payback is due.”
“What did she do?”
“She’s a glitch. Simple as that.”
All the cubes suddenly approached a spiral, which seemed to never end. The colors overwhelmed Calista’s eyes. It was some sort of optical illusion.
“Uh-oh. Hold on!” Belinda warned.
Calista tried not to scream again as her stomach shot up to her throat. Gravity readjusted so they could slide down the plunging spiral. Instantly, their helmets beeped, alerting them of two fighters descending from the trail above.
“Watch my six!” Belinda said. The two girls set their cubes back-to-back, ready to fight.
Thankfully, Calista got an easy opponent. She was reckless in her movements, leaving many openings. Calista got to wrap her sash around her vehicle and send her falling from the spiral into elimination.
“And that’s the end of the line for Vasti Mackinnon from Team Scotland, eliminated by USA’s Calista Medley!”
Adrenaline filled her. She giggled with excitement. Her first real elimination!
Another fighter landed in front of her. Her smile faded when she recognized the woman. The Paesvoraxian from Ireland.
“We meet again, hmm?” A smile stretched across her face.
“Guess so.” Calista turned on her shield. Even locked inside a cube, this woman lived up to her rapid-fire attacks. Behind the human, Belinda was expertly maneuvering with her vehicle, managing to move behind her opponents and subdue them.
“There she is,” the Mearthian girl muttered, looking at the Martian ahead of them. Liiim slowed down, a thirst for vengeance flashing in her eyes.
“Loser,” she said to Belinda.
“Glitch,” Belinda responded.
The trail widened, allowing the girls to rotate around each other and fend off their opponents. Calista’s body was pumping with adrenaline, which enabled her to fight better than she ever thought she could. There were a few moments when she’d receive a crushing blow or skid out of control, but she wasn’t eliminated.
Fíadh grabbed ahold of Calista’s sash and pulled her close, transferring a punch to her chin. “You need to detach your sash before she pulls you. Press that button,” said Lindsay. A blue button flashed.
She tried again. When Fíadh grabbed her weapon, she pressed the button. The ribbon disappeared. “You couldn’t have told me that earlier?” Calista said.
“You’re supposed to know your controls.”
“There’s, like, 300 buttons in this thing!”
5 minutes left in the round. The adrenaline and power of the vehicle kept Calista upright, but Fíadh’s relentless attacks were draining her. She couldn’t find a way to give herself some space to breathe, instead dancing around her as much as she could with her cube.
“You’re a right little ballerina, aren’t ya?” Fíadh mocked.
“Maybe I am.” Calista was alerted to oncoming obstacles and quickly swerved around them with everyone else. Her ears perked as she listened to the outer music.
The music… it was synced with the obstacles. They were supposed to follow the rhythm! How didn’t she realize that?
“Lindsay, can you play that soundtrack in my ears?” she requested.
“Sure.”
She smiled as the beat vibrated into her veins, her heart syncing. “Oh, yeah.” She found it a lot easier to avoid the fast-approaching spikes and hills, making it hard for Fíadh to catch up with her.
Glancing behind her, she saw a large wall dividing the path in half, forcing fighters to drive around it. Her head clicked with an idea. “BELINDA!” She shot a sash at the Mearthian, praying her teammate would catch on.
Hearing her cry, Belinda caught the sash with a suction tube on the side of her cube. They drove apart, stretching the sash out to its fullest length.
Determination gripped Calista and she hovered her finger on the ‘Release’ button, increasing her speed. “Ready? One… two…” Belinda also tensed, preparing herself. The wall got closer.
“THREE!”
Both released the sash so it could whiplash around Fíadh and Liiim, tying their cubes together. They futilely tried to regain control. All they could do was scream as they slammed into the wall and exploded into blue streaks.
“Oh, what a defeat! Fíadh ‘Rapid-Fire’ Dinan from Team Ireland and Liiim Castro from Team USA got kicked out of the game by USA’s Belinda Adenifi and Calista Medley! What a show of teamwork!”
Belinda and Calista cheered, high-fiving with their mech hands when they reunited at the other side of the obstacle. Right after, Lasso shouted, “GAME OVER!”
“Let’s go!” Belinda pumped her fist. Everyone slowed to a stop. The spiral disappeared, letting all the cubes down on the sand, and the fighters exited their vehicles, which then dissolved. Belinda ran to Calista and hugged her tight.
The barrier then deactivated, letting in the roaring cheers. Belinda took Calista’s arm and lifted it, whooping in victory. Calista could only smile, not believing she made it to the end of the round.
She looked over at the eliminated fighters, seeing Fíadh and Liiim among them. Fíadh threw down her helmet and went to her door while Liiim glowered fiercely at Belinda. Belinda noticed her glare and waved joyfully. The Martian stomped her foot and left the arena.
The fighters then retreated to their elevators. Calista’s adrenaline faded, bringing back the pain and exhaustion. She hissed in pain and cradled her nose, which was now caked with dry blood. Camelithia immediately went up to the girls and hugged them tight. “So glad you made it through!” she said.
Harrison went up to Calista, eyeing her sternly. Her elation faded at the sight of him. “What?” she asked.
“You.” He pointed at her. “You did something very wrong.”
“I did?”
“I can’t believe it. I’d expect my Favorite to know.”
Calista’s jaw flapped. What was it? Did she ruin everything? “K-know what?”
“You didn’t rub your victory in Fíadh’s face. That’s literally the best part.” He smiled. “Next time, remind them that you beat them out.”
Relieved, she punched his shoulder. “I seriously thought I glitched up back there. Don’t do that.”
“Is your nose okay?”
“It hurts a bit. I’m allowed to heal it, right?”
“Through slow healing, yeah.”
They ascended to the lobby. The eliminated fighters trudged to the changing stations to get their armor off while the others celebrated loudly, irritating the unfortunate competitors.
A message was sent to the fighters’ AIDA bands. ‘Report to the lecture hall we met in last night. You will have your lunch during our review period. -Dean White’
“I’m gonna have myself a victory smoothie,” Camelithia said as they went to their wing. “That was incredible! Cubic Race is one of my favorite games. So much adrenaline! Racing through the air…” Harrison and Lílitha joined them, discussing the events of the round.
“Excuse me! Wait! Miss!”
The group turned. A human woman, a bit older than Calista, ran up to them, panting lightly. She smiled shyly. “Hi, I’m Kit Pristin, from Social-Versus. I don’t know if you, like, know that…?” She winced.
The group glanced between each other cluelessly.
“No? Anyways, I’m kind of a reporter, I mean, I just got my license, so they let me in, and…” She sighed. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m a Versus Socializer and I wanted to get comments from you and you.” She pointed at Calista and Belinda, then looked at the others. “And any of you, if you’re…” She faltered when she noticed Harrison and Lílitha.
“You’re a Socializer?” Lílitha asked.
“Y-you guys are… you’re…” She shakily pointed at them. She then squealed. “Harrison Smith and Lílitha Houdge! Oh-my-God, I love both of you! You guys are uber-stellar! I remember when you-”
“Um, Kit?” Calista stopped her. “I don’t want to be rude, but we need to get to our review session.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. Um… I saw you guys fighting, and you did so great, and I know that you used to be a Socializer.” She nodded at Calista. “Calista Medley, right? From the SociaLights?”
“Right.”
“I wanted to get some material from you guys. What you guys did back there, teaming up… it was amazing. That whole round was crazy! Do you mind? It’ll only be a couple minutes. And Harrison, Lílitha… Camelithia?” She smiled shyly at the Seeyastian.
“That’s right.”
“You can say something if you want.”
“No, you want to talk to these two.” Cam hugged the two girls. “This is their moment. We’ll always be around here if you want to talk to us.”
Calista looked at Harrison, who nodded encouragingly. “Go for it. Dean White will understand. It’s good publicity.”
“Okay.” She and Belinda went with Kit, who talked excitedly as she started their interview.