Catalina squirmed uneasily in her seat. She was eager for the third solo round to start, hoping Calista would get to shine like she did the previous day.
The little ‘interview’ her sister got after the fight had opened everyone’s eyes to a world not many noticed; the Versus-Socializer circle. It was where the two worlds met in harmony, finding ways to connect rather than divide. The girl that interviewed Calista and Belinda posted it on the Hub and it wound up on-topic a few hours later.
Catalina could only imagine how infuriated Calista’s former friends were. She would follow their channel incognito just to see their responses every now and then. They hadn’t sent a broadcast to the Hub yet, probably unable to find anything to make fun of Calista for.
She reclined in her seat, enjoying the front-row view of the arena. Being a fighter’s family, they all got the best view of the place, with screens allowing them to follow specific fighters. Above them were many capsules circling the arena ceiling, containing the rest of the students and faculty from the different fighting schools, and the eliminated fighters.
“You want some fries?” her mom asked, crunching some chips between her teeth.
“Yeah, sure. Extra mustard.”
“Mustard? Ew.”
“Mom, I’ve literally loved mustard for my entire 16 years of life. How are you surprised?”
Jennifer rolled her eyes and ordered the fries for her daughter. A second later, they appeared, practically drenched in the yellow sauce. She grimaced as Catalina munched on them happily.
“Presenting the brave competitors of our country: from Fistborn Academy, our national Team USA.”
Everyone stood to sing the anthem as the 126 fighters walked out. USA did a lot better this time around.
“Presenting the proud members of Vicieux School of Combat’s Team France.” Their anthem played and a smaller amount of fighters strutted out.
“How many countries got out yesterday?” Carter asked.
“Two, I think,” said Henry. “Costa Rica and Ghana.”
“Only two? What’s up with the first round, then? They overdid the traps.”
“Yeah, I think they toned it down afterwards. They must’ve gotten carried away,” said Jennifer.
Catalina continued eating. “I think it’s shady.” She swallowed. “All that energy on one round, then they ease up the next day? The whole new rule is so weird.”
“If they kept on with that, we wouldn’t have anyone left to compete.”
“I don’t like that Bethanii lady. I just don’t.” Catalina ate another fry.
After a half-hour of singing, they sat down, having remained standing to show respect to all the other countries. Catalina zoomed her screen in so she could see her sister. She looked a lot less nervous now, even joking with Harrison as they did their stretches in sync.
“ROUND THREE, EVERYONE!” Adrian Lasso suddenly shouted.
Startled, Catalina jumped, her seat straightening. The fries spilled all over her shirt. She groaned and pressed a button for a cleaning laser. Meanwhile, the crowd roared, but their eardrums were saved by a sound barrier.
“The last of the solo rounds! Starting tomorrow, the duo rounds will begin, and we’ll see what dynamic pairs will survive to compete! First, let’s see what challenge the engineers picked for today!”
The wheel spun. Catalina held her breath, praying that it was a game Calista was good at. She couldn’t get eliminated so far into the tournament.
‘TSUNAMI’.
“Uh… what the heck is that?” Carter said.
“Tsunami? I don’t remember that,” said Jennifer.
“You don’t?” Henry frowned, confused. “It’s that wave game. They’re in a city, and they’re running, and it gets destroyed.”
Jennifer paused. “Oh… that’s Tidal Wave.”
“It’s the same thing.”
“Yeah, but the name of that game was Tidal Wave.”
Her husband shrugged. “Guess they changed it.”
“Get ready, fighters! 10… 9… 8…”
Catalina screamed the numbers along with the crowd as they stomped their feet in sync. The countdown was always one of her favorite parts. She watched Calista’s green eyes focus on the barrier, darkening as the counter reached 0.
“FIGHT!”
They ran inside and the barrier expanded. The sensation always sent chills down Catalina’s spine. Below, they could see a simulation of New York City’s glistening buildings, complete with holo-screens and Air-Car traffic. Elimination holes were visible throughout the streets. The blue streaks landed like soft meteors, placing the fighters all over the map.
Catalina searched for her sister’s name and found her in one of the streets, looking around warily. She could see her talking, probably to her Pet in her helmet, but she couldn’t hear her.
“I loved what she did with the sashes yesterday,” said her mother. “That was incredible. She learned fast.”
“Pretty cool that she controlled them in that cube thing,” said Carter.
For moments, there was calm. Then, a huge wave formed at one side of the map, rapidly approaching the city. The smaller buildings at the edge of the barrier were destroyed, carrying many fighters with them. Some were immediately eliminated.
“Oh, what terrible luck for these 5 fighters! Scotland is running out of members!” He started narrating the names of the fighters as they landed outside the barrier and let out their rage.
“He does that so quickly,” Jennifer commented. “How does he keep track?”
Calista was pretty far from the tidal wave, so she had time to look for a building. When she went inside, a micro-drone followed her in, recording her running up the stairs to the top. No elevators or teleporters were available. She stopped midway to breathe, then continued running.
“Stairs are weird,” said Catalina, enlarging the screen so the family could track Calista.
As she reached the top, a fighter leapt through the window, shattering the glass. They landed right in front of Calista. The girl hesitated and went into defense mode.
“She needs to react a lot faster than that,” said Carter. “Literally every time, she just stands there and waits for them to hit her.”
She brought out her sashes, which stuck out of her wristbands, but the fighter easily cut them off and kicked her, smashing her into a wall. She crossed her arms in an ‘X’, activating her shields. Below, the first wave destroyed the lower floors of their building, but didn’t affect them. The water drained through the elimination holes.
“She should use a different weapon,” said Henry.
“I would’ve gone for a gun. Anti-grav, water, impulse.” Catalina threw a fry in her mouth.
“Maybe she’s scared of them. Or she’s not good at shooting,” Carter suggested.
“What about a sword? Come on, Cali, do something!”
They gasped when she was thrown out the window, heading into an elimination hole. She pointed her feet out, activating the gravity magnets, and instead plummeted into a different building.
“Nice save!” Catalina cheered, but her smile vanished when she saw her sister surrounded by other fighters.
“Never mind.”
“USE YOUR GUNS! Oh, my God…” Carter covered his face, frustrated.
They watched Calista evade and defend against the group. It was confusing chaos, with fists, elements, and weapons being thrown around. One of them shot an impulse gun and sent three of the other fighters flying out the window and into an elimination hole.
“Triple elimination by Team Korea’s Nang Seo-Jun!”
Once the last of the water drained, a new wave generated, larger than the previous one, and new Air-Cars generated along the roads. Catalina was surprised to see many fighters in combat down there.
Calista seemed to be looking for an escape route, eyeing a window nearby. As she ran to jump out, a fighter lassoed her with a rope and pulled her away, slamming her onto the floor. The fighter wore the same colors as her.
“Who uses a lasso?” Carter wondered.
Catalina tapped on the man’s face to identify him. She read, “Ace ‘Cowboy’ Mitchell. That’s not on the nose at all.”
Calista had tackled him down and tried to tie him up with his own weapon, a clever offensive move. Unfortunately, she wasn’t quick enough, and he threw her off, tying her up instead. He dragged her towards the window to throw her down into elimination.
Catalina stood, tense. “Come on, use your boots!” Calista was pushing against the windowsill with her feet, but she wasn’t using the impulse or gravity.
“USE YOUR BOOTS!” Carter yelled.
“She can’t hear you, dumb-butt.”
“You were yelling!” he argued.
“Yeah, but more to myself than to her.”
“Shh, you’re distracting us! Both of you, quiet,” Jennifer scolded them.
Calista finally used the impulse to push off and fall backwards, slamming the fighter on the floor. They continued the struggle.
“What a bug-hole,” Catalina muttered.
“I heard that,” said Henry, eyeing her sternly.
“Well, he is! He’s on her team.”
“It’s a solo round. That doesn’t matter,” said Carter. “It’s them or her.”
“They’re probably still mad about her passing the first round.” Their mother sighed. “People are so envious.”
Catalina didn’t say it aloud, but she couldn’t really blame them. While she didn’t condone their treatment of Calista, she understood it was annoying, getting eliminated while someone accidentally survived even though they weren’t doing a good job. Her first round… it wasn’t good.
The second round was the perfect comeback. She did incredible, showing what she could really do. Catalina prayed that she could get on the Earth team. She deserved it after turning her life around and working so hard to change. She was going through a lot of cache for this.
Calista’s fight with the cowboy was interrupted when a Mercurian fighter from Team Guatemala barreled through and took the cowboy with him, slamming him on the wall. He was hardly saving Calista, though; he’d turned to her immediately. Fortunately, the cowboy was triggered enough to lock him in a chokehold, distracting him from the girl.
“Is it just me, or are people always coming in and taking out Calista’s opponents?” Henry laughed.
“They’re all saving her without wanting to,” Jennifer joked.
The third tidal wave was a lot bigger than the previous two, enough to destroy the building Calista was in. The girl wasn’t moving, unsure what to do. Catalina rose from her seat again, clutching her blond hair.
“WHAT IS SHE DOING?!”
“She’s doing nothing.” Carter ate his popcorn.
To their shock, a wire shot out of her wristband and wrapped around the Guatemalan fighter’s arm. She yanked hard and toppled him over, along with Cowboy. She helped Cowboy up, but he rebuffed her.
“Rude.” Carter rolled his eyes. “Be thankful she saved your useless butt.”
“She’s being way too selfless right now— Calista, get out of there. They’re gonna get wiped out!” The wave approached the building rapidly, putting the family on edge. It tore down everything in its way, including Air-Cars traveling the upper airways, which fell down like angels falling from grace.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Calista turned sharply, probably warned by her helmet. She yelled something and ran to the window, but it was a second too late. The waves crashed through and took the building and the fighters with it.
The drone switched out with an IUC, or Intense Underwater Camera, specifically designed to withstand harsh weather. It dove into the raging waters and followed Calista as she was thrown around like clothing in a 21st Century washing machine.
Debris from buildings, furniture, and destroyed Air-Cars accompanied her. She was able to breathe thanks to her helmet, but she was out of control, being pulled towards an elimination sinkhole.
“Oh, my God.” Jennifer covered her eyes. “I can’t watch.”
Calista managed to surface and grab onto a floating Air-Car, clinging to it. She climbed on top and balanced herself, looking around the flooded city. The waves were about 48 stories high, with only the taller buildings surviving the tsunami.
Surprisingly, the eliminations weren’t too frequent. It seemed like every round had fewer losing fighters. They were really upping their game.
The next wave came all too soon, not waiting for the water to drain this time. It reached 60 stories, remixing the debris and throwing the remaining fighters around.
“Oh, shoot.” Henry was on the edge of his seat, his eyes fixed on his daughter. “She should jump to a high building.”
As if she heard him, she leapt off the Air-Car using the impulse boost and attached herself to a standing building, running up the wall. The wave was too tall, though, and rushed at her at breakneck speed.
“Aagh…” Catalina’s hands flew to her mouth when Calista was carried away again. The microscopic drone followed her, but it was still unclear what was happening. Catalina changed the screen to Calista’s body-cam, but that was even more incoherent, showing the waves and the debris rushing in a murky blur.
She looked at the wide view of the map, trying to find Calista, but to no avail. The family was in tense silence.
A blue streak appeared in the barrier. Catalina’s breath halted.
“And another elimination: Tooomu Houston from Team Scotland! Scotland only has a few fighters left in the game.”
They all sighed and relaxed, relieved, but still couldn’t figure out where Calista was.
“If she doesn’t get out of the water, she’s going to lose,” Jennifer said.
Catalina recognized a fighter, but it wasn’t Calista. Rosalina Wiasod stood at the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers. She suddenly ran forward and dove.
“Whoa, what’s Hothead planning?!” Lasso laughed confusedly. “With the next wave coming soon, I’d stay out of the water if I were her!”
Contrary to their expectations, she brought out a weapon and spun it so it acted like helicopter rotors, keeping her hovering over the waves. She reached down into the waves, just a few feet away from an elimination hole.
“What is she doing?” Henry wondered.
She shook her weapon, reactivating the rotors, and stuck her feet out to activate her gravity boots. She flew towards a different skyscraper, carrying a fighter with her.
More specifically, carrying Calista with her.
“What the-?” The Medleys watched, shocked, as Rosalina, one of Calista’s worst enemies, brought the human girl to the side of the building. They both started climbing up to the top.
“Did… did she just save her?”
===
Calista was grateful that real tsunamis weren’t a thing. Centuries ago, Earth had installed a technology that prevented natural disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods, making them all a thing of the past.
But holy glitch, was this scary.
She couldn’t see anything as she was dragged along by the waves, at the mercy of the current. She tried waving her legs and arms, desperately wanting to resurface, but to no avail. She couldn’t imagine how it was way back then, without armor or a helmet to breathe.
The current was directed to elimination holes, so if Calista didn’t get out of the water, her Versus career would be over. But in her panic, she was unable to think.
“Calista! Your boots, your weapons!” Lindsay shouted.
“But I can’t see- aah!” She spun around again and hit an Air-Car, then a piece of debris.
“You’re about to be eliminated! Just shoot a wire out and GET OUT!”
She activated her weapons and shot the wire out. She felt it lock onto something and reeled herself up. Instead, it reeled something in— a huge piece of concrete.
“Aah-” The rock hit her and nearly knocked her out. The pain was terrible. Her armor was all that protected her from major damage, but there were definitely marks left behind.
She was nauseous and dizzy. Her body weakened.
“Calista!” Lindsay’s voice faltered in her ears.
Just as she came to again, spotting an elimination sinkhole right in front of her, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled. The pain in her shoulder woke her up and she emerged from the waves. She instinctively tightened her grip on her savior’s arm.
Looking up, she expected to see Harrison, Cam, or Belinda, but nearly let go in shock when she saw who rescued her.
“Rosalina?”
The Hajjian woman said nothing as she pulled them to a building with her gravity boots. Calista quickly did the same so she could stick to the wall. Rosalina put away the small rotors she was using to fly and let go of Calista’s hand.
“What are you-?”
“Let’s go.” She started climbing the wall.
Calista followed hastily, trying to focus in the midst of the confusion. Why would she, of all people, save her from elimination? After being so keen on beating her to a pulp, Calista didn’t expect her to give a byte about her.
They reached the top, where Harrison was combating with another two fighters from Team Guatemala. He glanced at the girls, then did a double take, shocked. This allowed the Guatemalan girl he was fighting to punch him.
Calista jumped into action, running over to help. Rosalina confronted the male half of the duo.
“Hey,” said Harrison.
“Hi.” Calista kicked the girl in the stomach.
“What are you doing with Hothead?” Harrison prepared himself as another fighter climbed up the wall below.
“You won’t believe this…” She grunted as the girl twisted her arm behind her back. “But she just saved my butt.”
“What?” Harrison immediately punched the new fighter just as he reached the top. He growled in anger and pounced, knocking Harrison to the floor.
“Yeah, I was gonna get eliminated, and she came in and pulled me up.”
“Why?”
“Literally no idea. I’m so uber-confused.”
“You and me both.” Harrison elbowed his opponent and reversed their positions. He placed his knees across his throat and wrapped his arms around his legs to prevent movement. “I thought she’d throw you in there herself and say something glitchy about it afterwards. She’s not the ‘saving my teammate’ type… unless it’s her idiot boyfriend.”
“Your lines are open, glitchwads,” Rosalina said, kicking the Guatemalan man in the chin. “I can hear everything you’re saying.”
“Well, good,” said Harrison. He tried to lift his opponent off the floor.
“And I’m not a total glitch, okay? I saw her floating there like a dead fish. I figured, she’s gotten this far. Might as well.” She panted, dodging a few blows and returning some. “If not, she would’ve survived by some other miracle and everyone would start whining about it again. It’s getting annoying.”
“¿Y ustedes qué porquería hablan?” Rosalina’s opponent scoffed.
“No les importa.” She punched him.
Calista turned, shocked again. She held her arms up in a block to bounce off her opponent. “You speak Spanish?”
“Yeah, what’s it to you?”
“And here I thought she hated anything that wasn’t Hajjian,” Harrison laughed. He finally managed to overpower his opponent, throwing him off the building with his gravity boots on. “Who would’ve thought she had some tolerance in her? She’s so xenophobic.”
“You know, I can still eliminate you, Cheater. Shut your cache hole.” She tripped the Guatemalan fighter and kicked him over the railing, sending him down. “You need help there, princess?”
“Who are you calling ‘princess’?” Calista threw an uppercut to her opponent’s chin, then spun around gracefully for a kick. It wasn’t powerful enough to take her down.
“Honestly.” Rosalina shot a wire out of her wristband, catching the Guatemalan girl’s leg. She screamed as Hothead pulled her, then threw her over.
“I could’ve done that!” Calista whined.
“Spinning kicks are not pirouettes. You’re not in a DanceSim.”
Harrison shrugged. “She’s got a point.”
“Harrison!”
“She’s right; you’re focusing too much on the looks than the force. You do that all the time.”
“There’s another wave coming.” Rosalina pointed to the Spire, the tallest building in New York. “Everyone will be congregating there. We should get up there now while the waves are still short. Otherwise, we won’t get to climb up.”
“How are we supposed to get there before the other wave comes?” Calista asked.
“This is my favorite part of Tsunami.” A devilish smile painted her red face, worrying Calista. The triangle of age lines on her forehead made her look even more evil.
“What?”
“We’re using those.” Harrison pointed up at the new Air-Cars zipping over their heads.
“Just follow along, human,” said Rosalina. “We’re going for a drive.” She used her boost to jump up and grab onto a moving Air-Car.
“But, wait, what are we-” Before Calista could finish, Harrison grabbed her collar and jumped. She screamed, clinging to him as they soared high. He caught a passing Air-Car and pushed her on top.
He opened it and got inside, moving to the left seat. “Get in!”
She clung to the ceiling, terrified by the height. “I-I’m fine up here.”
“Calista, get in!”
She gulped and stretched her leg down, slowly getting into the right front seat. The door reappeared. “What are we doing?” she asked. Up ahead, Rosalina had gotten into her own Air-Car.
“Driving.” Harrison took control of the vehicle.
“Driving? Wait, like, actually driving?”
“Yup.”
The next wave approached them, rising like a monster above the already-ruined New York City simulation. Calista’s mouth dried at the sight. Their Air-Cars were definitely getting swept up.
“Hothead, you copy?” Harrison said.
“I copy, Cheater. Watch your nine. You know what to do when it gets close, yes?”
“I’ve got it.”
“And is Makakian doing alright?”
“Hey! I heard that!” Calista exclaimed.
“That’s the point.”
“Calista is fine,” said Harrison. “If we’re working together, don’t bug us off so much.”
“Force of habit.”
“Wh-what exactly are we doing?” Calista held on tight to her seat.
“We’re car-surfing,” Harrison said simply.
“We’re what?”
“Hold on.” The wave roared as it approached.
“Why do you think so many fighters stayed on the ground?” said Rosalina.
“Whoa, wait, wait-” The wave rolled towards them. “Wait, guys, wait, wait!” She screamed as the water came upon them and took them out of the airway.
Harrison cheered as he maneuvered across the wave, dodging debris from the falling skyscrapers. Fighters splashed into the water, helplessly trying to swim. Voraxians had more of an advantage, able to move the currents to their favor.
“Weapons engaged?” Rosalina asked.
“Engaged.” Harrison pressed a button on the dash. A huge gun came out of the hood.
“What the heck is that?” Calista pointed at it.
A steering wheel appeared and Harrison took it, pressing the buttons with his thumbs. Water bullets shot rapidly, taking down fighters trying to jump on the car. The car turned wildly, sending Calista’s heart into panic mode.
She could hear Rosalina cheering as she also shot the gun on her car, but she used fire instead of water. A few fighters got eliminated thanks to their rampage.
“Uh-oh.” Harrison eyed some more fallen Air-Cars with fighters in them. They all closed in on the three US fighters in a circle.
“What do we do?” Calista looked out the window, spotting an Air-Car with a cannon. It shot at them. “HARRISON!”
The car flipped over into the water. Calista’s door opened and she was sucked into the waves. Her helmet locked around her face.
“Lindsay, where’s Rosalina?” She cried out when she was hit by something.
“To your left! You’re going towards her, just keep swimming!”
Calista used her impulse boots to force herself through the water. She surfaced and looked for Rosalina. “Harrison, do you copy?” she shouted. She clung to a broken-off Air-Car hood.
“I’m okay!” he answered. “I see you, but you’re too far! Get to Hothead!”
“Hey, Lady Luck!” someone shouted. A laser whip splashed in front of her, making her shriek.
“Oh, quit whining and grab it!” Rosalina shouted. She was hanging out of her driver side door.
Calista took the whip and let her teammate pull her to safety. She climbed into the seat with her. “Thanks.”
“Okay, so… this just got a bit harder.” Rosalina observed the many fighters in the water. “So I’m going to have to trust you, which is a very hard thing to do.”
Calista sighed sharply. “What is it?”
“Take the wheel.”
“What?”
“Take the wheel and turn. That’s all you need to do.”
“Turn where?”
“Anywhere!” Rosalina climbed out of the right side door onto the roof.
“What the- Rosalina!”
A huge machine gun popped out of the car roof. Rosalina stood behind it, using her gravity boots to keep herself glued to the surface. She took the handles and smiled. “It’s go time, baby.”
She opened fire, steering the gun to shoot at the different enemies. Calista took that as her cue and steered the car in all directions. Rosalina whooped in excitement above her.
“YEEEAAAH! EAT FIRE, GLITCHEEEES!”
Calista chuckled, the fear pushed down by adrenaline-induced excitement. She found herself whooping as she spun the car around wildly. She didn’t even want this round to end. Who knew this would be so much fun?
“Aww, that’s the end of Team Scotland! Yesenia Delgado from Team Guatemala has eliminated Scotland’s last competitor, Chuphed Findlay!”
“Girls, the next wave is the last one!” Harrison warned them. “I’m heading to the Spire!”
“Okay! Medley, steer the car to the Spire! I’ll take care of any tails!” Rosalina continued shooting.
Calista grunted, steering the wheel to the right. They were very high up, the waves draining slower than before. The Spire didn’t look that tall anymore. “How do we get up there?” she asked.
“We get out of the car and run up the wall. And if anyone’s up there, we’ll have to do our best to not get shot down. My advice, get behind other people and use them as shields.”
“Got it!” They approached the large building. Many remaining fighters were already up there.
“Okay, get out!” Rosalina leapt off the roof and attached herself to the wall. Calista swam to the wall herself. Both started running up.
As expected, projectiles, bullets, missiles, and all sorts of weapons were thrown down. Calista gasped and yelped every time she dodged. Rosalina’s suit smoked, showing her annoyance.
The Hajjian grunted as a small missile hit her shoulder. She gasped as she started falling. Calista reached down to catch her, but missed.
“Rosalina!”
Someone else caught Rosalina’s ankle and lifted her onto the wall. Both ran back up to Calista. When they got closer, the human girl recognized Reilly Campbell.
“I couldn’t find you all round,” Rosalina told him.
“Well, it’s hard to find people in the middle of a tsunami in one of the biggest cities in the world,” Reilly responded, eyeing her flirtatiously.
Harrison suddenly landed on the wall, startling them all. “Quit flirting and climb.”
“How’d you do that?” Calista asked.
“Shot myself out of a cannon. It sounds fun, but it’s not. I think I lost my stomach.”
The previous wave was draining, but the next wave didn’t wait for it to finish. It towered over the entire city, just a few inches taller than the Spire, swallowing the remaining buildings.
“How are we supposed to survive that? Whoa!” Calista leaned to the left to dodge a falling fighter.
“When the Spire tips, we hold on. Then we use it as a raft. As long as we don’t get sucked into the water, we’re fine,” said Reilly.
They soon reached the top. Harrison grabbed Calista’s hand and pulled her to the surface before climbing up himself. There was a huge crowd of fighters, all of them trying to throw each other off the building. Many competitors rained down the edges of the tower.
Calista yelped when Harrison suddenly grabbed her, spinning her towards a fighter. She instinctively kicked out her feet with her impulse on. The fighter was shot off the building.
He put her down and she shoved his arm. “Nice warning!”
“Sorry. Watch my six.”
They stood back to back. Many times, Harrison would ask Calista for assistance, spinning her and throwing her at many opponents. They surprisingly worked well, despite having only ever fought against each other in training. It was as if they were dancing a violent, reckless version of tango.
Belinda and Cam soon appeared, fighting together on the tower. They spotted Calista and waved. The human waved back before kicking an opponent in the face.
After a while, very few fighters were left on the Spire, with most down in the water, using debris as rafts. Many had retreated to the airways, grabbing Air-Cars to avoid getting sucked into a sinkhole.
“Get ready!” Lílitha finally arrived at the Spire, stretching her arm to punch a fighter behind her.
The wave approached. Everyone braced themselves. The Spire groaned as it leaned and slowly fell to the side. The fighters all screamed.
“Get on the side!” Rosalina and Reilly attached themselves to the wall with many others. Harrison took Calista’s hand and pressed her down on the wall to keep her secure.
Camelithia stood on the wall, taking a moment to pump her fists. “LET’S GOOOOO!”
The Spire splashed into the water and floated off with the rest of New York. Many blue streaks flashed in the barrier.
“Oh, sorry, Italy! The last five competitors on Team Italy have been wiped out by the last wave!”
Calista held on tight and waited for the round to end. There was only a minute left of the 30-minute round. Camelithia high-fived Belinda and cheered.
“That was amazing,” said Belinda.
“This was the best round yet. How’d you all do?” Cam asked.
“I eliminated a guy from Team Korea. Big guy, too,” said Lílitha. “I discovered a new trick; I can hang by my legs and swing people with my arms.”
“Did you bite anyone?” Harrison chuckled.
“For your information, no, I didn’t.” She lightly punched his arm. “I do more than bite people’s limbs off. I strangle, choke, drown…”
“You know, this isn’t a death competition,” Calista said, disturbed.
“Wishful thinking never hurt anybody,” the little woman joked.
“You should be used to her being a psychopath,” said Rosalina.
“No one asked you.”
“I don’t care.”
“You know, I can still stretch my arm over and pull you and your little boyfriend down to the water,” Lílitha threatened.
“Let’s just relax, you guys.” Harrison looked between them. “The round’s over.”
Adrian Lasso shouted, “GAME OVER!” right after his declaration.