The elevator stopped at the arena dugout. The remaining 27 fighters lined up in three columns. Harrison’s team was down to 9. Reilly’s team now had 8 members. Disaris’s team had 7, their leadership given to Delaine. Elisa and Catherine’s team was practically gone, leaving them and one other fighter.
Who would’ve thought Harrison’s team would be the best-performing? Lisa acknowledged their performance in front of the other members, bringing some rather… diverse reactions. Some congratulated them, others sulked, others glared. It was a nice change of pace from the first Team Review.
Calista caught Rosalina’s eye, but quickly looked away. A wave in the corner of her eye caught her attention.
Camelithia smiled and connected to her helmet for a private conversation, along with Belinda. “Anything the matter, Cali?”
“I’m good. Why?” she said.
“You were frowning.”
“Yeah, I’m just… nervous. It’s the last round.”
“You’ll be fine. We’re just as nervous as you are. But hey, we’ve gotten this far,” said Belinda.
“Yeah.” She nodded.
Her team started to converse among themselves. “Last game… it’s bound to be crazy,” Lílitha commented.
“We’re crazy. We can handle it,” said Blair.
“You have a point.” Lílitha glanced behind her at Calista, who stared at her boots. She lightly punched her shoulder pad. “Hey, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much.”
The human girl looked up. “Huh?”
“You look sick.”
“Oh… right.”
“Something wrong?”
“Nothing.” Calista smiled.
“Good luck, everyone,” Cam said. Belinda waved at everyone.
Rosalina’s red eyes made contact with Calista’s emeralds. The woman shot her a good-natured smile and a thumbs-up. Calista only stared back at her, wondering how she could do that after the previous day.
Then she remembered. She was drunk. She probably didn’t even remember telling her. Her confused expression at Calista’s lack of response proved it.
England, Spain, and Switzerland were eliminated the previous round, leaving the US, Japan, Korea, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Ukraine.
When the randomizer wheel spun, the entire arena was silent. This round would decide the fate of the planet team. The fate of their world in the Versus Games.
Calista’s chest ached from how fast her heart was going. Her mouth and throat were dry. Her suit enabled its cooling feature, detecting her body temperature rising.
‘KIDNAP’.
The crowd went wild, stomping louder than ever before. While there were a few fighters on their team that were happy, like Rosalina and Bark, most of them looked at each other, perturbed. Their eyes silently wished each other luck.
Of course. A Hajjian children’s game. They would be fine.
If ‘fine’ meant ‘dead’, of course.
“Let’s hope we’re seekers in this game,” Lílitha muttered as they got down to run.
“I’m gonna die,” Alka laughed.
“Me, too,” Charlotte chimed in.
“Ladies… please.” Harrison looked at them sternly. “It’s a game. Just like any other round. It’ll be fine.”
Calista felt nauseous.
“FIGHT!”
They ran inside. Calista closed her eyes as she traveled through the barrier, then landed on solid ground. When she opened them, she found herself in a dark maze with everyone else.
“Of course we’re not seekers,” said Alka.
“I don’t really understand this game,” said Geija. “We practiced this, right?”
“Yes,” Eriiin said timidly. “But… maybe once? Twice?”
“Thrice,” Lílitha said. “That’s not enough.”
“We didn’t practice Battleship and we still made it,” Calista pointed out.
“Thank you, Calista,” said Harrison. “Ladies, listen. I know Kidnap isn’t the easiest game, but there’s harder ones. So just focus and calm down.”
Calista wrung her gloves together. She was paranoid now, expecting to be attacked any minute.
“Let’s stick together, just like we did in training. Don’t concentrate on anticipating someone attacking us. Focus on the end of the maze. Don’t get distracted by every noise you hear. There’s a lot of fakes. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll lead. Stick close and don’t get separated. Yell if someone grabs you.” They turned to the thick blackness ahead.
“No night vision, right?” said Blair. Her coal-black skin blended in with the environment, leaving only her armor visible. She would live up to her call sign here.
“Nope. Just instincts. Our helmets will be inhibited by the map.” Harrison took a deep breath, then stepped forward. “Remember, the seekers can connect to your helmets and distract you. Just focus on your allies’ voices.”
Distantly, they heard Lasso announce the first elimination. “Double elimination! Korea’s P’yo Sochun has been eliminated along with his victim, Ireland’s Jimal Baseeeto!”
“Walk normal, everyone. If you go too slow, you’re leaving an opening,” Harrison communicated through their helmets. They picked up their pace.
Every few seconds, there was a scream, or a rustle, or a thump. Calista tried to ignore them, reminding herself that most of them were fake noises, but she was tempted to break into a run. She was terrified of the thick, steamy darkness around them.
A sigh erupted near her ear. She gasped, shying away. Ghost stared back, her white eyes showing confusion. “What?”
“God…” Calista clutched her chest. “I can’t even see you.”
“That’s the point,” the Dnilian girl chuckled.
“We’re going the right way, aren’t we?” Eriiin said, also sounding frightened.
“I’ve got the map,” said Harrison. “The challenge isn’t the maze, it’s what’s in the maze.”
A flashbang suddenly exploded, blinding all of them. Calista covered her face and tried to get her eyes working again. Her helmet beeped as someone approached from behind.
“Guys!” Charlotte shouted. She started screaming and fighting against an enemy. With everyone blinded, they couldn’t see where she was. They could only hear her and follow their helmet alerts.
“I got you, Charlotte!” Damaris said. They heard struggling and punching. Then a blast. Damaris slammed against the maze wall.
“Get… off!” A punch. Then running footsteps. “Let’s get out of here!”
“Charlotte, wait!” Harrison called. Their vision was starting to clear. Charlotte disappeared ahead into the darkness.
“Charlotte! You need to stay with us!” Geija shouted. But then she started screaming.
Calista ran forward, finding her trapped in a chokehold. The seeker’s face couldn’t be seen; they were wearing a black cloak over their suit to conceal themselves. Calista shot forward, tackling the seeker down. Both her and Geija beat them for a bit, then dragged them to the maze wall, where they’d find an elimination chute.
“Charlotte, come on! Get back here!” Alka yelled ahead. To their relief, the human girl appeared, running back to them.
Calista and Geija threw the seeker into the opened chute. “USA’s Calista Medley and Geija Herifa have eliminated Mexico’s Gilberto Velasquez!”
Geija looked at Calista. “Thanks…” she said awkwardly.
“You’re welcome.”
“Let’s go,” Harrison said. They started running further into the maze. “Charlotte, you did exactly what I told you not to do.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Just stick with the group, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t blame her… too much,” said Ghost. “This game does things to you.”
Their helmets beeped again, followed by both Alka and Eriiin being tackled. As Charlotte and Lílitha intervened, they screamed and reared back, their hands pressing against their helmets.
Ghost took action and subdued one of the fighters, her camouflaged skin giving her an advantage. But they were strong, easily pinning her down. Eriiin was able to escape her captor, but not Alka, who was being dragged away.
“I’m coming!” Calista followed the Seeyastian girl’s cries for help. Damaris ran behind her. As a half-Mercurian, Alka had extra strength on her side, but she couldn’t use fire unless she had a weapon. Whoever was grabbing her was probably a superior species.
Calista was blown away suddenly, crashing into Damaris and landing painfully on her back. As she stood, she heard Lasso announce Alka’s elimination. Damaris stood, taking deep breaths and clutching her midriff.
“Hack it!” Lílitha cursed.
“We need to keep moving!” Harrison pushed all of them ahead of him. “I’ll guide you. Just run!” He gave the other seeker a final kick with his boot impulse on, sending them flying.
Calista followed the group blindly. She could see enough of her environment, but she had no idea where she was going. Only the leader had the maze map.
“Left!” he yelled. Then, “Right!”
The sounds of screaming fighters and elimination announcements increased in number.
“Left!” “Left again!” “Straight!” “Right!”
Their helmets alerted them of an oncoming threat.
“STOP!” Lílitha stretched her arms out, keeping her teammates from advancing. She then stretched her fist forward, hitting the enemy in the face. They caught her wrist and pulled her into the darkness.
“Piranha!”
There was struggling, then an agonized scream, but not from Lílitha. It was a man’s voice. The scream echoed throughout the maze, so loud that Lasso heard it.
“And there’s Piranha doing what she does best! What a painful bite! I can feel it from here!”
A shadow flew over the team, prompting everyone to duck, and the seeker landed on the other side, clutching his arm. Harrison took action, punching him and opening a chute to send him into the barrier.
“You bit him?” said Eriiin, horrified.
“No, I shook his hand,” Lílitha said sarcastically. “What do you think I’m in this game for?”
“Let’s move!” Harrison pushed them again. “We’ll save the arguing for after the game.”
They had a few more confrontations, but so far, no one was eliminated except Alka. Calista’s fear had reached new heights. Being grabbed and dragged away from her team was not a fun experience. She was just thankful she was still there.
A hand caught her ankles, pulling her off balance. She yelled as she was dragged away. She could hear her team calling for her, then for Damaris as she was also taken.
Calista tried kicking, but she didn’t make contact with anyone’s face or chest. As a small shadow appeared before her, their arms pulling her closer, she realized— this enemy was Ilamikoan.
Once they were close enough, Calista kicked with both her feet. She hit their face, but they were expecting this. They didn’t let go of her.
“Hey!” Harrison yelled, appearing behind her. He held his fist forward and shot a weapon, hitting one of the enemy’s arms. They yelled in pain as their arms slackened like rubber. Calista quickly escaped.
“Do I have to be your hero every time?” Harrison told her.
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“Oh, shut up. Where’s Damaris?”
“I’m here,” she said, using the communicator.
“Is everyone here?”
“I’m here, too.”
“Where’s Eriiin?”
“Eriiin?”
“Guys?” The Martian girl’s timid voice rang in their ears. “I don’t… I don’t know where I am. I can’t see you.”
“We’re in the same spot. Where did you go?” said Ghost.
“I…” A pause. “Guys, where are you?!” she started yelling. “Everyone! Where are you?!”
“Eriiin, stop yelling!” Piranha said frantically.
“Hello?” They could hear her in the distance, quite far from where they were. “Hello?!”
They heard the seekers talking nearby, then footsteps. Calista saw a couple of shadows running towards Eriiin.
“Oh-my-God. Eriiin, get out of there!”
“I’m over here! You hear me?”
“They’re coming for you! Stop talking!” Harrison snapped.
“Hellooo?” As they ran to save her, her silhouette appeared in the mist. Calista slowed down as she realized Eriiin was running towards the enemies. “I see you! Can you hear me?”
“What are you doing?! Get over here!” Charlotte shouted.
She stopped. “Guys?”
“Eriiin, we’re over here!”
She stared at the oncoming enemies, realizing. They tricked her.
She engaged in combat with the two. “Glitches. Just go, you guys!” she yelled. She could probably hold her own for a bit, but not for much.
“For glitch’s sake!” Lílitha’s frustration showed through her bared fangs as she turned, leaving Eriiin behind. “Come on.”
They ran into the path. Harrison instructed them to turn right. They soon heard Lasso announce Eriiin’s elimination.
“If all of you idiots decide to get tricked like that, I’ll eliminate you myself!” Lílitha said angrily.
A force suddenly froze them in their tracks. Calista tried to move herself forward, but failed. “What is this?” she said.
“It’s… a magnetic field. A trap. We ran right into it,” said Ghost.
Geija then screamed. “Hack it! You guys keep going!” She was pulled out of the magnetic field and into the mist.
“No, wait!” Damaris tried to turn to help her.
“Don’t waste your time!” the Paeseoan woman yelled. They could hear her fighting. “This guy’s a glitching brute!”
“Well, isn’t that rude,” a familiar voice rang. He then savagely shoved her into the chute as if shoving her into a sack.
“USA’s Bark ‘Savage’ Wefitan has eliminated Geija Herifa from his own country team!”
“Oh, glitch.” Calista was frozen, not just because of the magnetic field this time.
“We got a lucky break, huh?” Hillary’s voice followed. A shadow walked out in front of the group. The Paeseoan girl lowered her hood, revealing her face and blue hair. Her yellow skin stood out in the darkness.
“Alright, Cheater,” said Bark. “I’ll admit, it’s impressive you got this far. Congratulations.”
“Hack you,” Harrison replied.
Hillary scoffed. “Well, that’s rude. Your whole team is rude. We’re being polite.”
Calista strained, trying to pull her arm forward. Next to her, she could see Lílitha trying to stretch her arm out of the field.
“You got quite a few good rookies here.” Bark carried himself with an unusual kind of confidence. He always looked confident and arrogant, but this was different. Usually, Hillary would be the one thirsting for revenge while he preferred playing it safe. But now…
He was waiting for the right moment. He wanted all his enemies in the perfect position to fight them properly. It was smart. Less risk of them getting eliminated due to Hillary’s recklessness, and he could beat them up all he wanted.
“Let’s see… who’s that over there?” Bark pointed at Charlotte. He also lowered his hood, his blood-red skin practically glowing with excitement. “Let’s fight it out, hmm?” He reached in and grabbed Charlotte’s wrist, pulling her out of the magnetic field. She was no match against his heightened strength.
“Son of a… you have the gall to say Harrison’s the cheater!” Lílitha’s finger was practically at the edge of the barrier holding them in place.
“How is this cheating? That’s a valid trap,” Bark replied. He smiled at Charlotte, who stared back with ferocity. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“I want someone to fight with, Savage,” Hillary interrupted. “I’m not going to be standing here watching.”
“Be my guest.” He let go of Charlotte’s wrist, getting into a fighting position. The girl did the same, but they could tell she was scared.
As they started to duel, Hillary studied the paralyzed group with narrowed eyes, pacing back and forth. She smiled when her eyes met Calista’s. “I’ll save the best for last,” she said aloud. She then eyed Damaris Delario at the back of the group. She armed a magnetic gun, concentrating the force on the human girl to pull her out.
“Damaris?” Calista started.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, straining. The minute she was free, she punched Hillary in the face.
Bark was going easy on Charlotte, but she was still getting exhausted trying to break his defense. She panted, clutching her ribs after he’d kicked her.
Lílitha’s hand soon passed the field’s barrier. She stretched the upper half of her arm, grabbing Bark’s arm and pulling him away from Charlotte. Her teeth ground together fiercely from the effort. She then threw him towards the magnetic projector, breaking it.
“Alright, Merthos, show them what you’ve got,” she said. Her Pet detached from her belt, opening to show sharp teeth.
The team jumped into action. Charlotte went to help Damaris fight Hillary. Harrison and Lílitha immediately ran for Bark. Calista stayed frozen, unsure what to do.
“Calista, do something!” Lindsay yelled.
Hillary push-kicked Charlotte and used her gravity boots to slam her into the wall. Once she was weakened, she dragged her to the wall and used her wrist impulse to shoot her into elimination. They were now down to 5 members.
“Glitch!” Damaris grabbed the other woman’s collar and threw her to the floor. Calista had never seen the young blonde so angry before.
“Control yourself, Blondie,” Hillary taunted her, standing. Ghost suddenly appeared behind her and kicked her.
Bark suddenly started breathing fire. The smoke blinded Lílitha, causing her to shrink away. Harrison held his ground for a bit more until Bark grabbed him by the throat and slammed him in the ground. He punched him repeatedly.
“Calista! Stop standing around and fight!” Lindsay shouted, louder this time.
The Earthian girl was finally un-paralyzed. “Lindsay, help me out.” The Pet activated and flew beside her. She ran to Harrison’s aid, jumping on Bark’s back and wrapping her legs around his waist. Her arms wound around his neck and pulled back, her gloves sticking together. Lindsay helped, tying him up with sashes.
He didn’t bother trying to shake her off. He fell backwards and slammed her into the floor. It was painful, but she still didn’t let go. He then heated up and burst into flames, destroying the sashes and blowing her into the ground. The heat was scorching, but her skin was protected.
He was now focused on her, grabbing her ponytail protruding from her helmet and pulling her. She cried out in pain and tried to fight against his hold, but her position was disadvantageous. Lindsay flew forward to help, but he smacked her away, stunning her. It was enough to deactivate her temporarily.
“You’re a thorn in my side I can finally get rid of,” he said, opening a chute. He didn’t throw her in; instead, he pinned her down and punched her a few times. She tried impulse-kicking him. He used his gravity gloves and boots to combat the force and punched her again, keeping the gravity on.
She was dizzy and nauseous. She was no match for someone like him. Maybe this was as far as she would go in the Versus.
He was suddenly pulled off and thrown into the wall on the opposite side. Harrison helped Calista up. The dizziness caused her to stumble and he quickly caught her. “You okay?” he said.
She looked up, noticing how close his handsome face was. “Yeah…”
“Hey, lovebirds. STOP GAZING AT EACH OTHER AND FIGHT!” Lindsay screamed, frustrated as she tried to repair herself as quickly as possible. Their helmets alerted them of Bark, who came at them like an angry bull.
“Probably should’ve eliminated him,” Harrison muttered, preparing for combat.
“No kidding!” Lílitha’s Pet released elastic ropes, wrapping them around his armpits. He was pulled away from the two. As Lílitha attacked him, he immediately grabbed her hands and snapped her stretched arms, disabling their elasticity.
In the back, the other two girls were giving Hillary a hard time, but the woman avoided elimination as much as she could. Their Pets were locked in combat with each other. “Calista, help Damaris and Ghost. Lílitha and I will deal with Savage.” Harrison went to aid Lílitha as Savage beat her up.
“Okay.” Calista ran to Gravity, who had trapped Damaris in a gravity bubble, keeping her at bay while she dealt with Ghost.
She jumped and spun gracefully, hitting Hillary’s wrist perfectly. This disabled the gravity bubble and freed Damaris. The Paeseoan’s green eyes were filled with rage, which grew along with hatred when she saw Calista.
She stretched out her hands and blew the other two girls away, concentrating on the Earthian girl. Calista was a bit frightened, not expecting her anger.
“I don’t get it. You have everything so easy!” Out of her wristband, a glowing electric whip shot out. Calista screamed, raising her arms to protect herself as Hillary lashed at her. “Everything! Everyone talks about you and loves you and admires you! And I- can’t- stand it!”
“Why are you so crazy?!” Calista dodged another lash. “Why should you care so much?”
“You’re a talentless, fake little coward! You humans are so… irritating!”
“Gravity, focus!” Savage yelled as he struggled against Cheater and Piranha, their Pets also shooting and hitting each other.
Ghost jumped on Hillary’s back and locked her in a hold, dragging her towards the open elimination chute. Her hands fused together so her hold wouldn’t be broken. Instead of throwing her in, Blair sat inside, facing out of the chute. She started to lean back to take Hillary with her.
“Ghost, no!” Damaris shouted.
Hillary was too fast. She latched her gloves and boots to the edge of the tube to prevent herself sliding inside. Ghost was hanging off her, her legs dangling into the chute.
“What an idiot,” Hillary muttered. She removed one of her hands to gravity-punch Blair’s hands, weakening them. They soon shifted back to normal and Ghost fell in.
Four left.
“We just have them two,” said Damaris. “Four against two. We can do this.”
“You think so?” Hillary laughed. “You know teams can split up, right?” She then said, “Hey, Medusa, could you keep Blondie busy?”
“My name is Dama-” A shadow slammed into her. Another landed behind Bark and his opponents.
Fighting Damaris was Yve ‘Medusa’ Rayelyn, a Seeyastian with a rare disability; her hair was ‘alive’. She used it as an weapon in the Versus, giving her the reputation she had. A human had little chance against someone like Medusa.
Harrison was now alone in his fight with Bark. Lílitha was kept busy by a sharp-nailed Emitonian woman named Bellassa ‘Scratch’ Chrisman.
“That’s more like it.” Hillary lashed her whip at Calista’s face. Distracted, she dodged too late. It stung her arm.
“How many times do I have to tell you to use your hacking weapons?!” Lindsay exclaimed.
“Right. Lindsay… give me my sashes.”
“Sashes won’t help you with a whip.”
“Then give me tougher ones.”
Lindsay gave her a pair of coal-black sashes, which were made out of a durable material that would surely hurt Hillary. Like a sword-fight, Calista flicked them against Hillary’s weapon, spinning and twisting gracefully to avoid her.
“I hate you,” the Paeseoan seethed. “I glitching hate you! You and your stupid dance moves!”
“Why are you so weird? What did I ever do to you?!”
“That’s the thing, you did nothing! You don’t do glitching anything! All you humans are so… so… you’re such frauds!”
“You’re so weird!” Calista jumped and spun, her legs stretched out in a split. She landed in a perfect plié. “Get your cache together, Gravity! Do you hate humans or something?”
“Oh, no, I adore your species. Butting into a Utopia that you shouldn’t have joined in the first place!”
Calista could only stare at her. This girl… she had issues. Did she go to some kind of anti-human boot camp?
“Aw, Gravity. You’re breaking my heart,” Harrison interjected sarcastically. She turned, distracted. Calista took the chance to whack her in the face with her sash. She spun around, following it with another attack.
Damaris screamed in pain, falling on the ground while clutching her stomach. Medusa grabbed her leg, dragging her to elimination.
“Damaris!” Calista shouted. Hillary wouldn’t let her go, now even angrier.
“I’ve… got it!” Damaris aimed a wrist gun at Medusa, sending a sonic boom into her ears. She yelled, her hair reacting painfully to the force. Damaris continued shooting her, still clutching her stomach as she drove her to the chute.
“Medusa, what are you doing, idiot?!” Scratch said.
Damaris finished her off and threw her inside. “We’ve got eyes on a rising rookie, ladies and gentlemen! Damaris Delario just eliminated Alpha Favorite Yve ‘Medusa’ Rayelyn from USA!”
“Finish them already!” Hillary said. “We’re running out of room!” Lasso announced another elimination. Once 150 fighters were left, the game would be over.
“Oh, I’m finishing someone.” Bark had subdued Harrison again, beating him terribly. His body was slackened as he was lifted and thrown towards a chute.
Calista had a split second to react. She threw one of her sashes forward, as hard as she could. It wrapped around Harrison’s waist. It seemed like slow motion as she turned and slapped Hillary with her other sash, hard enough to knock her off her feet.
She pulled Harrison with a grunt, steering him towards Scratch, who was winning against the other two girls. Harrison’s body crashed into hers. She screamed as she flew into a chute.
“And another rookie success: Calista Medley has eliminated another Alpha Favorite: Bellassa ‘Scratch’ Chrisman!”
“Maybe ‘Lady Luck’ is a good call sign for me,” she remarked. Lindsay fully repaired herself, allowing her to use her one more time. She decided to wait, not wanting to waste her.
Hillary looked up, furious, but then broke into a smile. Calista was suddenly locked in a chokehold. A cloth went over her face, blocking her vision. She yelled for help as she frantically tried to fight.
“I think I’m just about tired… of your stupid dancing… and your bugging off my girlfriend.” Bark’s voice was dark, filled with rage.
“And I think I’m tired of you targeting my Favorite.”
They were pulled in the air. Bark was snatched away from Calista, releasing her. She fell onto the floor. Lílitha had Bark in an iron grip, her arms recovered from their earlier injury. She threw him at Harrison’s Pet, who electrocuted him, then pushed him to Harrison, who impulse-kicked him into Hillary.
They both crashed into the wall and fell. Damaris ran to Harrison and put his arm around her shoulders, since he was still injured. Lílitha pulled Calista to her feet. “Run!”
They ran all the way to the finish line. Thankfully, they weren’t confronted by any more seekers. Calista was trembling when they reached the surviving fighters’ zone. They all cheered in congratulations.
Catherine broke through the crowd with her Favorite, Beatrice. “You guys look a mess,” she observed. “What happened?”
“Don’t ask.” Lílitha glanced around her. “Where’s the rest of your team?”
Catherine sighed, shrugging. “Bad luck. I’m the only one that made it. And we were seekers. But at least one of my students is here.” She slung an arm around Beatrice and rubbed her knuckles on her helmet. “How many did you lose?”
“Five.”
“Ah. Well, it’s a hard game, not to mention scary as glitch.” Beatrice shuddered. “Hajjians… they’re weird.”
Calista looked back into the black void that was the maze. Another group of fighters reached the safe zone, cheering as they entered.
It was supposed to be a joyous moment. They passed. They got on the planet team. They were in the actual Versus! All these people were Calista’s new teammates.
But for some reason, the way Bark and Hillary had attacked them… it frightened her. How could she continue fighting alongside them, especially Hillary? Why did the woman hate her so deeply?
What would they do to her? She felt like she’d have to watch her back now that they failed to eliminate her— again. She didn’t feel brave enough to fight them anymore. If killing were ever allowed… would they go for it?
The last blue streak appeared in the barrier, spitting out a Korean fighter. “GAME OVER!” Adrian Lasso screamed. “There are 150 fighters left in the map, which means our team has been chosen! The 2350 Versus Preliminaries on Earth have concluded!”
Everyone’s ear protectors activated when the barrier melted away. Confetti and banners were everywhere. Fireworks burst and the planetary anthem played in instrumental so everyone could sing in their native language.
“Our world of green and blue,
We pledge our blood to you,
Vast oceans, gorgeous plains,
Thick forests and white sands…”
The surviving seekers were hugging each other and pumping their fists, celebrating. Those eliminated went to their dugouts, many crying bitterly for being cut off so close to the end.
To Calista’s dismay, she saw Bark and Hillary among the remaining seekers, locked in a passionate kiss.
“Ugh. Get a room, right?” Lílitha commented.
“Calista!” Camelithia and Belinda came running. “You made it! We did it!” The Seeyastian tackled the Earthian in a tight hug. Belinda joined in and wrapped her arms around the two.
Everyone was celebrating together. They were no longer rivals. Everyone on the arena was now part of the same family, representing Earth.
“Team USA has 12 members in the Games!” Lasso announced. The American fans all roared in support. “Team Japan has 60! Amazing!”
60?! That was incredible, considering how chaotic the rounds were.
“Team Ireland: 32! Team Mexico: 21! Team Ukraine: 11! Team Guatemala: 10! And last but definitely not least, Team Puerto Rico has made it on the team with 4 fighters! Team Korea has been eliminated! Congratulations to them for making it so far!”
“We did it, Calista!” Cam hugged her tightly. Calista momentarily forgot about her fear. Her body was still recovering from the game, her heart pounding and her limbs shaking.
She could see Reilly and Rosalina sharing a victory kiss in the distance. Of course they’d get on the team. They were lucky to be seekers in the round. And Rosalina probably played this when she was a kid. Like Bark did.
Would they still try to frame her and Harrison for cheating? Would Rosalina still try to spy on her?
Would Bark and Hillary go after her and ruin her career? Would they attack her outside of a duel?
“You alright?” Belinda noticed Calista’s troubled expression. “Girl, come on! You did it! We’re on the planet team!”
“I know, I know! I’m happy! Don’t mind me,” she laughed. She turned around, seeing Harrison looking at her with a strange smile. “What is it?” she asked him.
“You’re on the Earth team.” He smiled wider. “My Favorites got on the Earth team.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Eh.” He shrugged. “Reilly’s the best student in the academy. Not all his students got on the team— not even the country team. It’s not the coach; it’s the fighter.”
Excitement filled the girl, temporarily abating her fear and worry. She jumped and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He exclaimed in surprise and pain, then chuckled and hugged her back.
“Ow…”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” She let him go. “I forgot. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Our Earth we love and care for,
We pledge ourselves to you!”
The crowd chanted once the anthem was over. “TEAM EARTH! TEAM EARTH! TEAM EARTH!”