“Ya goofed it!” Joan was given a slap on the back by Maria. “What happened?! Aiken won his match without trouble!” Maria was clearly upset hearing about Joan’s loss, only to come to another conclusion. “Oh! Are you doing it for me? I’d love to participate again. Waiting on the sidelines is a drag. I’d rather not wait for East Bridge anyway! The real fun is gonna be the nationals~.”
“Maria...Uh… Mary. No. I didn't do it for you; it was just an unexpected disadvantage. These things happen, you know. Not all of our singularities blend well against all types, you know.”
“Nonsense! We should have swapped places! I’d easily have defeated him!”
“No.” Quinn's voice was evident coming from the other side of the room. “Putting you in second would be fatal. Just cause you want to fight doesn’t mean we’re changing the team positions.”
“Don’t ruin my fun, Quinn.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to have fun, Mary. But, it doesn’t mean we should underestimate our enemy. They made it to the semi-finals, after all. Not to mention, they have Mosley.”
“Who?”
“He was a runner-up in the individuals for our state back in middle school. Though that was two years ago, he left an impressive record on his name.”
“Why is he only being brought up now? Was he famous abroad?”
“No, No. According to an article, only in Idaho, but a few people from Washington and California did pique their interest in him. He had the highest wins among the individuals at the time. I was there to witness his spectacle, but from what I saw, he’s changed a bit.”
“Oh, so he’s like this, Gabby chick? Only...Not as important. Got it.”
“Hold it, Mary. You should know not to undermine the efforts of others like that. If anything, all eyes are on him and Gabby. Some even hope to see him fight Gabby. It would be an exciting fight, though, but it would end in Gabby’s favor.”
“Hehe… They both sound fun to fight. Maybe after we win, we get to fight them again.”
“Unlikely, Gabby does who knows what in their free time, and if I recall, the reason Mosely even stopped attending tournaments was family-related. Who knows. But, you can fight the rest if we win.”
“Starlight doesn’t even seem that interesting for the most part. Even your precious, Angela will defeat them soundly.”
“Um… The one I fought could probably take you on Mary.” Joan entered into the conversation only to have an annoyed Maria glare back at her.
“Yes, that one shows similarities to Mahdri. Oh, and their fifth player seemed capable.” Quinn turned his eyes over to the T.V. screen on the monitor. It showed both Heidi and Angela taking their places onto the machine, beginning to transfer to the playing field.
“Bah!” Maria scoffed at the idea of Starlights players being on par with the runner-up of the nationals. She knew where her capabilities laid; her confidence clearly put on a display of why. Frankly, the last thing on her mind was the capabilities of her enemies. Maria only wanted to have a good time and show off.
“Don’t act like a child. Simply be patient.” Quinn, now fixated on the screen, crossed his arms, watching Angela intensely. Noticing his focus on the match at hand, Maria backed down before Aiken came over, handing her a bottle of water. She’d reach out for it only to have Aiken pull it away from her with a chuckle for a moment; the two of them would be playing a game of cat and mouse.
Back in Starlight's room, Cheveyo entered before slouching over onto the couch next to Alexia. His body was exhausted with him lying there, only wanting to drift off into a deep sleep.
“Welcome back; good job out there… Are you feeling well?” Reynolds glanced towards Cheveyo but was only met with the motion of him being okay.
“I’ll live… Just need a bit of rest.”
“Did that fight take that much out of you?” Alexia looked down at him beside her, their eyes meeting. Cheveyo could only give an exhausted grin across his face before showing a weak smile.
“Yes… But, please don’t mind me. I’ll be up in like… ten minutes.” Closing his eyes, he’d drift off into a peaceful sleep.
“Alright, then. Don’t sleep for too long.”
“Don’t worry too much about him, Alexi. He does this sometimes also, Teach.” Deveron, still twirling around his bracelet, started to sit up in his chair. The match transpired, finally beginning with the hearing of a few cheers coming from down the hall into the central plaza. Unclear of who the cheers were explicitly for, Starlight had a feeling it was for Saint Mary’s third player, Angela Woolery. Reynolds looked a bit concerned about the situation and overall match-up of the lieutenant's match. The middle fights were always make it or break it fights on average in tournaments, but both teams were tied up for now. It didn’t help that Heidi’s own power depended on the stage setting and the overall theme. Among all the players of Starlight, she was the wild card.
What displayed onto the viewing screens for all showcased a field of flowers surrounded by forests on all sides off in the distance a mountain. In the middle of the diverse set of flowers, Heidi and Angela would be going at it with a flurry of kicks from Angela. Heidi, among the team, was the least capable in close combat and wasn’t good at hand-to-hand situations. Only being able to block attacks as a cloud loomed over the field, blocking the sunlight. The sky was mostly cloudy, with sunlight beaming through a few clouds off in the distance.
“Come on, Heidi!” Roy clenched his fist, observing the screen.
“We really oughta get her a weapon of some kind.” Deveron stopped twirling his suppressor, placing it back on his wrist as it clamped back down, tightening onto him.
“What weapon would even suit her?” Alexia seemed all in on giving her a weapon. “Oh! What about a sword!”
“No, too flashy and common in the east.”
“A fan?”
“How would that work? No, no, think something simple.”
“What about... “ Alexia fell short for words, not really giving much more thought into it. Picking a weapon if you decided to not use your arms and legs alone was challenging in itself. She didn’t even get to choose her own weapon, only allowing Reynolds to dictate it. The rest of the team didn’t require the use of weapons from the looks.
“We’ll give her a broom, how about that? It’ll fit her sunny image.” Reynolds turned to Deveron and Alexia, who only became more annoyed at a broom being a weapon.
“Does that make her a witch?” Alexia watched the match; not much was going on visually, with only Angela chasing Heidi, both of them tiring out along with harsh sunlight beaming down upon the battlefield.
“Old or new? At this rate, she’s not far from being seen as one.” Deveron continued to sit there, twiddling his thumbs out of boredom. He was waiting patiently for his turn to go up; no matter who won here, he’d still have to fight to either even the score again or win the semi-finals.
A tiny gathering of foundation members stood outside the venue, awaiting the arrival of a black car. When it arrived, the car passed by, ignoring all of them. The members were surprised that the vehicle passed; they were dressed in tailored suits; some were medics.
“Now, now. I let myself out.” The familiar voice of Campbell alerted the foundation members, who all showed respect and bowed to him. Campbell was one of the biggest sponsors of the foundation part of the media branch that helped to advertise players, fights, and even tournaments with the foundation backing him. He also used other technical projects for money and funds that he made from investing into singularity that allowed him to acquire quite the status within the foundation. One of the members, a part of this small group of seven individuals, looked up and began to speak.
“We’re sorry for not noticing you, Sir. We apologize for not confirming your exact location.”
“Not at all. I need to get some alone time anyway. How’s the tourney? Got any interesting kids that stand out?”
“None so far, sir, apart from the East Bridge students and Saint Mary.”
“Ah, A shame… But, who knows, maybe something will change. But, I do apologize for the lateness that was on me. Had to go check-in on a package run a few errands also.”
“No, no! It was our fault for not knowing you were expecting a package, Sir.”
“It’s quite alright. I don’t need all of the foundation up in my business. Let’s just relax and enjoy the show. Come. Maybe we can catch the semi-finals before they end.”
“We’re currently in the middle of the lieutenants match for Side A.”
“And what about the other side?”
“It will begin momentarily, but we expect East Bridge to win. They’re fighting Broad Valley High, but we believe it will end in East Bridge’s favor.”
“We going off statistics now? Oh well, Let’s go see how our favorite overseer is looking” Campbell walked into the building with the foundation members following swiftly after. The halls are still filled with the occasional group of people, the crowd present but lacking in numbers for the current matches. Campbell arrived in the fighting room, opening the doors up with a delightful greeting.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Lyn. We have arrived. Prepare the drones!” Campbell shouted, catching the attention of the inspector that always oversaw the matches. The same one that has been curating the matches for Starlight, she only showed an annoyed grin when coming face to face with Campbell.
“With all due respect, Sir. We’re in the middle of a match.” The display above the machine showcasing the fight between Heidi and Angela continued. They were still chasing each other, the heat radiating in the area, making it hard for viewers to watch. Heidi’s power affected the field.
“Hm. So you are, well, don’t mind me.” Campbell looked up at the fight rubbing the edge of his chin. His eyes began to wander left and right rather quickly every ten or so seconds at the screen. The fighters' movements were picking up pace; not only was the machine beginning to rev up even more, but the heat emitting from it was also becoming higher than usual.
“STOP RUNNING!” Angela leaped towards Heidi with exhaustion. She couldn’t reach her, only barely missing a tree. They were moving into the forest now the heat on the field was increasing rapidly. When Angela raised her head upward, glancing around at the trees to find Heidi, she was only met with nothing but trees. Her breathing became more onerous by the second, the longer the match continued, the more exhausted she became. Placing her left hand against her chest, a bluish hue of energy manifested around her palm; her breathing became calm and any injuries she suffered during the match rapidly healing away. Concentration was needed to perform heals mid-fight. Only those with properties similar to the medics of the foundation could do it in rapid succession.
Vision no longer hazy and a body no longer burdened by exhaustion, Angelia leaped back into action, moving through the forest. Things were getting worse as the match continued glancing up at the top right; she’d see the match's timer only fifteen minutes had gone by since it started. With each step, she noticed more change to the environment, noticeably a few plants beginning to burn up and wither away.
She caught wind of Heidi standing against a few trees ahead of her. The heat started to beat down on the area harder and harder; it was only due to her healing technique and the leaves' shade that prevented her from collapsing because of the heat.
“I’ll admit, Starlight. Your powers are pretty harsh. But I’m winning this!” Angela reached into her pocket, pulling out a small pocket knife. It had the same insignia as all weapons allowed in the fights, nothing out of the ordinary. Flinging the knife towards Heidi, it dug its way into her body only to visibly pass through it. Angela blinked for a split-second, just realizing now Heidi wasn’t there, and the knife had become stuck in the tree.
Rustling in the tree branches above caught Angela’s attention, only to look upward and see Heidi drop down onto her. Heidi slammed against Angela, pinning both of them to the ground; the two struggled to grab hold of each other, only for Heidi to come out on top in terms of strength. An alert notice popped up above both of them, reading out ‘Incapacitation’ with a timer ticking down for twenty seconds.
“Urgh… Wanna play that game?” Angela, being pinned down, started to bulk up in muscle mass, lightly sharing a comparable singularity just like Roy. Heidi, not expecting to face someone with two singularities, couldn’t counter such strength face to face being tossed off in mere seconds. Angela’s muscle mass shrunk back to average size upon Heidi being tossed off. Slamming face-first into the grass, Heidi tried to pick herself up, only to be met with her left foot being caught by Angela. Once more, Angela’s muscles increased, bringing Heidi into a slight swing before tossing her through a nearby tree. The tree did not collapse, which Angela hoped would occur; it was a shame since vision started to become hazy once more. The heat in the area beating down on the two was becoming unbearable; the leaves in the tree began to catch on fire before a part of the forest became stretched out in flames.
“Ha… A-Any...Final words, Starlight?” Smoke now filled up into the air as breathing became hard for her to bear. Only to see Heidi stand to their feet the timer for the official match now entering ten minutes remaining. Before Heidi could even get a word out, Angela rushed to her both of them, grasping hold of the hands of each other, attempting to push the other back.
“Y-Yeah! Just one.”
“Oh? Then, let me hear it.”
“[Hea-]” Unfortunately, just as Heidi was about to pull a Roy, the pressure of a knee hitting up against her chin stopped her from continuing. She bit her tongue in the process only to feel arms wrap around her waist. Before she knew it, Angela was right behind her. Only to deliver a powerful suplex into the ground.
Lyn and Campbell looked on with a slight wince as the match came to a close with a single maneuver. The machine began to slow down upon Heidi and Angela, manifesting side by side with each other, their injuries healed. Angela sat up gently, shaking Heidi’s hand before stepping off the platform; the only thing she felt now was being thirsty.
“Good match… Argh...My body aches.”
Heidi could only lay there for a moment, her body still feeling the pain despite any major injuries having gone away upon returning. The medics then proceeded to move in to check on her.
“Winner! Saint Mary!” Lyn announced to the audience who were watching the match, faint cheers being raised off in the distance from the room. Campbell simply clapped his hands, congratulating the victor on their win, his eyes peering towards Angela taking a water bottle given to her by one of the foundation members. Then to Heidi, who now rose to her feet with help from the medics, she stepped off the machine and headed out the opposite end of the room, rubbing the back of her neck.
“Now, where have I seen that uniform…” He recalled thinking about earlier that day running into Cheveyo and Deveron. Though the uniform shared the same color scheme, he did not know they were part of the tournament.
“Sir, if you don’t mind, we're in the middle of a tournament. Shall I have the others escort you to one of the viewing rooms?” Lyn looked to one of the foundation members, the medics getting ready to move out and the rest awaiting orders.
“That would be nice, but I came to see you.”
“I’d prefer if you didn’t, Sir. Wait until after the tournament is over.”
“How shrewd… Well, I can’t complain. If you’ll excuse me then. Good luck, Lyn. I’ll be back.” Campbell exited the room leaving Lyn alone to prepare for the next match. The foundation members followed behind him. Upon being left alone, Lyn picked up her clipboard and began to mark names off the list ignoring the fact that one of her bosses just came wandering in without any warning. All she could do was rub the side of her head, trying to get a grasp on why he was even here. To begin with, the convention wasn’t for another year after all.
On the other hand, Angela arrived back to her team, closing the door behind her, still exhausted and with a half-empty water bottle moments later getting grasped into a hug by Quinn. She became slightly flustered, accepting the embrace with the rest of the team in the room.
“You did an excellent job holding out. The lord favored you.” Quinn released Angela, finally revealing a satisfied smile. As for Maria, she’d be less than enthusiastic about all this while her team's victory brought them closer to the finals, and she did not want to wait an entire day without displaying her abilities to the sponsors.
“Thank you!” Angela stood there then looked back at Maria, who, of course, didn’t seem entirely thrilled at her. “Mary… Don’t be like that, okay?”
“Oh. I’m being like this. Quinn! Lose for me!”
“No.”
“What!?”
“We’ve been over this so many times. You know why.”
“And you know exactly why I'm pissed!”
“Then go outside and kick some rocks. Maybe the rest of your day will be as pleasant as you.” Quinn scoffed before exiting the room. Lennox started to fan himself, watching the entire ordeal.
“Oh deary, Maria, don’t worry too much about it. Trust him to get the job done.”
“Yeah, this is Quinn we’re talkin’ about. Just sit back and relax.” Aiken laying across the sofa joined in on the conversation.
“You guys aren’t helping…” Maria immediately moved out of the way to avoid Angela, who tried to come in for a hug. Just one more, and they’d move on to the finals. Although feeling disappointed she wouldn’t have a chance to show off, it was best to settle down.
On the other side of the building, Deveron arose from his seat and headed towards the door. He was calm and ready to take on this challenge showcasing a smile before making his way out.
“Good luck, Mosely. Everyone’s watching.” Reynolds finally lowered his clipboard - Giving a nod of approval to Deveron.
“Yeah, go get 'em! Oh… And cheer Heidi up on the way there.” Roy looked to Deveron, mainly concerned with Heidi.
“I don’t think I can do that.”
“If you can’t do that…. Then, at least win for us.” Cheveyo rose from lying down to see Deveron off.
“Easy enough. Heh.”
“You say that, but this is Saint Mary we’re talking about. Arguably their best player too.”
“The bald one? Yeah, well, I look forward to it. No worries, Chev.”
“Have fun! Take the goal for us.” Alexia cheered on Deveron from the couch; he wasn’t surprised by the fact that she said something like that.
“Of course, you’d say something along the lines of ‘have fun.’ I’ll do that too...Unlike some of us.” A slight glare towards Cheveyo, who merely ignored it. Overall, Deveron shrugged off the cheers and exited the room. On his way down to the hall, he’d come across Heidi who sluggishly moved forward.
“Good job out there, Sunshine. You caused quite the regional disaster.”
“Shut it...I don’t wanna talk about it… Urgh! My back hurts so much…” Heidi moving past Deveron was given a pat on the shoulders by him.
“Yeah, well, these systems don’t always protect bodily harm. Just leave the rest to me.”
“Aye...I’ll do just that... If we make it past semis. Please… I’ll pray to any of the gods to give me solace.”
“I don’t think they’ll be listening. Too many at their doorsteps asking the same thing.”
“Shoot...Oh well. Go get 'em.” Heidi slowly raised up her left fist clenching it into a ball, showing it to Deveron continuing on down the hall. He’d do the same, but with his right and march on forward. Making his way down the hall, he noticed far more people than usual crowding into nearby viewing rooms. With the media, also accumulating towards down the aisle.
“And we’re off to a rousing semi-finals!” Joel’s voice echoing from nearby monitors along the walls and across all viewing channels. “We have before ourselves his first team-based championship! The returning MVP in the Idaho individuals! Deveron Mosely!” The crowd gathering in all the rooms let out an applause of cheers; this only slightly fueled Deveron’s ego, but he opted to pull back on it.
Flash! He winced for a moment as a light blinded him; it was from an old camera from one of the reporters - not a good image they took most likely. The media recording him heading to the stage, along with taking pictures, was a norm. He never got used to it since, on the national level, it was far more abundant. Stopping in front of the same double doors leading into the room that housed one of the many singularity machines inside, he’d open it up to notice he arrived first. Only seeing Lyn inside, who gave the same inspection as before.
“Deveron Mosely? Any weap-” Lyn paused herself, having gone through this with him already. She pointed towards the machine. “Take your position.”
“BUT! His opponent is no pushover!” Joel’s voice echoed once more from monitors around the building. “This marks his third time representing his school! Will he lead his team to victory once more! Saint Mary’s very own star student, Quinn Reyes!” The double doors opposite to Deveron opened up, and finally, they met once more. Quinn entered only to stop for a moment and be inspected by Lyn.
“I’ve not witnessed the spectacles of these two, but I warrant thou. This one’s going in the highlights.” Pearl commented next to Joel. In truth, a lie she had just told, but no one outside of her own personal circle needed to know. Quinn’s inspection finally over, he made his way onto the stage, releasing his suppressor that was strapped to his wrist.
“Good to see you again, Mosely. Aren’t you honored? Our match will be the most viewed before the finals. I know a certain someone that would be irritated to know that, but I'm sure they’ll get over it.”
“You’re tellin’ me. I know another that might get a bit upset at that fact. But, it’s as clear as day that all eyes are on us.”
“Haha... At least you’re straightforward. Not a bad trait… But, the sponsors are watching. Let’s give them a good show.”
“Also, I don’t feel honored. The last thing I'm feeling right now.”
“Now that’s a shame. You just dropped down by a few points for me.” Quinn shook his head as the singularity machine began to turn on particles starting to emit from the panels. “Oh well, I'll just have to see if it increases during this match.”
“Hmph. Not like I need someone else’s opinion of me.” Deveron took off his suppressor with the machine’s voice beginning to call out to all.
“Fighters at the ready!” Their bodies starting to react to the particles, proceeded to vanish from the scene. “Stage is set! Entering: Abandoned Factory!”