All across the North American continent, the temperature started to fall. At the same time, most of the northern states accumulated an abundant amount of snow. Yet, with Christmas closing in and the 1st day of December now here, the reigning schools from 50 states would begin to converge on New York City. The American Nationals' confirmed location, many traveling by plane. Yet the victors from Starlight would be taking a journey there by train with America’s international high-speed railway system.
The train itself had Idaho’s team onboard and a few others from nearby states such as Washington and Oregan. All of them heading to New York, approximate arrival would be in 4 to 6 hours if they do not stop or pause.
“Talk about 1st class view~! We’re really going to the nationals! I still can’t believe it!” The more Roy looked around the rather lavished 1st class seating of the bullet train, the more psyched he became.
“No kiddin’. But, clearly, it was thanks to yours truly~.” Deveron spoke up.
“No way! Who was it that really won it for us?” Alexia chimed in.
“Yeah, and who was it that nearly lost the finals? Your little trick won't work on the big stage.” Deveron crossed his arms with a smile on his face. He believed they were running off luck at this point with the entire team, yet in the end, he’d hope said luck would continue to their victory.
“While you’ve been standing idly by, I've been training. Just wait and see.”
“We’ve all been training…” Deveron started to ignore Alexia at this point, taking out some earphones from his winter coat and placed them into his ears. This was gonna be a long train ride.
Starlight as a whole seemed rather fashionable as of late, all of them sporting winter coats that covered their uniforms. Something Heidi took note of that easily pleased her mood. She sat next to Roy on the other side of the others, with Roy himself appearing to be asleep.
“All of our training has been different.” Cheveyo now entered the conversation; he was reading news articles on a tablet about the nationals. All sorts of news agencies and sports profiles were going to watch this, even international ones from Britain. “For our sake, let's hope it's enough.”
“Well. Instead of ‘hoping’ it's enough. Make it enough. You’ll never know until you all try. After All, we finally made it. And this is where all of our efforts up until now unveil itself.” Reynolds caught wind of the conversation upon entering this section of the train.
“Right, Teach. But, you’ve had the most effort in this. Honestly, when you told me and Dev you were gonna put together a team to go to the nationals, we thought you were crazy. Look at us now. So I’m thankful. Before this, I thought we were just going to do the individuals.” Cheveyo was thankful for this opportunity to show the nation what he can do. This type of scenario would have never come to pass if Reynolds didn’t decide to apply to a no-name new school.
“Now, now. I had my reasons for coming to Starlight. I’m just happy it turned out well. Honestly, I was expecting five members by next year. But, with the two freshmen over there and then little miss senior here.” Reynolds' eyes fell onto Alexia. To him, they were the real reason they even made it this far, from years of experience and seeing all sorts of abilities. If Alexia wasn’t there, to begin with, Saint Mary would have gone on to win the state tournament. “We managed to hit the deadline.”
“Heh~. Well, I had to gamble with my mother to even do this, though. I sorta forgot about that in hind-sight. But, I’m sure it’ll work out in the end as you say. We managed.” Alexia rose from her seat and started to head off towards the cafeteria section to grab a bite to eat. “I’ll be back soon, Teach.”
“Oi, Don’t stray too far.”
“I know, I know. I’m practically an adult myself.”
“Are you now?” Reynolds thought to himself before taking a seat and letting Alexia go.
The train departed at noon on Saturday, all aboard expected to arrive in new york by tonight, if not early morning. The tournament itself would not start until Monday. Still, the ceremony for all teams to gather occurs during the day before it officially begins. During the journey, all of the groups experienced a steady calm. The train moved through the snow-covered hills, changing scenery every 30 or so minutes. Within the train's cafeteria section, Alexia would be rummaging about looking at all of the desserts on display. This was indeed a luxury being blessed upon her. Just as she was about to order, another female compatriot arrived and stood next to her, idolizing the sweet bakery items.
This girl looked a bit younger than Alexia. She wore an oversized winter coat on top of a dark blue school uniform that gently peaked underneath. Short mint green hair blended with the oddity of her silver eyes, yet the girl wore glasses and, frankly, the only other distinctive feature Alexia noticed. It was a clockwork necklace wrapped underneath the girl's suppressor, which fastened around her neck like Pearl’s. The clockwork itself was functioning as tiny gears moved about, even ticking to time as the seconds passed.
“Oh, e-excuse me. “ The nerdy-looking girl's voice quiet as one would expect. “I didn’t think anyone else would be here at this time.”
“No, No. I didn’t think so either. Two minds think alike as they say.” Alexia replied.
“Its great minds think alike…” The girl softly mumbled, only to realize Alexia’s uniform. “W-Wait! You’re from Starlight?!”
“Yo-Ho~! Though I feel sorry for not recognizing other schools.” Alexia never researched any of the other schools that made it to the nationals, only knowing about the top four schools making it through and becoming seeded.
“Oh! I don’t think you should feel sorry. T-That's quite common when entering the nationals. Information can get mixed in between all the tournaments and schools. Um... “ The girl decided it was time to break the ice a bit more.
“I’m Marissa… F-From… Washington… Er the state, Oxford Academy…” Marissa didn’t think much of her introduction then quickly tried to fix herself. “O-Oh! I’m sorry, was that weird? I think I mixed my words there.”
“Not at all. It’s alright, you already know my school, but you can call me Alexia.” Upon looking down, Alexia realized the two were already shaking hands. Yet, she didn’t recall extending her hand out.
“Alexia? Glad to have met you... “ Marissa paused for a moment as if dazed by something otherworldly. Then, she’d release herself from shaking hands with Alexia. “W-Would you like to eat together? This train has quite the quality of food.”
Alexia did find the situation a bit odd; to anyone else, this would seem abnormal purely if they went on instinct. “I’d love to~.” The two each acquired a plate of food, although Marissa would have far more sweets on her plate than Alexia. For the moment, as the train continued on its seemingly endless journey to New York, the two briefly engaged in mundane conversations. The sun started to set as the train continued; their arrival to the city would be late into the night.
Alexia and Marissa were still together chatting. Nevertheless, their conversations as the hours had passed ranged from Marissa’s knowledge on specific topics such as clocks to even fighters the two would face in the nationals. The two knew they’d either come face to face against each other team-wise, or one would be eliminated before they met up.
As the night started to hone in, the two parted ways heading back to their respective areas. Some quality time spent with another like-minded individual knowing fully well that at least half of what they talked about would likely be used against her. The same tick that she felt when fighting in the regionals seemed to always rear its head back. Alexia didn’t mind that another team tried learning about her so long as, in the end, they were strong enough to keep up.
One could only wonder if other fighters in this upcoming tournament felt the same as she did? Was this pure passion for the fights and the thrill that each one brought with the beating of flesh and adrenaline pumping. Or perhaps she was indeed going insane, losing focus on the goal at hand… The prize money!
“Hehe… 30,000 bucks here I come.” Alexia knew that much wasn’t going to make or break her life, but putting that money with a scholarship went a long way. By the time Alexia made it to the others, the rest were asleep in their seats. Gently taking a spot a few inches away from the others, Alexia quietly hummed to herself. The excitement and anxiety inside building up the closer they made it to the city.
By the time the sun rose on the next day, Starlight arrived at a rather luxurious hotel sponsoring the tournaments. As usual, everything was paid for by the foundation, which saved Reynolds a heart-attack. After dropping off their belongings in their rooms, the team headed towards the tournament stadium. The building itself wasn’t that far from the hotel, yet it was far more extensive than the one in Idaho.
The citizens were bustling about in the city that never sleeps. Despite the frigid temperatures, the festive mood brought from the tournament's staging wouldn't dampen their spirits, not in the slightest, as they continued to celebrate.
"G-g-god, it's cold... now I know why it's called the city that never sleeps...if you stop moving, you're done for!"
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Alexia thought to herself as she rubbed her hands together for a moment. Despite Idaho having possibly colder weather, she just couldn't bare the cold. Her mind slowly began to wander off as she started to drift back from the others; her eyes slowly gazed over the different people she passed along the way. The amount of pressure enveloping the building, the stifling tension in the air...
"Strong." That was the impression she'd always initially grasp as she tried to assess the people inside. "Not getting cold feet over a few tough guys are ya now, Lexi...?" a voice said to her snapping her out of her slight daze.
"Mmmm... Never" she responded to the voice, "But they must be something even if you picked up on their strength too, huh Deveron...?". Deveron had noticed that Alexia slowed down and made an abrupt stop himself at that moment to wait for her.
"This level of pressure is actually abnormally high. Seems we have a higher turnout," another voice said to the two. This time it was Reynolds who'd notice both members lagging behind, "Think of this as the first test of the Nationals, now let's hurry." With that, he began to walk ahead of them once more.
“Alright, we will head to the auditorium for the ballots.” Reynolds closely led the team through the building but primarily spoke to Cheveyo since he was going to pick.
“Yes, let’s just hope I don’t put us up against the top two from the start.” Cheveyo jokingly replied.
“You guys will do fine even if you have to fight the strongest team from the start. Just hold nothing back.”
It was rather packed upon arriving at the room, though primarily with camera crews recording the selection and other members from various teams throughout the 50 states. At the moment, around 10 students were picking from the ballot set on stage, each one holding up a number ranging from 1-50.
“Here we are! Let’s find us a nice spot to sit while Cheveyo goes and picks.” Reynolds turned around, realizing they were missing someone, and that person was none other than Alexia. “W-Where did Alexia go? Did she get lost again?”
“Seems like it, Teach. Should I go hunt for her?” Heidi replied only for Reynolds to reject the thought.
“No, No. We’ll come around to find her soon, might as well let her figure out the layout. If she’s not here by the time the ballot is over, we’ll go looking.”
“That’s just like her getting lost...Though I don’t blame her…” Cheveyo started heading his way towards the ballot with the other selectors of their respective state. “This place is too crowded…”
Within a jumbling crowd, Alexia stood there confused, trying to find some visage of a map. “Where…Where am I?” She seemed to have unconsciously wandered off — Reaching into her pocket, Alexia took out her phone and started to wonder if she should text the others.
“Ah...that’d be embarrassing. Though, they likely already know.” Taking in a breath of cold air that tingles from the inside only for it to be exhaled outward, showing it off as mist, Alexia abruptly bumped into someone.
“Ow! S-Sorry I didn’t see where I was going.” It felt like she hit a brick wall, even more embarrassing if it were true when she looked up. Instead, she bumped into an African-American woman standing about the same height as Deveron, only covered up in more winter clothing while wearing dark shades. Her hair reaching to about her waist, despite wearing visible shades, the woman looked stunning like a supermodel.
The woman slightly lowered her shades, peering down at the one she knocked over by mistake. “Oh, Pardon me. I wasn’t the one that was looking. With this many people you'd think they’d all be organized. But, no. Some tend to shove you to the side like trash.” The woman extended her hand out for Alexia to grab.
Accepting the offer, Alexia took back to her feet. “Yeah, I’m not great with crowds. I’ll be careful next time.”
“You seemed lost to me truthfully before you waltzed into me.”
“Am I that easy to read?”
Looking around at her surroundings, the woman grabbed Alexia’s hand and started to drag her away. “Yes, but come with me. If you’re lost, I can help.” Swiftly the two headed to a more secluded section of the building.
“Hang on! I need to find the auditorium!”
“Shh.” Raising a simple finger to Alexia’s lips, the woman snuck each other into a janitor's closet. Signaling Alexia to be quiet, they waited only for a few seconds later to hear a dozen or so footsteps pass by the door. It would be a minute of silence before anyone said anything.
“What was that about?” Alexia becomes more curious by the second.
“J...Just some unwanted company is all. Newscasters and the like. Sorry about that.” The woman opened the door peeking down the halls before taking a step out and stretching. “Ah~! What a pain~!”
“Oh! Right, you wanted to see the auditorium, huh? Follow me.”
“Hey, wait a second! You can’t just grab someone into a closet, then just walk it off like nothing happened!”
“Yeah, I can.” Glancing back at Alexia, The woman simply gave an innocent smile and continued on her way down the hall. “Come on, before the selection is over.”
“Wait up, lady! I’m not done yet. Why are people following you anyway?”
“The names Clarice. And they’re not following me… Well, they are, but they’re just watching over me, is all.”
“Watching over you?”
“Mhm. But I'd rather no one get involved with my business. So what about you? What’s your name?”
“Hm? Alexia.”
“The great?”
“No.”
“Sorry, I couldn't help myself.” Clarice stopped herself and finally opened two large doors leading into the auditorium. It was stacked with people; luckily, they were at one of the empty side entrances. The ballot selection was still going on by the time of their arrival. Alexia noticed Cheveyo up on the stage about to pick.
“Well...Here goes nothing.” Cheveyo reached his hand into a small box pulling out a tiny slip of paper with the number ‘13’. “Ah...Just my luck…” Thinking to himself, likely one of the spirits within him conjured up a curse just for this moment.
“Thirteen? Does that mean we’re in the second half?” Heidi asked.
“It also means we’re on a perfect path to facing one of the seeded schools early.” Deveron replied, not seeming concerned in the slightest.
Cheveyo stepped away from the ballot box, holding his number up high. The reaction from the crowd was relatively minimal. Another individual went up after him, A girl wearing a formal blue and white uniform while sporting a cowboy hat that accompanied their blonde hair with red highlights.
Their hand lifted into the air, revealing the number 31. Cheveyo squinted his eyes, knowing who this girl that just picked a lucky number opposite of theirs. Holly Richards the MVP of last year’s national tournament, although she shares the title with Gabby. She led Texas into the semifinals and compared to Starlight's ballot pick. The moment she raised her hand, the crowd went wild — It was official, Starlight was on a crash course to fighting the seeded school from Texas.
“Talk about rough…” Clarice took note of the differences in cheers, then their eyes relayed upon the number of each ballot.
“No kidding. The crowd doesn’t know who they’re cheering against until we show them!”
“I wasn’t referring to the crowd…” Clarice simply shrugged off Alexia’s enthusiasm for the moment while the ballot selection came to a close. The stage's lights started to center themselves onto a rather tall and slender man adorned in a black and white suit with the foundation symbol on the side. Despite a vast amount of light shining down onto him, no one could see his face due to the shadows' thickness.
Microphone in hand, a chilling voice loomed forth as he started to speak.
“I thank you all for coming to the 50th American Nationals. I have been blessed to relay the great news to each participant and every viewer. We at the foundation shall increase the reward for winning to a rather extravagant height for such a momentous occasion. The reward for the national prize has increased from 30,000 to 10,000,000. Not only that but to encourage our participants, even more, to aim for the prize. The most valued player of the tournament will also receive this.”
Reaching into his uniform, the man pulled out a small box, opening it up for all to lay witness to the fruit that was inside. The same orb of majestic energy that Abbey held in her hands emitted an enchanting and benevolent energy that shocked through the entire building and even made it halfway across the entirety of New York.
The audience stood there silent; before long, all singularity users in the building had their hearts pounding and blood pumping. Their craving for such an item increased as if it was second-nature to obtain. Even normal humans couldn’t fathom nor hold back the energy that flowed through them briefly.
The energy did not seem to affect Alexia, just like everyone else. Still, her excitement was already peaking due to the entire grand prize increasing. This was it, this was the moment she was waiting for! Her motivation to win would not falter any more, her heart as greedy as they come, even if for selfish reasons.
“Tch…” An annoyance that made itself present next to Alexia, her head turned to see Clarice neither excited nor affected by the same energy as everyone else. Only the look of disgust present on her face.
When the tall man closed the box, instantaneously, the crowd went wild with excitement. Reynolds couldn’t believe it; he heard rumors of such an item existing over the years, but only just that tales and legends passed down from old. The energy in the room reminded him of his youth. Taking a glance around him, he noticed Heidi, Roy, and even Deveron in a trance-like state, their expressions all the same. Smiling and overflowing with energy, alarms went off throughout the auditorium. This alarm signalled suppressors on the verge of breaking. The noise being drowned out by the cheers.
Among the team, Cheveyo and Roy’s were beeping. Then, Reynold's eyes locked onto Alexia down below with a strange woman, then he realized… Only four individuals in this entire room were unaffected. Though, in reality, it was five if he counted himself, he noticed Mahdri on the far left side, eyes closed, seemingly at peace with her surroundings. Alexia, who was far more distracted by Clarice, and even Clarice, who started to look sick the longer she stayed in place.
The moment Reynolds locked his eyes on the announcer, the tall man looked back, their eyes pure white and empty. A familiar chill looming down his spine. Reynolds quietly sat down in his seat, knowing well that whatever the foundation just showcased wasn’t going to be pretty.
The tall man then stepped away from the audience after giving a bow; once off the stage, people started exiting the room. Some in a frenzy more-so than others, as for Clarice, she’d merely pat Alexia on the shoulder and depart.
“Good luck. I’ll be rooting for ya’... Try not to let that greed of yours get the best of you.” With that, Clarice departed before Alexia could even mutter a word, and even if she did say something, it would fall on deaf ears.
Tomorrow the nationals would officially begin and with an entire week for the event. The following day would likely be an embodiment of chaos.