The Great

We walked out onto the stadium floors and felt the rush of half a million people come over our ears. It was surreal, an ocean of humans were crowded around us as their cheers literally shook the ground we stood on. As far as my eyes could see there were crowds of excited spectators, and for a moment, it felt like the whole world was really here… We walked out of our tunnel and lined up in the middle of the battle arena. I saw our flag wave on our side of the floor and thousands of spectators cheering, all dressed in royal blue, purple, and gold, our national colors.

Our flag was simple, a golden crown with three stripes of gold, blue, and purple. Aurora had explained some of all this to me before the match so I would know who our supporters were. It amazed me that so many of our people had come this far to watch us. The announcer roared and the crowd exploded with excitement. “Ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome Taegan to the stage and give a warm welcome to Lila Fairheart, Geon Leventen, Aurora Maple, and Evay Maver!” The applause deafened my ears and it got even louder when Fellen and his teammates walked on to the stage.

“And finally, for the opening match of our tournament, please welcome the nation of Venia and Fellen Mida, Doner Nunez, Ally Piten, Cain Menez, and Mia Lieth!” I saw Savian actually cover his ears as the home crowd cheers made the ground quake and the very earth rumble. We had lots of supporters, but Venia–being way closer to the stadium–outnumbered our supporters greatly. It would be a battle on enemy territory, and that was fine by me. We faced off, lined up and I took a deep breath. Here we go.

“Now, without further ado, let the match…..begin!”

Doner struck the ground with a psychotic laugh and a mountain of marble, as well as an impossibly large shockwave, sent me flying back. I remembered what Aurora had said to me. Don’t use Gold’s Viel in the beginning unless you absolutely have to. Your body can’t handle it extremely well, one risk and you’ll be out for the entire fight. Save it for the last moments, when we really need it. But after being sent to the heavens, I was really tempted to use it now. My shield activated automatically so the marble boulders didn’t hit me, and I reached out my hand and placed barriers on my teammates as well. Our original plan was for me to put a barrier around Savian and let him open up our initial attack with his speed. The shock wave threw us off but I caught Savian’s eye mid-air, and he gave me a silent look—assuring me he got my memo. He sped off and a blur of red rammed into Fellen who’s eyes went wide with shock and pain. The crowd exploded as a red blur dashed around the arena like a comet—striking the opposition with high speed blows. Savian darted over to the girl with the choppy hair, Ally, and he kicked her straight in the stomach. She went flying and Savian darted behind her and punched her in the back, sending her forward again.

Geon flew straight into her and she was thrown into the stadium walls. The crowd cheered as Fellen cursed under his breath. Savian did his job–we had opened up our attacking opportunities. Geon flew up and he created a ramp out of the marble ground, Lila’s hair and eyes glowed as she began to power herself up. She ran alongside Aurora and they both flew up the ramp. Lila jumped and put her hand on Aurora’s back as they were mid-air. Aurora’s eyes glowed and her strength seemed to double as she hit the ground and a surge of electric blue lightning covered the ground like massive spider webs. Things are going good ... .A little too good… I flew alongside Geon and we both rammed our shoulders into the next biggest target. Doner crossed his arms and blocked our bodies. He smiled manically as he let out a deep, terrifying laugh. The electric web hadn’t done much at all. All the others were fine, and I saw Lila and Aurora stuck in their own individual battles. Savian was running around and occasionally, a red streak of lighting would ram someone into a wall. I flew with all my might and so did Geon. Doner’s heels dug into the ground as he eventually slid to a stop. He flung his arms and we were thrown back with immense force. Me and Geon caught ourselves in the air, and Geon grabbed my arm.

Just like we practiced.

A part of the floor latched onto Doner’s legs, trapping him in his place. Geon spun me around and flung me into Doner while the winds guided me towards him. I dove into him head first and he let out a short laugh. The marble shackles on his feet snapped and Geon desperately tried to defend. Marble tentacles grabbed at his arms, and with their help I narrowly dodged Doner’s punch. I landed on the ground beside him and I tried to sweep his legs. I kicked with all my might but he didn’t even budge. He moved shockingly fast for his size and he spun around and threw a heel kick to my stomach. I jumped over his leg and threw an axe kick to his head. He dodged and Geon flew above me as he detonated an explosion right in Doner’s face. Geon flew up and he shot a column of fire into the smoke while I flew above looking for where Doner was. I saw a glint in the sea of blackness and Doner jumped up into the air. He grabbed me out of the sky. I felt his huge hands grasp my neck as I gasped and clawed. Geon flew over and he hurled a giant lightning bolt at Doner’s body. Doner dodged in mid air and he grabbed Geon by the legs. As he fell, he took us down with us, and Geon desperately summoned the winds to keep us up. But Doner kept smiling and he threw Geon to the side. We fell and he grabbed my face as we smashed into the ground.

The crowd shouted as I felt Doner’s entire weight fall onto my face. He lifted up his fist to smash again but Geon flew into his side and kicked him in the liver. Doner was pushed back and Geon summoned spikes out of the ground, which barreled towards Doner. Marble fists and arms grab and clawed at him as he charged towards Geon like a mad bull. Geon side stepped his first blow and threw a back kick, which connected. An explosion sent Doner backwards and Geon flew towards him again. He grabbed onto Doner’s face and a white mist started to appear. As I scrambled to get up I realized, liquid nitrogen. Geon pinned Doner to the ground as marble arms continued to grab onto his thrashing body. Geon looked down on him with a menacing glare. “Freeze.”

Doner smiled. He finally stopped struggling, but he still had a smile on his face. “Watch out.” I looked behind me and had just enough time to put a shield on Geon. A shockwave carrying debris and bodies rammed into us as the stadium became a dust cloud. I flipped over mid air and landed on the ground, desperately trying to not be blown away by the shockwave. What is this? These shockwaves weren’t normal. They weren’t created by physical blows, they were someone’s abilities…I saw someone fly past me and I grabbed their hand. It was Lila, and she sat down next to me with a determined look. We ran through the dust and hid behind a large marble boulder which acted as cover. We caught our breaths.

“So, have you found anything useful yet?”

“No. Our research was right but that didn’t help.” She peeked over the boulder and ducked down with amazing speed as a green-crystal arrow soared by her head.

My eyes widened. “Um…we didn’t know they could do that.” Lila put her hand on my shoulder and I felt my physical injuries begin to fade away.

“That girl, the one with the choppy hair, Ally. All we knew about her before this was that she could make bows and arrows. But I don’t think that’s entirely true. Aurora said that there could be more to it. As for the shockwaves, I think that’s Fellen, their leader. He has something to do with them. What about Doner?”

I laughed. “That guy hasn’t got an ounce of anything special in his body. But he’s practically indestructible, and he’s built like a mountain. Me and Geon can deal with him.” Lila nodded and we looked towards the battlefield. Aurora slid between Doner’s legs and pushed off her arms, using both her feet to kick Fellen in the stomach. The resulting shockwave pushed her back and Ally pulled out a green-crystal chain and wrapped her up. Aurora let out a burst of electricity and Ally dropped her chains, feeling the shock. Aurora rammed into her and blasted her in the chest with lighting. Doner came rampaging behind and he struck the ground with all his might. Aurora was ready, she could dodge him easily, it was an attack that could be seen from a mile away. But something happened.

Aurora slipped, and her eyes widened with surprise. Doner smiled and his giant fists landed with a sickening crunch on the ground. My pulse quickened, my throat began to dry up, my eyes .

Lila hopped up on the boulder and began to set up our attack. “Evay we have to counter fast! Evay?” I heard her, but I wasn’t listening. My fingers twitched and my head turned numb. It was a match, people got hit, people got hurt, but no one would die…Aurora would be fine…right? Then the memories flooded in. Amie, the guards, my family, my friends. I lost them all, I wasn’t going to lose another. My hair began to turn gold, and I could see my bangs turn white. Robes of brilliant white started to come over my body, and my eyes began to shine a brilliant shade of gold. I knew I should save it, I knew it wasn’t the time, but I didn’t care.

I’m going to kill him, I’ll kill them all.

I felt a rush of wind and Savian appeared next to me with Aurora in his arms. He let her down and Lila immediately healed her up. Instantly, Gold’s Viel faded, and my worries and emotions slipped away. I knelt down to speak to her. “Are you ok? What happened?” Aurora nodded grimly and stood up.

“I…slipped.” Savian looked puzzled.

“Really? You of all people, at a time like that?” We only had time for one conversation before a giant glowing arrow pierced our cover. Savian sped off and so did Lila and Aurora. The arrow hit my shield and it dissolved into pure light. I stood my ground and saw Ally standing before me.

“Wow. Evay Maver…your abilities are truly exceptional.” She knocked another arrow which seemed to literally materialize from her hand. “Let’s see if I can hit you, yes?” She pulled back her bow at lightning speed and shot an arrow. I jumped forward and my shield shattered the arrow as I attempted to catch Ally. She put up her arms and a large, circular, jade shield materialized out of thin air. My fist hit the shield with a loud bag, and immediately after, the shield morphed into chains and she wrapped me up. I struggled to free myself but the chains got tighter the more I struggled. She lifted me up in the air and slammed me into the ground. My eyes went wide with pain and she jumped up and drew her arrow, aiming at my face. I saw a flash of red and Ally was knocked out of the air. I heard a loud boom in the distance and Savian raced back as I felt him pick me up. He rushed us behind cover and I dropped to the ground.

“She can make weapons, all kinds of them. Not just bows.” I gasped as I talked and Savian kept his eyes on the lookout. “If you can hit her with fast close range attacks I can do the rest. I’ll support you and we can close the distance together, ok?” Savian nodded and helped me up.

“You run in, I follow.” Savian prepared himself, and a look of determination appeared on his face.

Savian spoke. “Let’s hope your plans are closer to Aurora’s than Geon’s.” With that, I followed Savian as he raced off into the fight. Red lightning streaked across the battlefield and Savian rammed his body into Ally’s shield. There was a large boom as Savian threw another punch which was promptly blocked. I jumped up and threw a barrier on him as he dashed behind Ally and kicked her in the back. She was launched forward as I landed on my feet, and threw a punch into her solar plexus as she flew into me. Her eyes went wide with pain as I grabbed her face and smashed it into my knee. She flipped backwards and kicked upwards so that her foot connected with my chin. I felt the strike as my eyes went dark for a second and my senses went numb. I snapped back to reality before I hit the ground, and Savian threw a red bolt of electricity at Ally. She barely had time to react as it hit her with a dangerous red flash. She fell forward and my eyes went wide. A chance to make it a five versus four…Savian grabbed the fallen Ally by her shirt and he glared into her eyes. “Sorry, but you have to go.” He raised his fist and went to strike. I got up and relaxed for one moment. We did it…we got one of their members down. Goal accomplished.

Savian brought his fist down and I waited for Ally’s liquor screen to break.

But something happened. A possibility so unlikely that I didn’t even consider it…

Savian missed. A point blank strike, he missed. His eyes went wide as Ally grinned and threw Savian onto the floor. Savian tried to regain his balance but it wasn’t working. Ally pinned him to the ground and she conjured a dagger out of her hands. I raced towards Savian to help and leapt towards Ally. Then I felt myself lose control. I slipped and went crashing to the ground. I tried to get up and run but I fell once again…It was like I was learning how to stand again. My body had no control over itself, and I felt like a drunken man trying to walk alone. I fell to the ground and I looked up to see Ally smirking. She crouched down and she put her finger on my forehead. “Poor Evay…you forgot about him didn’t you ?” I turned my head and saw Cain, who looked as giddy as ever. Ally continued to speak. “You can’t move or do anything very well anymore, and that’s because of him. His presence causes chaos, nothing ever goes right when he’s around and that includes your every action. It doesn’t affect the people he doesn’t want to harm though, so you're out of luck.” She smiled and a beautiful crystal club came out of her hands.

“Let’s see if you bleed gold too.” She smiled and raised her club in the air.

I heard a whistle and looked up as Geon rammed himself into Cain. It was like a high speed human bullet had crashed into a body. Both Geon and Cain tumbled into the wall. I felt myself regain control of my body. I could move again. “Enough,” I threw an uppercut to Ally’s chin and it landed. She flew backwards and I jumped into the air. She looked down at me with a murderous grin and chains came shooting out of her hands. I twisted and turned in mid air, dodging the flying chains which lashed at me like angry vipers. She landed on the ground and the chains kept coming from all directions. I somersaulted through them and slid under a cascade of green metal as I finally closed the distance. I jumped up and threw a high kick to her face but she quickly ducked. She swept my leg and I fell towards the ground. A huge double edged sword materialized in her hands and she swung down with all her might. I rolled backwards and my golden barrier protected me from the shock wave and debris. I jumped forward and tackled her to the ground. She rolled back and weaved her legs around my neck. This isn’t good. I tried to get out but couldn’t. I felt her legs close around my neck as I lost air and consciousness. Only one option left. I activated Gold’s Veil and a huge outburst of energy caused Ally to explode off of me. That’s all I needed. I quickly deactivated Gold’s Veil and jumped after Ally. She crashed to the ground and I landed on her torso with both legs. Her eyes went wide with pain and I brought down my fist onto her face. But my punch never connected. A huge shockwave erupted in the stadium as Fellen came running into me. The shockwave knocked me off my feet and I was knocked away from the downed Ally. Fellen ran towards me and I got up.

I jumped over him and landed out of his vision, and aimed a sidekick right into his back. He turned around and caught my kick. My eyes went wide with shock as he smiled. “Sorry, this might be…painful.” I felt a huge vibration go through my body. My brain, eyes, organs, and bones were being shaken to the core. They were all being scrambled and I couldn’t move a muscle. Vibrations, that’s how he causes shockwaves…That’s his ability… Well, at least I know now… I fell to my feet and laid still. I couldn’t move..

“Didn’t forget about me right?” The girl with the white hair, Mia walked forwards. “I’ve been so….bored this entire fight. Hardly a challenge. It’s disappointing really….you were ranked so high.” I grit my teeth and looked at her. She was so high and mighty…I hated people like that.

“Mia really, we would’ve been ranked higher if you actually fought in half our matches. Stop being lazy.” Ally whined and Mia waved her hand.

“If we win, we win. Now shut it, we got to finish this one off first.” Fellen laughed. “She’s right. Try doing something for once. Are you mad that we beat you in the school tournament?”

“Shut it.” The three argued and at some point I couldn’t understand what they were saying. They were talking in their native language..

They finally stopped.

“You’ve done nothing, if anything I should have this kill.” Fellen pointed towards me like he would to a pile of trash. Mia scoffed.

“Oh please. This one was hardly a challenge, don’t be picky.” They were choosing who was going to eliminate me…. I couldn’t do much, but I was mad. Mad that it was like this, mad I wasn’t good enough, mad that I let my team down….

“Well three versus one. Sorry, but you have to go.” Mia smiled at me and raised her hand. A cold beam of light shined in my face. Why, why is this scenario such a common story for me…. Suddenly, a blur of color sent Mia flying into the stadium walls. Lila landed in front of me. Fellen quickly threw a punch but I lifted up my hand and put my barrier on Lila. The punch bounced off harmlessly, and Lila back kicked him in the torso. She picked him up and threw him at Ally who caught her teammate. She looked furious but couldn’t be mad for too long as she was hit with a beam of electricity. Aurora sent both Fellen and Ally off in an explosion, and I smiled up at them in a grateful gaze.

“Thanks, I needed that.”