CHAPTER 3: DREAM COME TRUE
The iron doors in front of Gren slowly slide open. Fresh air blows through his hair, and sunlight from the arena's open ceiling shines brightly on his face. Before him stands a lush forest with branches calling his name to swing from. A smile couldn't be held back, and Gren takes off from the starting line. Grabbing his scarf from his neck, the boy whips it onto the first tree. Leaves scatter around him as he leaps above the forest. To his left, a pair of flying teens battle afar. The fairy girl, Ellia, pulls back her bow and launches a glittering arrow towards her opponent. A direct hit, causing the victim's blue outline to flash red. As the fighter falls, they hit a tall tower with a crooked flagpole.
Gren dives back down into the forest, connecting one swing after the other. A sense of freedom fills him with pure joy. Never had he moved so quickly and without restriction. The forest was peaceful, until a boy with a T-rex skull jumped in his way. With a mighty wind up, he swings his giant, bone club, but misses. Gren swings up high, then lands both feet on his opponent's shoulders. Rex falls on his back, his eyes cartoonishly popping out of the skull's sockets. Water envelopes Gren's shurikan as he declares, "Shuriken Wave!"
The bone club drops beside the KO'd wielder, and Gren continues his swing through the forest. Delle's waiting for me! She's probably knocked two people out already. Eager to see how close he is, the ninja boy swings through the leaves and over the forest's roof again. While in the air, he eyes the tower and a pink flare launching up like a tiny rocket. She's there! With even more determination, Gren leaps from branch to branch. We're gonna do this! Percy will HAVE to take me as an apprentice!
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Bleachers surrounding the arena were filled with cheering spectators, and the broadcasting studio above is where Percy viewed the event. Fifty screens displayed every contender's point of view, but nine were already blank. A tall man with orange, spiked hair watched as another monitor went black, then took a step with his prosthetic leg. "Aw. Didn't think he'd make it far. Any luck, Bron?" Across the room, a bulky, younger man with wavy, blonde hair walked down the aisle of screens. "The archer fairy seems pretty good. Having someone to fly me away from swarms of fangirls could definitely be useful." "Heh, wish I had that problem." "You'll find one, Kurt. Statistically it's bound to happen."
Kurt finds a new monitor to watch beside Percy, who seems to be only watching one contender. "You should probably watch more than one screen, bro. Just in case that one blacks out." The swordsman stands with his arms crossed, laser focused on the shield maiden. "I want to see what this one is capable of. If she loses, then I'll check out the others." "Alright, suit yourself. But I think that ninja kid with the shuriken shows some promise." Percy gives a light chuckle. "We'll see."
A scarf wraps around a boy's arm with a spear, then pulls him facedown in the dirt. Red light flashes three times around him, and a buzzer sound plays from his watch. "Oof, sorry...sorry." Gren retrieves his scarf and resumes his swing towards the tower. Almost there! The thick forest begins to clear, and Gren makes eye contact with his friend. "I'm here, Delle!" The sound of his voice, causes her to turn his way. However, the look on her face wasn't joy like Gren thought, but fear.
A large shield rams her into the tower wall. The sound of a chinese gong echoes throughout the area, a sound Gren would never forget. The metal shield pulls back from the tower, and Delle's body slumps down with a red glow. Three times it flashes, followed by the dreaded buzzer noise. Devastation hits Gren like a massive weight on his chest. The shield maiden stands with her back turned, peaks over her shoulder, and delivers a cold stare at her next target.
All sense of joy flees from Gren as the girl charges towards him. Fighting wasn't an option. He whips out his scarf and grabs hold of the tower, then desperately leaps up. However, his body stops mid flight, as if someone had slammed the brakes in a car. The strong girl holds his ankle with one hand and forcibly pulls him back down to Earth. Her shield rises to strike, but Gren twitches to the left just in time. Again, now he dodges right. The third time was different. Gren holds his shuriken over his face and blocks the descending shield. Struggling to keep the weight off of him, he kicks at her back. No budge.
The unmovable girl stands over her prey and lifts her heavy shield to strike once more. Gren quickly slips between her legs and runs as if his life depends on it. The girl simply grunts and gives chase, but doesn't even match half his speed. The terrified boy peeks over his shoulder to see her image shrinking, then looks back ahead. ZAP! A shot of lightning strikes his chest, causing him to seize up and roll in the dirt. Gren's outline flashes red, then returns to blue. His frail body stutters as he rises to a kneeling stance and looks up.
Victor's crystal gauntlet on his left arm smokes from its twin points. He smirks as he pulls back on the lower priming handle and aims the weapon back down at his victim. His two friends from earlier stand beside him with the same grin as he says, "Aww. Looks like your little girlfriend didn't make it. Too bad." The crystals begin to steadily glow brighter, as a low humming noise grows louder. "You'll be joining her soon, loser." Small tears begin to form in Gren's eyes. All of his life had been lived for this moment, just to be taken away. Even meeting his hero, pointless. All of it had been for nothing. "Spectrum Blast!" Victor commands. The gauntlet fires, sending a beam of rainbow light straight at Gren's face.
Suddenly, the sound of a chinese gong travelled across the area, and the beam of light bounced back at Victor. The direct hit to the chest sends him rolling back, his teammates turning far too late to watch him. Victor lifts his face from the dirt and spits. "You!?" Gren kneels in wonder. The shield maiden from before stands in front of him with her smoking barrier. She gives no reply, leading Victor to become angry and shout, "Why!? Why would you defend that loser!?" The barrier lowers to reveal her scowling face and smoky-gray hair. "I hate people like you."
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