CHAPTER 4: Rough and Tough
The two boys standing beside Victor glance at each other first, then charge towards the shield maiden. One wielding an ice lance twirls it in his hand, while the other winds up a punch with his armored fist. Knuckles meet the girl's shield, causing the boy to jump up and down and shout various profanities. Seconds after, the lance jabs forward, but the girl blocks it with her arm guard. GONG! The boy's face is smashed by the heavy shield, launching him into a nearby tree. Victor stands back up with a yellow outline, and finds both of his teammates the same.
Returning to a defensive stance, the shield maiden looks back at Gren and asks, "You just gonna sit there?" The ninja boy shakes his head in a blur and immediately leaps into action. His shuriken swipes across the lancer, leaving a black line in his wake. The successful hit is followed by a green glow around him, and three red flashes on his opponent. Meanwhile, the shield maiden repeatedly blocks every punch from the other boy, and returns fire to his gut. Her ferocious brawl ends with a powerful headbutt, knocking her enemy on his back. The buzzer sounds off from his watch, and Victor is left alone.
Tense silence is held for a moment, each side unsure of what to do next. The crystal gauntlet lights up, and Victor shoots the ground in front of his foes. A cloud of dirt envelopes everyone, preventing sight beyond arm's reach. Gren ties his scarf through the hole of his shuriken and swings it around. After the third rotation, the air is mostly cleared. However, Victor was gone.
The atmosphere loosens, and Gren turns towards the girl who saved him. "You're amazing! Those guys were some of the best fighters in the roster and you destroyed them!" The shield maiden crosses her arms and looks away, but Gren insists on talking. "You wanna be friends!?" Suddenly the boy's high-five is put in a choke hold. "I am not your friend." After a brief moment of pause, Gren changes his question. "Teammates?" The girl takes a deep, frustrated breath and sighs. "Fine."
The excited Gren leaps up high. "YES!! I mean, what's your name? Mine's Gren." "Komo." The girl of few words scratches her hair, leaving Gren to awkwardly think of what to say next. "We should...probably go after Victor..." No reply. "...I think he hid in the forest, so we could try looking in...there?" Komo just closes her eyes, looking annoyed, then begins to walk towards the trees. Gren trails behind her moving much slower than he'd like, but happy to have a partner.
Meanwhile, a green blur flies through the dense forest, leaving a trail of glitter. Ellia zig zags around trees and rocks, simultaneously avoiding barrages of fire behind her. The force of a close explosion knocks her off course, causing her to hug a tree. "Ow..." As Ellia slides to the ground, a boy with flaming wings lands in front of her and aims his torch down. Frantically the pxie reaches for an arrow, but she's too slow.
Out of nowhere, lightning strikes the torch, causing it to blow up. The boy, covered in ash, stumbles around in a daze, then collapses with three red blinks. Confused and nervous, Ellia looks over her shoulder and finds someone standing there. Victor primes his crystal gauntlet again and points it at her face. His arrogant smirk was more annoying to her than threatening. "Do it!" "Now where's the fun in that, cutie?" Victor says with a laugh, "I believe your Symbol has healing abilities. Mind helping a guy out?"
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The fifty screens in the broadcasting room were nearly all blank at this point. Once again the monitor Kurt was watching cut out, giving him an annoyed look. "How many does that make, Kurt?" asked Bron from the other side of the room. The orange haired man pulled down on his face and replied, "Twenty-six! Honestly I might just go with the witch girl. She knocked out three people in the two minutes and was doing pretty good until Percy's favorite took her out." Both professionals looked at their leader, his eyes still locked on Komo's screen with a serious expression on his face.
Bron's large hand planted on Percy's shoulder, causing him to slightly jump. "You good, bro?" "Yeah. Yeah, I'm just really focused on this." Percy's eyes reflect the shield maiden and Gren as they make their way through the dense forest. At last the duo find an opening and look out over the land. Red, rocky terrain filled with valleys stretches far off, where a tower shines a red light. "That's the central tower!" proclaims Gren with excitement, "And the light's red. That's means we're in the final five!" Komo examines her watch, finding the number four and a warning saying, "MOVE TO CENTER" on display. "Four. Let's move."
The shield maiden steps onward up the higher path, but Gren seems hesitant. "Komo? It's Komo right?" No reply. "Umm, Victor's Symbol is really good at range. Don't you think we should take the valley and keep hidden?" "I'm not scared of him." The quick answer causes Gren to stand stiff, then nervously rub his neck. "N-neither am I, but we might be at a disadvantage in the open." "Just stay behind me." Without hesitation the ninja boy listens, keeping his head turning at all times.
Just below the surface, Ellia waves her upper wing over Victor's right arm. Sparkling glitter gently floats down, gradually changing the yellow outline to blue. The fairy girl frowns, so Victor says, "See? I'm not so bad." "Don't get friendly with me!" she warns, "I'm only doing this because you're making me. After we beat the others, you're going down!" The arrogant grin remains on the sniper's face, not taking his forced teammate seriously.
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The central tower stood taller than the others. Surrounding it were several boulders and a single, dead tree, which danced in the wind. Komo dropped down from an elevated rock, and Gren gracefully leapt after. Scouting the shaded area, he found no signs of Victor and the other contender. The sight gave both a sense of relief and dread to the teens, as there was no telling when or where their enemies could pop out.
"The Symulation boundaries are closing in," Gren explains, "So Victor can't afford to-" Komo suddenly tackles him to the ground, just barely in time to dodge the glittering arrow. The shield maiden performs a roll and lifts up her barrier to block a second arrow, however, a shot of lightning strikes her exposed back. A red flash returns to blue as she looks upwards. Victor clings to the tower with one hand and aims his crystal gauntlet down at his trapped targets. "Nowhere to run now, losers."
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