DRAKE
'I guess she isn't home...' Drake was sadly assuming to himself because the lights in her room was off plus nobody's car was visible in the garage.
The absence of bodies and movement in the house led him to inwardly ponder, 'I wonder why she isn't at home?'
'I needed to tell her about my new position.' He quietly wished that she was there since he did not want to surprise her at the tournament.
A gloomy sensation abruptly overcomes him before he heads in the direction of his school since his first stop was a complete bust.
'So we finally made it to the Dragon Fist Martial tournament...' He was happily considering in order to avoid being sad.
A couple of minutes passed when he motored inside of Cram's parking lot only to spot buses in the middle of the parking lot.
Drake then secures his personal items from his bike after he parks in an empty spot. He then spreads a weather proof cover over it in case the weather takes a turn for the worse.
A smile materialized on his face at the thought when he deemed, 'It truly has been a longtime coming for El Diablo de Tridente.'
He eagerly boarded the bus, located a seat in the front and was handed a clipboard from one of his top rank officers.
Drake was carefully reviewing the paper, which were listing the arrival times for each team as well as the events for the day at the bottom of the sheet.
His eyes instinctively searches and finds Pokey Oaks High arrival time to the hotel, which sparks thoughts about the red haired girl.
'Midori…'
ALMA
'The van should be here.' Alma inwardly considered after he repeatedly checked the Rolex watch on his wrist for the time.
He then peers up from his arm and waits until the van motors inside of the parking lot along with a familiar Camaro and an unknown Mustang.
'I take it that that's the team.' The purple haired man assumed after he watched them park and unload from their respective cars.
"Good morning, Principal Zeal," The four girls were politely greeting him while the three boys were remaining mute as they were standing directly in front of them.
Alma returns the greeting when he mentally counts how many of them were now present. He eventually realized that one person was absent.
"I swear she always has to make some type of entrance." Buttercup irritably groaned once she realized exactly the one that was not present.
Blossom shrugs her shoulder at her sister's comment before she reminds her, "That's what happens when money feeds your ego."
"Besides, I would've been more surprised if she was here on time." Bubbles was chiming in while slinging her bag on to her other arm.
"She? Who is this she?" Butch inquiried about the last member that was a part of their squad until the sound of loud music captured their attention.
Buttercup then roughly jabs her thumb in the direction of a white limousine and lips, "You'll see soon enough."
The three brothers were anxiously waiting to see exactly who would step out of the vehicle. The sight of a bright golden crown and red puffy pigtails finally emerge from the backseat.
An "oh no" slipped from Butch's mouth upon the sight of the female. Brick and Boomer loudly groan the person's name, "Princess Morbucks".
"In the flesh!" She was nasally confirming with a wide smirk present on her face.
"Well…since everyone is finally here, I think it's about time you all load up and head out. We don't want our representatives to miss registration."
"So will you be making an appearance this go round?" Buttercup curiously poses to their principal.
"It looks like it. They requested for the principals to attend the last day of the tournament."
An "I see" left from her lips after they load their luggage in the back portion of the van and the others hop in the van.
"Good luck everyone,"
P.O.K.
Midori was merely listening and rhythmically bobbling her head to her music via her headphones while staring out at the scenery.
Bubbles and Boomer aimlessly chattered about some of the randomest things.
"Did you see the last episode?" "It was really good. I didn't expect him to turn on his own brother though." "I know right!"
Blossom and Brick were in a deep discussion about some book they had to read in order to complete their assignment for one of their Advance Placement classes.
"I didn't think it would be a good read." "Really, his books are always a pleasure to read." "I guess I have to look up some of his other works then."
"Aren't you supposed to be telling me something?" Buttercup abruptly questioned her counterpart after she approached him.
Butch releases a sigh before he reminds her, "I'm well aware of what I told you yesterday."
"So spill…" She was demanding.
"It was when my brothers and I moved to Citiesville and attended their middle school in the 8th grade. We were newcomers so not too many people really messed with us while we were there. Yet, Drake was immediately interested in us and our abilities."
"Brick and I were outside with our lunch when we were approached by some other middle school gang. We were able to easily handle a good portion of them until Drake dropped in and kicked the rest of those losers' ass. He offered us protection even though he knew we didn't need it so he suggested that we could use him as a security blanket if we ever find ourselves in danger again."
"I didn't know Drake was that mature." The light green teen utters in shock about the brunette.
"Your turn," Butch sternly declared, which earned a "Fine,"
"At the last DFMT, we managed to earn a victory against a rather tough team. When we got back to school, Tia B. Gardener was in heavy talks with the Student Council on the next Top for Pokey Oaks High since there was no other request for challenges other than males. At the time, I was unware of Prince's plot to get rid of our Top before the start of DFMT yet it didn't fall through. So instead he set his sight on being the Top but he forgot to take me in account."
"…because he was in love with you." He eventually concluded about Prince before she continued on with her story.
"So somehow, poison was slipped in Tia's cup before she could verbally announce who the next Top would be. Yet, Prince didn't expect for her to leave instructions on what to do if she suddenly expired."
"Did you ever get to fight her?" Butch curiously wondered since Buttercup's face lit up at the mention of Tia's name.
Buttercup shakes her head and discloses, "We only was ever able to spar never seriously though,"
"I bet that left some regrets in your heart." He was assuming after studying the rare expression of regret on her face.
"Unfortunately it did, so I never got to settle my debt with Tia B. Gardener." She conveyed her rue at the chance she will never have with Tia.
Butch was looping his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to his chest and confessing, "Maybe you can find some closure."
"I hope."
GENERAL POV
The hotel's driveway were soon flooded by vehicles that contained high school students, who were ready to represent and compete for their school.
Athena's feet were landing on the concrete all while scoping out the other vehicles that were behind them. There was a group of students that unloaded some equipment from one van until the sight of a red bob of hair caught her sights.
A small smile was gracing her face before addressing the young woman by her name, "You sure you didn't bring your entire lab with you, Ivy?"
Ivy faced a raven haired teen, smirked and asserted, "Actually Athena, this is just my mobile lab."
Athena was shaking her head until the sound of a whistle were capturing their attention as they were locating the source of the noise.
"Good. This looks like everyone." A brunette male said after he paced up and down the length of the line.
"This might be an interesting year." Ivy alleges at the sight of how the new Head of the Discipline Committee commands his troops.
On the other hand, Athena's left eye twitched at the demonstration in front of them until she heard her teammates behind her.
"Let's go check in." The red head suggests right before their respective vehicles motor along the rest of the drive way.
A few minutes later,
Jayden and his squad emerged from a school bus when he spotted Logan and his team exited out of a decorative 16 passenger van.
"Ever the performer, eh?" He jokes at the sight of the brunette and his muggy artsy gang.
"The pen is mightier than the sword." Logan was casually reciting with a smirk on his face after facing the other brunette.
15 minutes later...
"I totally hate this drive." A teen, with orange hair, verbally complained after she stepped out of their luxury vehicle.
Another vehicle parks right behind them as a blonde teen leaps out, starts to stretch, and utters, "My muscles are stiff."
The young man was releasing a "whoo" and checking out his surroundings when noticing a group of girls off to the left.
"Yo, Kaylee!" He shouted and waved one of his hands once he spotted a familiar face amongst the females.
The girl, name Kaylee, directs her gaze in the direction of her name until she recognizes the young man, "Chase, how are you?"
Her question earned a smirk from the blonde, who merely replied, "Ready to hit the gym."
25 minutes later,
A "humph" emitted from a purple haired teen as he stood in front of the hotel when two more vans pulled up behind him.
He watches as a boy with ultramarine hair hops out on to the sidewalk while a raven hair chick storms out of the two vehicles.
"Buttercup, what's good?" The ultramarine head teen was greeting the lady first, who was retorting, "Jayden! Where's the boxing gloves?"
"I always keep 'em on me." The teen, name Jayden, responded with a smile and a gesture at the back of the van.
The purple haired teen was shaking his head, advancing forward, grunting "Muscleheads" and listening to them teasingly shout, "Hello to you too, Edward."
10 minutes after,
A girl with two auburn ponytails eagerly jumps out of the van, releases a loud noise and shouts, "We finally made it!"
"Woodland Prep will be victorious!" She eagerly proclaimed right before the group entered inside of the hotel.
The check-in process went extremely smooth as each team were handed a schedule, a layout of the hotels and their key cards to their rooms.
The Discipline Committee had the entire third floor set up for their operations as well as it being their living quarters.
The girls were assigned to the fourth floor while the fifth floor was reserved for the boys, which was constantly monitored by the hotel's staff.
SERENA
Serena aimlessly flipped through channels as she repeatedly pressed the up button on the remote until the sound of knocks could be heard.
She places the remote off to the side, stands to her feet, heads over to the door and checks the peephole.
The orange haired woman unlocked, opens and permitted entrance to the person on the other end of the door.
"Sorry to come over unannounced," The voice was sincerely apologizing once the woman were standing in front of them with a placid expression on her face.
"It's fine. I'm surprised you didn't come over here earlier, Alma." Serena honestly admits before she offers him something to drink.
A "thank you" emitted from his voice after he accepted the cup and revealed, "The DFMT."
His response was catching her off guard as she was plopping down next to him on her couch with a curious expression now present on her face.
"So what's the purpose behind this tournament?" Serena probes while she carefully brings the rim of the mug to her lips.
Alma placed the cup down on the coffee table before he provided an answer to her question, "The Dragon Fist Martial Tournament is an annual event that pits high school students against each other in a week long competition. The winner earns certain rights, which can be enforced throughout the entire year until the next tournament occurs."
"It doesn't sound that bad." She was admitting after placing her cup on the table until her guest were speaking up again, "In the previous years, there actually have been some turf wars that occurred under certain school's reign. Ever since we won last year, we made it a point to keep the peace among the schools."
"I see."
GENERAL POV
"Please sign in and grab your nametag." A staff representative dutifully informed the participants of the DFMT as they approached the Main Ballroom doors.
Upon their entrance inside of the ballroom, there were three signs with "Fighters" on the left, "Student Reps" in the center and "Managers" on the right.
The place was filled with loud rowdy chatter amongst the participants until the sight of a teen aged girl with medium length curly raven haired took the stage.
She wore a white ¾ sleeves sweetheart neck top, white pleated skirt, golden thin waist belt, golden gauntlets and gladiator sandals.
The girl then was directsing her obsidian eyes toward the crowd while bringing the microphone up to her mouth.
"Welcome to the 7th Annual Dragon Fist Martial Tournament!" She politely addressed the crowd before she introduced herself, "My name is Athena from Olympus Prep and I serve as the Head of the Tops."
Her introduction earns more whispers until she speaks over the noise, "Now I would like for each Top to introduce themselves to everyone."
"Jayden, Armada Reform School," A spiky crop brunette with hazel brown eyes stood up in the "Fighters" group.
"Logan, the Lyre Schools for the Arts," An ear-length curly blonde with forest green eyes stood up near the teen, name Jayden.
A curly orange haired tied in a plait with blue eyes introduced herself to the crowd, "Kaylee, the Maiden Fashion Institute,"
"There's no way she can be a fighter." One of the participants were mumbling after the sight of Kaylee in the "Fighters" group.
A short straight dirty blonde with chocolate brown eyes greeted them with a small smirk on his face, "Chase from the Merit Boarding School,"
"Buttercup from Pokey Oaks High," The raven haired teen with lime green eyes introduced herself to the crowd.
Her introduction also yields more whispers from the crowd until a long curly purple haired teen rises to his feet, "Edward from THE Shakespeare's Schools for the Arts,"
"Ivy from Wayne's Research Institute," A wavy shoulder length red head stood up in the "Managers" group.
"Aubree, Woodland Prep," An auburn haired teen with two ponytails instantly hopped to her during her introduction.
Athena was nodding her head as a signal for the Tops to have a seat when the sight of another brunette with his hair in a ponytail was materializing next to her.
"No way!" Midori uttered to herself at the sight of the young man in front of her on the stage with a smirk on his face.
"Yo! I'm Drake from Cram Reform School and I'm the new Head of the Discipline of Committee." The brunette was introducing himself to the crowd.
'What the heck?!' The red head angrily demands at the sight of Drake, who now wears a goofy smirk on his face.
"I'll explain the format, rules plus the Do's and Don'ts of the tournament. Listen up and listen well because I'm not repeating myself."
"On the first day, we will have two matches from the 'A' bracket. The winner of those two matches will draw from a lottery to determine who will face the number one seed. The same thing applies to the 'B' bracket, except they will face the number two seed. The second day will consist of the quarterfinals and the third day the semifinals. There will be a day of rest built in after each round until we head in to the championship." He was explaining the new format.
"Each team consists of eight members: six fighters, a manager and a Student Representative. The managers are responsible for the fighters and their roster. The Student Reps serve as a liaison and the go to person between the schools." Drake was breaking down each of the roles.
"Do exhibit sportsmanship. Don't be a jerk if you lose. Do interact with each other. Don't be rude. Do have fun. Don't go crazy. Do listen to the Discipline Committee. Don't be hardheaded." He advised the group before he handed over the microphone.
"There is some time for you to get to know each other. So please do talk and chat with each other."
"I think I'll sneak out and head back up to the room." Butch suddenly disclosed with an expression of boredom on his face.
Buttercup merely rolls her eyes at her counterpart when Midori breaks through the noise, "It's on the schedule so it's mandatory for you to participate."
"Who knows? Maybe you just might make a new friend." Bubbles was quipping before spottin a familiar face in the crowd and heading in that direction.
Butch felt the heat from Midori until he eventually caved in, hopped to his feet and started to walk around the ballroom.
'I swear…girls' can be so…' He inwardly grumbles before he unexpectedly stops a few feet away from a group students.
"Dude, how you get those abs? I've been trying for the longest." Butch promptly requested after he noticed the physique of the dude in front of him.
"Man, all I do is four sets of 25 Diamond sit-ups, six sets of 5 minute Spiderman Plank Crunches, five sets of seven minute Bicycle Crunches, throw in some Cross Crunches and your set." The brunette teen reveals one of his workout methods, which causes Butch to mentally note his routine for later uses.
He then extends his hand out for a handshake in order to introduce himself, "The name's Butch man." "Jayden,"
"Kaylee!" Bubbles was cheerfully shouting to a teen with waist length loose orange curly hair tied in a plait.
"Bubbles!" The teen age girl was returning the same emotion as the blonde did towards her.
"I love your outfit!" She honestly admitted after she checked out the outfit that she was in.
"Thanks. I'm trying out the Bohemian look. And you?" Kaylee discloses as she twiddles her hand around her long plait.
"I've been into the retro look, lately." Bubbles reveals her current trend after she steps back to show the orange haired girl her outfit.
"It's about connecting to your roots. You know be in tune with Mother Nature." She advised with a small smile on her face.
"I see you still like wearing that gravity defying ribbon, Blossom." A feminine voice was teasingly jawing at the orange haired teen, which was earning her sights.
"Just like how you wear those asymmetrical glasses?" Blossom jokingly lipped after she faced a teen with her red haired styled in a bob.
"Touche." She simply accepts defeat with a nod of her head before she curiously poses, "Who's your friend?"
Blossom was merely tapping the boy's shoulder, waiting till he faces her and introducing the two, "Brick met the Mistress of Data, Ivy."
"Mistress of Data?" He repeated since it sounded a bit weird to have earned a name such as hers. "It's one of the many monikers I've acquired."
"She's pretty cute." Boomer unintentionally mentions after he notices a few cute faces in the crowd when he suddenly hears a voice agrees, "I know right man."
The blonde peers over to find a dude with long spiky Ultramarine hair with turquoise eyes, who asks him, "What's your name?" "Boomer,"
"Like a boomerang?! That's pretty cool dude! The name's Vincent." The boy, name Vincent, introduces himself to him.
"Drake," Midori uttered the brunette male's name after she realized that he approached her.
His face was morphing to an apologetic expression when starting to explain, "Midori, look I tried to tell you."
"It doesn't seem like it to me." She irritably grumbles after she recalls the image of him and Athena a few minutes ago.
"I had…" He spoke up until one of his members unexpectedly interrupted them, "Drake, they need you at the front desk now."
"Give me a few seconds." Drake was informing his friend before pleading, "We'll talk later."
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06.10.18 Major editing edits
