As I stepped through the imposing double doors into the Central Dome, my crew following close behind, a marvel of a sight stretched out before us.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Super Olympics' Central Dome!" I announced, gesturing behind me with a flick of my wrist.
A wide, open area built to resemble a park expanded the length of the dome, a gentle breeze rustling through the trees planted around a nearby circle. Walking towards it, the Olympic Rings stood proudly on top a gurgling fountain, part of its water running freely as the other was seemingly frozen in place.
"As you might have noticed, the Central Dome is divided into summer and winter halves, giving off that illusion of two seasons at once. Across the park are many stands for people to rent out sports equipment and find a passion for one of life's greatest pass-times!"
Turning my body, and thus the camera following my sight, I stepped closer to the two marble statues near the outsides of the dome. On the left stood Zeus, the god of thunder and the leader of the Olympians in Greek Mythology. He held aloft a thunderbolt in one hand and a laurel wreath on his head, Zeus' body nude following Ancient Greek traditions. Panning left, a statue resembling Hera looked down towards me, its eyes blank but a small smile across its smooth face. By Hera's side was a marble peacock, closely sculpted to look like it was brushing against the folds of Hera's chiton, a Greek dress.
"On the left and right of the statues here are the living quarters for the athletes," I explained, tossing my ponytail from my shoulder to my back. "Each of our participating Ultimates have specified rooms tailored for their Olympic training. I don't know about you but having a room tailor made for me sounds pretty nice!"
On our way to the other end of the dome, I told the audience about all the expenses and work that had to go into building even one of these domes, let alone all five of them. Boring stuff, I know, but my advisors want me to show off this place as much as possible, and why not? It's amazing how so many people could come together and create something like this, all for a common goal! If that's not a step towards world peace, then I don't know what is.
Approaching the opposite end of the dome, a door much bigger than the ones at the entrance loomed overhead, at least 10 feet wide and 15 feet long. Even though it was completely shut, I could hear people moving about, workers using tools to do final checks of the supposed décor inside.
"This large door behind me is where all the athletes will enter from for the Opening Ceremony in just 10 or so hours! With about 90 countries playing in this year's games, it will certainly be a show to remember!" I told the camera enthusiastically, doing a little hop as I couldn't hide my excitement.
Behind the camera, Milly held up her hand and counted down on her fingers, a signal to let me know to cut to a commercial break.
"Next, we'll continue our trek into the Summer Dome and even meet some of the Ultimates who will be staring this year! RES will be right back after this."
Milly's hand closed as the crew dispersed for a brief break, sighs of relief from the walk across the massive space. Coming over to the camera, I gave Milly a high five, a loud clap! emanating from the contact.
"See? What did I tell you? You did great!" I cheered.
"Y-yeah, I just was f-feeling nervous at first," Milly admitted, brushing the hem of her skirt as some falling leaves had attached themselves there. "How are you not nervous at all, Alexis? Wouldn't it be terrible if you messed up?"
I let out a small laugh. "C'mon Milly, you know me! My excitement overrides any nerves I might feel! Besides, this is history in the making! Out of all the people in the world, the two of us are here, right now!"
Milly let out a sigh, glancing up at the large glass dome covering the whole…well, dome. "It…it's been a long time since we met. H-hard to think it was over 15 years ago."
I nodded in agreement, we had been friends ever since second grade, and even then, I loved sports.
"Remember how we met, Milly?" I asked, tapping my feet on the ground.
She laughed, a rare thing to see from her nowadays. "Of course, how could I forget?"
15 years ago, a small playground in Greece…
A small girl sat at a blue table, her head resting on top of her arms. Her black hair covered some of her face as she sadly gazed out at the other students, their voices high-pitched and full of joy. The girl sniffed, thinking she wouldn't find any new friends to play with at this new, scary place. However, by chance, a frisbee flew by and came to a sudden stop in front of the girl, the plastic making a small sound as it landed on the metal.
"Heeey! Throw it over here!" The girl looked up from the frisbee, a girl with light brown hair and tanning skin jumping up and down with her hands outstretched. At first, the girl just sat there, unsure of what to do. Picking up the frisbee, the girl tossed it towards the brown-haired girl, but it landed too close to the table, a small dust cloud popping up from the frisbee's landing. However, the brown-haired girl didn't seem to mind in the slightest, running over to the disk with a wide smile on her face, a front tooth missing.
"It's okay, I'm not a great thrower either! What's you name?" She asked, once more throwing the frisbee onto the table.
"I…um…" The girl stammered, still nearly paralyzed after she was spoken to. "M…"
"Maple? Madison? Marigold? Wait, what a marigold?" The tan girl wondered out loud, laughing at herself.
The girl showed a small smile at this; she hadn't seen anyone able to laugh at themselves before.
"M…Milly. My name is Milly."
"Nice to meet you, Milly! I'm Alexis!" She told her, offering her hand to shake.
Milly hesitated at first but got up from her spot on the table and shook her hand.
"N-nice to meet you too, A-Alexis."
From then on, these two were bound to have a friendship lasting years, perhaps even a lifetime…
"Even back then you were obsessed with sports. Although I'm pretty sure your aim hasn't improved at all with a frisbee since," Milly joked, reminiscing about that day.
"Hey! That's not very nice…" I huffed, crossing my arms across my chest, but smiled anyways.
Looking down at her wrist, Milly gasped slightly, showing me the time; about a minute until we needed to be back on air. Footsteps clambered around the park as my crew set up once more for our coverage, Milly taking her place behind the camera and I in front of it. Camera rolling in 3…2…1…
"Welcome back RES audience to the 20XX Super Olympic Games! Today, we will be getting a good look at the facilities for the games as well as meet its staring Ultimates! Earlier we showed you the Central Dome, and now we are traveling to the Summer Dome!"
Moving with me, the crew and I entered the Summer Dome's door only to be met by a moving sidewalk, glass around it in a cylinder shape to see the beautiful city of Greece outside. One after another, we continued on the walkway, which was quite fast, making a long travel a short one.
To say that the view from the Summer Dome's actual entrance was amazing wouldn't even be the half of it. The length of the dome covered part of the beach itself, a long way from the Central Dome to be sure! The entrance way, like the Central Dome's, had a pavilion with 2 large statues next to a main sculpture; Apollo and Artemis stood vigilantly by, their bows aimed towards the main sculpture of the Sun and Moon colliding. I took in a deep breath, the ocean's salty smell and cool breeze washing over me.
"Here, the Summer Dome took us all the way to the ocean, a great place for many people to have fun and practice summer sports! Although not all the summer sports are included in this dome, some have been relocated to the Spring Dome as to not clutter the place," I smiled at the camera, the wind sending my ponytail slightly in one direction.
"Since we don't have time to see the whole dome, I'll take you to the most interesting attractions." I gave a wink to the camera, placing my feet on the sandy path that led down to the dome's training/recreation areas.
Our first stop along the path down to the beach was a large, blue stadium, its walls looking like a child's toy against the height of the dome. Stands for food, souvenirs, and rest-stops with plenty of shade outlined the stadium as well as the rest of the beach. Being that the stadium wasn't open for business yet (as well as the fact that we were a valuable news station), the crew and I strode right through the hanging entrance. A large field of freshly mowed stadium grass met our eyes and noses, causing me to scratch my nose quickly. As we stood on the outside border of the field, a team was practicing their morning routine, but one player caught my eye in particular.
Dashing across the field, this guy kept a good distance from the other players as he headed towards the goal. As the goalie prepared to block, the guy didn't slow down one bit; he instead slid underneath the goalie's legs, practically pushing the ball into the net rather than kicking it. However, this caused the goalie to jump wildly out of his path, landing hard on the ground. A whistle blew, signaling a time-out to address the goalie. As the rest of the players dispersed, the striker stayed near the net, a look of annoyance on his face. Stretching out his neck, the striker noticed our group and headed over to us.
"Ah ha! See that, did you not? What a weichei…didn't even get hurt bad," The cocky striker exclaimed as he got closer.
Getting a closer look at him, this player definitely had that stereotypical "good looking athlete" vibe about him, his muscles apparent with a hint of abs and stood at 6 feet tall. His almond shaped eyes were a bright green, a rather fitting contrast to his light blond hair that seemed rather messy with a fringe undercut. Even his face was a bit muscular with a strong jawline, thick eyebrows, and a slightly rectangular face.
"So, what are you doing here, Little Miss Reporter?" He asked as he leaned on the railing dividing us. I noticed his English was mostly fluent but had a hint of a German accent.
"I'm Alexis Remus with RES TV, pleasure to meet you," I told him, moving the microphone towards him.
"Aah, I never pass up the chance at fame. I am Julian Niklas Schneider, the Ultimate Football Striker, also known as 'The Wonderkid of Munich' and 'The Little Emperor'", he grinned at me more-so than the camera.
Julian Schneider, Ultimate Football Striker
Seriously? Geez, dealing with ego-maniacs like this guy isn't fun. I have to keep my cool, especially because I don't want to get thrown out of the domes before the Games even begin.
"How did you get the nickname, 'Little Emperor', Julian? It's definitely not about your height…" I pondered out-loud, tapping my finger to my chin.
Julian chuckled, taking his elbow off the railing and stood up, his Germany uniform now visible with a number '13' on the side.
"Well, it is certainly not about down there, if you catch my meaning," Julian bragged, his face contorting into a creepy smile. "I earned that title from my younger years as a striker, being smaller allowed me to bypass most other players."
Yippee, he's got an ego and he's dirty-minded. I'll have to keep my distance from this guy if I want to stop a scandal, those are never pretty.
"Very interesting, Julian! So, how do you feel about your chances in the upcoming Games?" I said through my teeth, trying to keep myself from throwing a probably weak punch at this jerk.
"Oh of course I'll get the gold, it's almost guaranteed at this point," He told me, stretching out his legs, trying to show off. "Besides, in my experience, you're either first to finish or first back home."
With that, he turned around and gave us a small wave, rejoining his team as they prepared to begin practice once more. Turning on my heels back to the camera, I did my best to disguise the look of distain on my face.
"So that was the Ultimate Football Striker in action, folks! Seems like he's hard set on winning, but that all comes down to skill in the end. Now we'll continue down towards the boardwalk and see what awaits us there! Stay tuned!"
Once the camera's cut, Milly hurried over to my side, her expression one of worry.
"You okay, Alexis? What a piece of work that guy was…" She trailed off, looking over my shoulder at the noisy field.
"He's lucky I didn't deck him right then and there!" I huffed, crossing my arms.
Milly shook her head, waving a finger in the air at me.
"Do you remember the last time you did that? You nearly feel over into the pool because of that rude swimmer."
"Well she would have deserved it…if I did hit her…" I frowned, my face a bit flushed at remembering that moment.
Seeing the crew head out of the football stadium, Milly and I followed suit, thankfully leaving that rude Julian behind. Closing in on the boardwalk, the sounds of the waves sloshing against the smooth sand helped me calm down. I've always loved the beach; those sounds, the sun kissing your skin, the water's warm touch…what a magical feeling.
The boardwalk here looked like any other carnival-style boardwalk you would find; stands of fried food, oversized plushies, and outlet stores all the way down. That was, of course, until the end of the boardwalk led down to a dock area for the sailing part of the Games. Here, various small boats outlined the rather large dock, each decorated with the flags of the participating countries. As we started rolling, I noticed somebody by one of Japan's boats, her white hair in a bun almost blending into the sail.
"Alright, let's go talk with this participant as they ready their boat for the sailing competition," I announced to the camera, walking over to the girl.
"Excuse me miss, could we have a moment of your time? I'm Alexis Remus from RES TV," I introduced myself, the girl looking towards me at the sound of my voice.
The girl was very skinny, standing at 5'2" with a youthful, yet slightly chubby face with an upturned nose. Her turquoise eyes had bags under them, probably from longs nights practicing. She had tanned skin, much more tanned than mine, sporting lean muscles under a dark blue life vest over a white skiff suit.
"Hello there, Miss Remus," the girl said, her voice firm and precise. "My name is Tsukasa Ishiuchi, the Ultimate Sailor from Japan. Pleased to meet you."
Tsukasa Ishiuchi, Ultimate Sailor
Tsukasa turned away from me and back to her boat, inspecting the sail and ropes attached to it.
"So, how does it feel to be at the Olympic Games, Miss Ishiuchi? Not everybody gets to be in such a wonderful event!" I questioned her, my enthusiasm pretty apparent.
"It is an honor to be included," Tsukasa replied, not looking away from her boat.
She didn't say anything more after that, leaving the scene in an awkward silence. Clearing my throat, I tried to speak up, but Tsukasa held up her hand.
"Apologies, but I must continue my preparations for the Games. Is it rather imperative that I check and double check everything."
"Oh oh, of course! I wish you luck in your races, Miss Ishiuchi!" I stammered, making a 180 degree turn to my audience once again. "There you have it, a dedicated woman striving for an amazing goal! We'll leave Miss Ishiuchi here and continue with showing you more of the Summer Dome!"
Our footsteps echoed across the dock's platform as we left, again walking across the wide boardwalk onto the main sandy path. Following the signpost near the boardwalk, we headed towards the dual shooting range, accommodating for both the archery and shooting competitions.
Coming closer to the range, the two different sports were separated by a wall in the middle of the field, with the targets for archery on the right then the targets and clay launchers for shooting on the left. Compact sports bows were lined up neatly by the start of the archery range, quivers close by, and a rack of sporting rifles hung on a wall for the shooting range.
As I was about to turn to the camera and speak, popping noises sounded off, the clay launchers firing into the air. At the range's start, a girl held aloft a rifle and, with clean precision, shot all 10 of the projectiles out of the air in a matter of seconds. Once done, the girl began to refill the ammo in the rifle's clip.
Not wanting to have her mess up by shouting at her, I approached her left quietly and tapped her on the shoulder. In an instant, she whipped around and pointed the rifle right in my face!
"Aaah! Sorry sorry! Please don't shoot!" I half-screamed, half cried as I got a close look at this girl.
She had dirty blonde hair, part of it covering the left side of her face as the rest of it fell to her lower back. Even at an inch taller, more toned, and a bit more top-heavy than me, she still looked intimidating, her thin and angular face in a look of seriousness, her one visible hazel colored eye narrowing in on me like a hunter on its prey.
The girl blinked a moment, then, seeing how I was totally harmless, lowered the practice rifle and stepped back from me. She sported (no pun intended) a dark blue athletic T-shirt, a brown bomber jacket, a pair of brown shorts, and black sneakers. A simple, but overall nice outfit in my opinion.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you there. You…surprised me," She stated at last, clearing out the tense atmosphere.
"No, that was definitely my fault. Sorry to have scared you!" I apologized profusely, messing around with my ponytail in embarrassment. "I wanted to ask you if you would be up for a small interview. I'm Alexis Remus from RES TV. Sorry we kinda got off on the wrong foot!" I extended my hand for a handshake as another apology.
She paused for a minute or two, seemingly frozen in place. However, she did accept my handshake, the movement brushing the hair out of her face, revealing an unpainted, glass left eye. So that's why she jumped when I tapped on her shoulder…I'd be freaked out too.
"At least I didn't shoot you," She chuckled, a small smile crossing her thin lips. "My name is Jana Sorokin, and I am known as the Ultimate Sharpshooter."
Jana Sorokin, Ultimate Sharpshooter
"Nice to meet you, Jana! So, how's practice for the Games coming along? How has the stay here been so far?" I asked, tipping the mic to her.
"The equipment here is in great condition, and I find the range an interesting change from my usual routine of wilderness practice," Jana said into the mic, placing the rifle in the crook of her arm.
"Room and board has been better than I expected. Nobody's been poisoned as of yet."
I laughed awkwardly at the joke; Jana seems to have a rather morbid sense of humor.
"Glad to hear it, Jana. Now, what about-" I began, but was cut off by the shouts of another person.
"Jana! Wha'cha doing over there?!" A feminine voice called from nearby the archery range.
Another girl came from the range, a compact bow in her hands and a quiver upon her back. This girl was a bot shorter than me and Jana, her long braided hair a deep black with violet-dyed tips at the end of said braid. Like Jana, she was well built with toned, almost toffee-colored skin. Her face was sort of heart shaped, but what stood out to me the most was her eyes; her right eye had a black iris, whereas her left eye was a woody hazel, not unlike Jana's.
"Who are you talking with?" The girl quickly jogged over and stood next to Jana.
"Hi, Alexis Remus, RES TV," I greeted the new girl with a wave.
"Woah! I know you! I've seen you on TV before!" The girl bubbled, clapping her hands together. "My name is Asuka Hirano, so happy to meet you! They call me the Ultimate Archer!"
Asuka Hirano, Ultimate Archer
Asuka wore a lot of green and black, and I mean a lot. She had on an olive green short-sleeved tee under an open camo jacket, its sleeves rolled up due to the current heat. As an archer would, Asuka had an arm guard covering her right wrist as well as a pair of black, fingerless gloves with a deer's head design on the back. Her black leggings blended well with her camo combat boots, a small knife holstered against her left leg.
"Well, it's always nice to meet a fan once in a while," I smiled at Asuka.
"Oooh, are you doing interviews right now? I'd be happy to be a part of it!" She beamed, placing the bow on her back.
"Alright. Asuka, what does being in the first ever Super Olympics feel like? Being in the Olympics at all is a pretty big deal!"
"I'm soooo excited to compete! Oh, and honored to be chosen to compete, of course! I wouldn't be here without the support of my family! Love you everyone back home!" Asuka told me as she waved into the camera.
Seeing somebody as excited about the Games as I am was a great sight. This kind of thing, bringing people together…it's just the best there is!
"Well, we should probably get back to practice…" Jana trailed off, looking over at the shooting range.
"Yep! Nice to meet you, Alexis!" Asuka said, jogging back over to the archery side of the range.
As Jana also went back towards her range, I looked straight into the camera once more.
"Wow, four Ultimates in one day! What a great start to our Super Olympic tour! We'll see you all soon, when we explore more of Greece's newest Super Domes! This has been RES TV!"
With the outro complete, the camera turned off as the crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. As Milly came out from behind the camera, I felt a slight tap on my shoulder, turning around to see one of my senior crew members, Chuck.
"Hey Alexis, somebody wants to talk with you," He thumbed over to a guy near the path back to the Central Dome.
This guy was huge, clearly above the 6'4" mark with a muscular build and lightly tanning skin, with a crew cut of sandy blonde hair and light grey eyes. He wore an unbuttoned black blazer (Poor guy must have been dying in the heat) over a pink turtleneck, both of which had the sleeves rolled up, as well as a pair of black dress pants and brown boots. To be honest, he kind of looked like some kind of spy, except he didn't blend in well with the summer surroundings at all.
Once he saw me staring at him, he began to walk over.
"Ah, you must be Miss Remus. My name is Gavan Camden, and I shall be your bodyguard for your stay with us," He told me in a polite, yet deep voice.
"A-aah bodyguard? W-why?" Milly asked, sheepishly hiding behind me as she peaked her head above my shoulder.
"Do not be alarmed, miss. I am simply here to make sure Miss Remus is protected from possible dangers that may or may not arise. After all, the Olympics may become a target of criminal or terrorist activity given recent tensions among some of the visiting countries," He explained, his hands behind his back as his facial expression stayed calm.
"I understand, Mr. Camden. I promise I won't be a bother!" I agreed, patting Milly's head to help calm her.
"Please, call me Gavan. Although I may look older, I am still the Ultimate Bodyguard."
Gavan Camden, Ultimate Bodyguard
After that exchange, the crew, Milly, Gavan and I took a well-deserved break. Phew! I was a bit tired from all of that, but my excitement hasn't diminished one bit! Who knows what we will see next? Spring? Fall? Maybe Winter? Any of them sounds exciting to me!
To be continued…
Hey everyone, Sword here! I'm happy to show you the first chapter of Olympic Season of Killing! A shoutout to my editors, RioA and Crimson Spider Lily as well, those two rock! Now, in terms of future uploads, they make come slower due to me being back in school soon. I know I know, not the news you wanted to hear, but life is like that I guess. So, I hope you can stick it out with me through this journey! Thank you all so much, and have a wonderful day, afternoon, night, or anything in between!