"I managed to get everything dusted off and plugged up the older equipment that's still some good." Argos was mumbling due to a mask over his mouth while brandishing a filthy duster.
"Let's boot it up and see what this baby can do." Prince eagerly orders while he approaches the newly install equipment, presses some buttons before the screen brightly lights up.
"So we have to set it up." The shorter of the two was commenting because the screen was requesting a username and password once a light green MJE flashes at the top right corner.
'I wonder...' "Argos, do you think you can patch us through to their surveillance system?" The young man curiously probes while his fingers gracefully glide over the keyboard.
His companion pondered about the possibility until he remarked, "It's possible only if it's a closed circuit television transmitted to wireless links but I doubt that room is easily accessible because of the Discipline Committee."
At the word "wireless" the taller of the two perked up when he made known, "Why not jack their links?"
Argos simply sighs while he shakes his head to opine, "There's the multiple firewalls I'll have to burst through, by then the tournament will surely be over. Then again, we can probably directly tap in to their system."
"Can't you send one of those doofus a worm via email?" He persistently suggested.
"And potentially give away our location with our IP address?! We're not that desperate." The other teen melodramatically exclaims along with gestures to show his emotions.
The tech wiz then warns him about their major obstacle to his plan, "Besides, if that red head nerd is still in a Head position at WRI then we'll definitely be exposed."
"I mean we do have a believable idiot as our insider." The purpled haired teen confidently asserted along with a nod of his head.
The frail teen points out with a roll of his eyes, "Who'll expose himself in a heartbeat?"
"That's why you have to collect more believable idiots." He mysteriously hints with a confident smile on his face.
"If you say so," Argos muttered.
[Ballroom]
A strange male suddenly appears on the platform next to Athena, who in turn takes over while the Head of the Tops descends down the three steps.
He promptly broke his silence once he finally secured the microphone, "Welcome to the second official day of the Dragon Fist Martial Tournament, also known as the semi-finals."
"We had a thrilling opening day full of eager and strong fighters' spirits, so give yourself a round of applause." The young man briefly recaps and encourages them to congratulate themselves for such a display of passion.
"Oh…how rude of me not to introduce myself…" The teen finally realized that he had yet to introduce himself to the group.
"My name is Leone and I'll serve as your official emcee over the duration of the tournament as well as the activities on your off days."
"Less talking, more punching," Butch annoyingly recites, which only earns sweat drops plus head shakes from his family and teammates.
"So you found a host?" Ivy directs at raven haired teen, who ventures over in the direction of her squad amongst the general population.
Athena unintentionally ignores her as she glares at one particular teenager.
'Yep, she's pissed.'
"For our morning slot, we have Lyre School of the Arts versus Olympia Prep. Please report to the mat." The silver haired teen was providing the next set of instructions for two specific teams.
"I thought we were fighting?!" Butch irritably grills until Buttercup roughly snags his ear lobe and proceeds to drag him to a set of chairs.
"You idiot! We have the afternoon slot." She puts into word as Butch opens his mouth to contest until the announcer's voice airs, "As for our afternoon slot, we have the reigning champs' Pokey Oaks High facing off against Armada Reform High. Please sit in the roped off area."
The raven haired teen simply smirks and boldly states, "Told you so."
"Besides, we won't watch the entire fight because they give us a fifteen minute warm up period." Midori then communicates about the routine if the teams have a later match in the day.
"Plus, we may get lucky and see Athena enter in early." Blossom presumes, which earns nods from her sisters.
"I'm itching to see how the self-righteous brat handles herself at this level." Princess breaks her silence yet the team already head over to their specific area.
"Wait up, you guys!" The red head was shouting while haphazardly scrambling to follow her teammates.
The young woman begins to slight stumble forward, which threatens public embarrassment in front of her colleagues and other teams.
However, she swiftly catches herself.
[Serena's Apartment]
"You look like you've been through the wringer." Alma astonishingly affirmed based off of the woman's messy hair and disheveled appearance.
He barely avoided a hidden pile of paper that was randomly scattered about once he ventured through the living room.
His eyes soon noted that there were additional smaller stacks open along with highlighted marks throughout manuscript.
The orange haired woman was wearily rotating her head in his direction to lip, "I won't even ask how you found the boys' spare key."
"How about I make you something to wake you up?" The male politely suggests, before he earns a strain nod of her head.
"Now let's shed some light." Alma was softly muttering to himself while drawing closer to the curtains, flinging them open then unexpectedly listening to hissing sounds along with, "It's too bright!"
The visitor quickly offers an apology for his actions and soon begins to familiarize himself with the kitchen's layout along with the contents and machines.
'Tea or coffee,' The Pokey Oaks principal found his thoughts at odd before he ultimately selected the caffeine.
He was audibly whistling a tune and occasionally sparing a few glances at Serena then to the shiny black metallic coffee maker.
'I wonder what she's working on?' Curiosity was getting the better of him until noticing a blinking orange light.
The purple haired male carefully removes the urn by the handle, pours two cups and returns it to the slot.
"Here's your…" He momentarily halted due to the sight of Serena fast asleep against the body of the sofa.
A smirk surfaces to his face as he carefully places the cups on the small table in front of him.
The Pokey Oaks principal then searched the apartment for a blanket before he finally returned to the living room and repositioned her body so that she was completely stretched out.
He then gently drapes the thick clothe over her body when a thought soon traveles to the forefront of his mind.
Meanwhile…
The main ballroom was deathly quiet to the point someone unknowingly dropped a pen on the ground and the sound clearly echoed.
No one moved, let alone blinked an eye at the sight before them.
Four members of Lyre were incapacitated on the mat when the referee declared Olympus Prep the winner.
However, the shock stemmed from the young lady with an unreadable expression on her face because she was the reason behind the tense silence.
'No wonder you earned the nickname of a Roman Goddess.' Ivy was silently musing while adjusting her glass until they were fitting correctly over the bridge of her nose.
The injured Art students were soon carted off when they were instructed to conclude the game with a bow.
"What did we miss?" Brick curiously questions after his brother piercingly shrieks, "Finally!"
Some of the Discipline Team members swiftly rushed those members to the Medical Staff right as Olympus Prep entered their line of vision.
They momentarily halt at the sound of their Top's voice, "I look forward to the infamous Jade Warrior's strength."
"Too bad I missed the rumored Minerva in action," Buttercup unenthusiastically quipped with her eyes shut followed by a shrug of her shoulders.
Midori was soon sensing a pair of eyes on her as the girl was bluntly expressing, "I hope the champs are ready for the consolation prize.
A cold chill languorously crept down her spine once their eyes finally connected with each other.
"As if, we'll be repeating," The straight raven haired teen calmly asserts while the other raven haired merely nods her head before she signals for her team to follow her.
'What the hell?!' Midori nervously contemplates about the awkward moment between her and Athena until a hand roughly smacks her back.
Before she could even provide a verbal respond, she feels a few more hands slap her in the back as well.
"Lead the way." Buttercup confidently remarks with her sights hone in on the mat.
At the same time…
Bell and Lucas finally docked at the shoreline before they casually ventured up to the hotel's reserved grounds.
"Your job is rather quite serious. You'll be a member of the Discipline Committee that deals with the…" She proceeds to relay his job description before he rudely interrupts her, "You don't have to tell me about it."
"I know the duties and responsibilities from firsthand experience." The young man assertively declared with a visible irritable expression on his face.
"At least let me gift you two things…" Bell was simply commenting while digging inside of a white Prada Crossbody to remove two objects from within.
"Is that a wire?" He inquisitively probes once he manages to get a good look at the items currently in her hands.
She then enlightens him while she hands over the mic, "No, it's a remote ear piece made to look like a hearing aid."
"And what am I supposed to do with this?" Lucas annoyingly gives her the third degree about the electronic in the palm of his hand.
Her blank stare locks him in her sights when she divulges, "You are going to plant a computer virus in their system."
"Here's your contact."
[Serena's Apartment]
A groan escapes from a woman's mouth once she lifts her body from the couch, rubs her eyes and then stretches her stiff muscles.
She was lazily popping both of her eye open so they can properly adjust to the lighting in the room.
Her chocolate orbs meticulously surveyed the area and took noticed that the living room was thoroughly cleaned.
Even the packets of Bell's history were neatly organized along with a pack of brand new highlighters placedon top of it.
A smile stretched across her face once she realized exactly who was behind this rare feat.
'Hell…I can't even get the boys to pick up after themselves.' The solider was somewhat lost in appreciation at the sight in front of her that the doorknob twists open.
A noise emitted from behind her that instantly trigged her alert mode so she deeply dug through the sofa, produced a gun and pointed it at the door.
The only distinct sound heard was, "Food" before Alma stared at a gun now aimed specifically at his chest that house his heart.
It took a minute before her brain eventually registered it as "friendly" before she slowly dropped the weapon back to her side.
"You didn't seem scared like most people would." Serena surprisingly jawed about his rather eerily unruffled disposition a few seconds ago.
The male continues to approach her with a large brown sack in his possession while he honestly confesses, "It's not my first time in front of a gun's barrel."
"Besides, I would've been more surprised if you didn't have one." The purpled haired man was claiming while gently placing the bag on top of a table.
A chuckle was emitting from Serena before genuinely regarding, "You're a strange man, Alma Zeal."
"And you are a strange one too, Serena Shaw."
[Ballroom]
"For our final match of the day, we have those furious Spartans known for their 300 members filled with the utmost pride...welcome Armada Reform School!" Leone was excitingly reciting from a small index card along with a gesture in their direction.
The all-boys squad simultaneously marched toward the mat all while in a single file line with their captain upfront in order to led them.
"Poor Jayden, he's up against a strong opponent." Aubree remarks, which instantly earns a nearby retort, "He comes alive whenever the opponent is strong. That's his true strength!"
"Spoke like a proud girlfriend." Ivy positively compliments as she lifts up the screen of her laptop that sirs across her lap.
"Now is the moment we've all been waiting for! Coming to the stage finally are those that bear the title as the current DFMT champs…welcome Pokey Oaks High!" The announcer was stirringly broadcasting with the same gesture, except in the opposite direction.
"A brand new squad, huh?" Chase breaks his silence because there were new faces that were not present at last year tournament.
"Most of their fighters were seniors, excluding Buttercup." Logan was divulging information while ambling over to his seat. He was just returning from checking up on the other four members of his squad.
Vincent narrows his sight on the blonde dude in the line when he recalls their introductions at the Meet N' Greet after he utters, "Right!"
Edward opted for a wordlessly expression so instead he found a decent position to watch the fight away from the chatter and the others.
"So the format is simple…first ones to reach four wins the entire match. There are no substitutions, so teams should strictly adhere to submitted rosters." The silver haired teen promptly spiels about the tournament rules to the fighters and spectators once again.
He then holds up one finger at a time while he explains, "There are four ways a match can possibly end: a submission or tap out, a ring out, the bell or the referee."
"Also in order to win a match, a fighter must accumulate 12 points. If both contestants simultaneously gather twelve then the match is declared a draw." The silver haired male points to an electronic scoreboard that was visible in front of the scorers' table.
"In cases of a draw, the rematch will occur with the next two fighters that follow on the listed roster."
The young man then expounds on if the tie break happens during the last match, "However if it's a tie breaker that occur during the sixth and final fight, then those two are the only eligible fighters left that must fight each other until a winner is announced."
"Understood?" Leone was probing about whether or not they were attentive to his speech about the regulations fot the matches.
No one really responded so he continued on with his next announcement, "If so, I'll turn it over to the refs,"
"Armada Reform, first fighter," The referee calls up while they point to the area on the mat that their school fighter should stand.
He then makes his way over toward the other team and cordially requests, "Pokey Oaks, first fighter,"
Charcoal eyes eventually peered down the line to signal for their first fighter, yet they were already in front of their opponent.
"You idiot! You have to wait for the ref!" Brick was immediately reprimanding his teammate at their lack of patience.
"He's a muscle head." Buttercup annoyingly groans aloud with one of her hands over face then shakes her head.
Bubbles could not help but to giggle at the flak Butch received on their end before she honestly vouched for him, "Can you blame him?"
"He's finally able to release that…" Boomer was unable to finish his sentence because of a "pow" loudly echoing one after another.
Butch was on the offensive quick by repeatedly landing punches across his opponent's rather broad torso.
'Damn, he racked up four points that quick.' Princess shockingly ruminates at the swiftness and power behind each of the punches.
He then unexpectedly takes a swift left jab to the jaw, which immediately ends his attack and forces him to drop to one knee.
"Don't take that hit! They're three points!" The red head piercingly shrieked at the fact that the boy dropped to a knee from a facial hit.
She then rotates her head to the others on the sideline when she enquiringly needles, "Did anyone school Butch about the scoring system?"
"His brain was literally scrambled." Buttercup sincerely discloses while she leisurely shrugs her shoulders with her palms upward to the sky.
'I know I should've put him fourth,' The POKH manager gloomily thought as the two fighters then instinctively squared up in order to seize each other up.
"You seem a lot like me." Butch overhears his foe compare him to himself so he crudely barks, "Less talk, more action,"
The raven haired male rapidly lounged at him with his right hand drawn backwards then attempted to blitz him with a flurry of punches, except it connected with the palm of his hands.
"That's old." He was overhearing hearing him exasperatingly pronouncing right before feeling him tightly gripping his fist and sweeping at his feet.
Yet, the POKH fighter's instincts were faster so his body leaps to avoid the contact, which brings a smirk to his challenger's face.
'Come on!' Brick inwardly shouts after he easily flips Butch over on his side and earns three additional points for a shot to the face.
The burly teen then stepped off to the side so his adversary could recover from the impact but maintained his body at a slanted angle.
He solemnly speaks up, "I think I might've overestimated you. You're actually a lot dumber than I thought."
Butch was swiftly spinning around, tackling him off his feet and pummeling him in the face until feeling the referee physically pulling him off.
"POKH-1 AR-0," The mediator officially proclaims the end result of the match between the first two fighters.
A cocky smirk stretches across his face when someone brazenly mutters, "Well would you look at that, the dumb idiot won."
Everyone on his side was positively congratulating him for securing the first victory in their favor.
'That was too close for comfort but we got the first one.'
"What was that?" Jayden grilled with composure toward one of his 300 that presently stood in front of him with a bruised face.
He manages to provide a response even though his lips were swollen, "I lowered my guard."
"Make sure you do the punishment for your lackadasical performance after." Discord revealed the reprimands he must fulfilled due to his negligence during the fight.
"Yes sir."