Chapter 14
As Alviss finished speaking, the air began to shimmer in numerous places, indicating an incoming teleportation. "Looks like they're coming back now." Sol said, stepping up next to him.
Alviss started to relax. Then his eyes widened in horror. Every single Cross Guard member dropped to the ground, bloody, lifeless corpses. "…all of them…" he choked.
Sol looked at them. "Where's the old man?"
"Hoo hoo hoo! Just corpses!" The group turned to find a short, purple creature. It had two short horns, pointed ears, a long lizard-like tail dragging behind him from beneath his robes. "This latest crop of Cross Guards wasn't much, was it? The good ones must've all died in the last games. These were weaker than Pawns! Hoo hoo!" he chuckled.
Alviss snarled. "Where's Gaira?! He could never lose to a Pawn!" he shouted.
The creature giggled. "Did I say it was a Pawn?" Sol grabbed Alviss by the elbow to prevent him from lunging at it. The air next to it had started to shimmer. "There was one loser who got a special magic stone." A person appeared. It's purple and black robes concealed its body, the hands hidden in the sleeves and it's mask, a skull with buck teeth and three small horns, hid its face. Only it's spiky blonde hair was visible. "One poor li'l human. That must've been him. Hoo hoo! Meet Chimera. One of the Zodiac Knights."
The air to their right shimmered. Gaira appeared, heavily injured, but alive and awake. "Alviss."
"Gaira!" Sol didn't let go of him, much to his annoyance, but before he could protest, she said Snow's name.
Snow pulled out the Healing Angel and rushed to Gaira's side. "I'm on it!"
"I failed…! It's inconceivable… I of all people, failing, before the games even began…!"
The creature chuckled again. "Just as I'd expect of Gaira, third in command. You lost, but you survived against Chimera. That's not bad at all. Okay then…" he looked at the members of the group. "the winners… are these six!"
"I count too!" Babbo protested.
"So few… so few. There were 30 Cross Guard in the last battle. Now it's women and children." He clicked his tongue. "Not even enough to entertain Phantom…"
"Phantom can go fuck himself." The creatures eyes bugged at the blandly said crude statement. "Let's do this already." Sol crossed her arms. Her expression made it swallow nervously.
"N-now, now. Let's not be impatient. Today was just the preliminary round. The War Games really start tomorrow!" He and Chimera started to shimmer as they prepared to teleport away. "For this one last day… take it easy. And be glad you're not dead… yet."
"Just six people…? We're it… for the War Games…?" Jack looked at Sol. "I gotta be honest, Sol… I'm scared!"
"But will it hold you back?"
Jack looked at her, then straightened his spine. "No."
Sol clapped him on the back. "Good." She looked at the others. "Let's get inside.
That evening, the group was in the dining hall. The princess had greeted them when they came in. Nanashi posed the question they were all thinking.
"So you're the princess of this castle? Why were you doing the introductions for the War Games?"
"It was for my people." The princess, who introduced herself as Sayori (the princess of Reginlief is never given a name, in the book or the anime, so I'm giving her the name of her voice actress.), replied, "If I did not comply, the lives of those outside would be jeopardized. In order to protect them… I will do whatever I must. Many lives rest on my shoulders."
Snow nodded sympathetically. "Yes. You're right." Sol put her hand on her shoulder. Snow leaned into her, appreciating the support she offered.
As the evening wore on, Alviss watched Sol quietly interact with the others. Save for Babbo, who she threatened to throw out the window if he didn't stop ranting in her ear. As he watched, he finally realized that as much as he didn't want to, he trusted her. He felt like he knew her… but he didn't know why. It confused him. When Sol wandered out to the balcony, he hesitated for a moment, then followed her out.
"Was wondering when you'd finally come talk to me." She was leaning against the railing. "The moon's pretty, isn't it?"
Alviss stepped up next to her and looked up at it. "Yes." He took a deep breath. "I… I'm sorry."
Sol looked at him, seemingly surprised. "For what?"
Alviss stared. "I attacked you when we first met!"
"Oh. Right. It's fine." She shrugged it off and looked back out at the moon.
"Are you crazy?"
Sol barked a rusty sounding laugh. "Don't tell me you only just noticed that?"
Unsure of what to say, for a while he didn't say anything. Then Sol spoke.
"Thank you." Alviss looked at her, confused. "For bringing my here." She stood up and faced him. "You've given me the chance to reclaim what I've lost. Whether I succeed or not, I appreciate you giving me that."
Alviss opened his mouth, but not knowing what to say, snapped it shut. She gave him a small smile and held out her hand. He took it. "Good night, Alviss."
"'night." Alviss echoed mechanically as he watched her walk away.
The next morning, Team MAR gathered in the courtyard with the strange creature. "Did everyone sleep well?" it asked. He received nods. "Oh, good! Now it's-"
"Hold it." Sol cut him off. "You got a name? Or are we just supposed to say, 'hey you' when we want your attention?"
It blinked, clearly surprised. "Uh, P-pozun. My name is Pozun."
Sol nodded. " Nice to meet you. I'm Solara, call me Sol. This is Jack," she indicated him, "Dorothy, Snow, Nanashi, Alviss, and Babbo. Also, I'll tell you this now, so you don't embarrass yourself later. We're MAR, not Cross Guard."
"I… thank you… Sol." Pozun cleared his throat. "Now, let us go over the rules.
"Each fight will be a team battle. The number of combatants will vary according to the number on dice. The dice will also determine the battlefield, in the beginning." He looked at Jack. "Your name is Jack, yes?" At Jacks nod, he continued.
"For example… even if Jack were to lose his individual fight… as long as his team wins overall… he'll be able to fight in the next battle. Unless, of course, he's dead. And… even though the Chess Piece team lost, since Jacks opponent won… he'll still be able to fight again!"
"In other words, it'll be fine as long as we win as a team." Dorothy said. "And even if we lose, god forbid… there's a second round for those who won individually."
"What it come down to is… This is a game where only the strong survive." Snow quietly added.
"So far, the rules are the same as last time." Alviss stated. "Does that mean… we have to choose captains?"
Pozun nodded. "Yes. Each team chooses a captain. Even if the team wins, if the captain loses… the War Games are over. Last time, the captain of the Cross Guard was Danna. The Chess Pieces chose, then and now, their number one Knight – Phantom. So… who will pick?"
The group all looked at Sol. She looked at Alviss. "You're okay with this?"
A mild blush dusted his cheeks. "To be honest, I'd rather it be Alan or me. We have more experience. But right now, Alan is inside a dog. And you… have one big thing in common with Danna. You're from the same world."
Sol shrugged. "Works for me."
"Have you decided?" Pozun asked.
Sol stepped forward. "Me."
"Very well. Now, let the War Games begin!" Princess Sayori stepped out onto the balcony. "Throw the dice, princess!" She threw two dice, one red, one blue. The dice landed in front of Pozun. He examined the result and announced, "Three vs. three! The arena will be right here – Reginlief Field!"
A large section of the courtyard rose out of the ground, creating a platform for battles to take place on. Nanashi expressed his admiration.
"Welcome the Chess Pieces' first team!" The air on the other side of the platform shimmered as three people teleported in. A young man in a red and black mask, a young woman carrying a large metal ball on a metal pole, and a large muscular man covered in dark purple tattoos. "The Rodkin family! Leno! Pano! And Garon!"
"Ha! There really is only six of them!" Leno laughed.
"This'll be a snap! Right, Pop?" Pano chirped. Garon said nothing.
"Please choose your three players!" Pozun addressed MAR.
They looked at each other. "How do we do this?" Dorothy asked.
"How about… Ro Sham Bo?" Snow offered. The others nodded.
"First matching set of three." Sol said. Three rounds, then they had a group.
Sol, Jack, and Alviss stepped forward. "S-so, who's f-first?" Jack asked nervously.
Leno clicked his tongue. "How pathetic! This won't be a challenge at all!" He said as he clambered onto the platform. "Come on, captain! Let's see what you got!" he taunted Sol, who just stared at him disinterestedly.
"I'll got first." Alviss said, when Sol didn't move. He jumped onto the platform. "I'll show you what a real battle is."