"And we are back. Last round was crazy! A tie between Darkness Emperors and Valkyrie Maidens and a victory for Team Shining Ice. But now we move to the second bracket of the tournament. This time we have Undead Party against Rising Risks as well as Justice Men against Steam Machine. It's gonna get crazy up in here, folks." the announcer said.
"Who are we?" Blood said.
"Blood, Sweat and Tears! Blood, Sweat and Tears!" the three chanted as they were getting pumped.
"Wow. Those three are getting pumped." Sting said.
"They're seeking to redeem themselves, too. They lost their first race as well, after all." Mayumi said.
"Well it doesn't matter, cause we're gonna win this time around." Eijiro said.
"Yeah. It's not gonna end like last time." Sting said.
"Indeed. This will be our climb back on top!" Heart said posing.
"Those guys." Jexi said sighing. "Enthusiastic...but not sure we'll see them in the finals."
"Yeah. The playoff is only between eight teams. There are only so many losses the competitors can cut before the fact they won't progress gets cemented." David said.
"So this playoff stuff...it's like the final round right?" Jexi asked.
"Very much." David said.
"In that case...I'm going to make it there and beat you." Jexi said.
"You may want to get in line. I can already tell some of the others are after me." David said. "Then again, athletes can only get so many rivals. Anyway, you'll be up against a succubus. Just keep a calm mind, and you won't fall for her tricks."
"Will her charms even work in mechs?" Jack asked.
"Guess we're about to find out." Jexi said as they entered their mechs.
"The strategy lap has begun! For the first race, we have Abby and Bones surveying while in the other is Heart and Tears." the announcer said.
"Blood, sweat and tears! Blood sweat and tears!" team Steam Machine continued to chant.
"Wow. Surprising how old that gets." Heart said.
"Just tune it out. We're almost ready for the battle round." Sting said.
"Yeah. Just get back here so we can show these guys a thing or two." Eijiro said.
"And the battle lap has soon begun!" the announcer said. "And already we see massive combat between Justice Men and Steam Machine. It's more like a fist fight than a race here."
"Damn they're really into this." Sting said.
"I don't care. They can take their best shot at us." Eijiro said as gatling guns came out of Tears mech. "Okay, bad choice of words."
"Eat lead, Red Rodent!" Tears said spinning up his gatlings and fired.
"Its Red RIOT!" Eijiro said. He activated his defenses, his mech gaining large metallic plates that defended his mech. "Now...time for a real fist fight!" he said as he grabbed the gatling guns and ripped them off before going in with a full pummeling session against Tears.
Meanwhile, Sweat blasted pressurized steam at Sting, moving in for an attack.
"If you can't see me, you cant hit me!" Sweat said.
"Heh. Good thing Cache talked me out of keeping Lector out. Otherwise...I wouldn't be able to do this." Sting said taking in breath. "White Dragon's...Roar!" he shouted into a tube as his attack was channeled out of his mech as it hit Sweat dead on.
As for Blood, he engaged in a pure slugout with Heart.
"Blood, Sweat, and Tears! Our namesakes will pull us to the finals! What pulls you, there is nothing!" Blood called.
"There is something, and it isn't three words, i only need one!" Heat said blocking the final punch from Blood. "JUSTICE!" he shouted as he pulled off a punch that took out the mech's arm. "I was born with no powers, nothing special, nothing to call my own. I'm nothing but an ordinary human. But...despite that...I will become...a legendary hero!" Heart said unleashing a flurry of punches as Blood's mech was quickly falling apart.
"Yes! Do it, Heart!" Zexi shouted.
"The final blow! Justice...LANCER!" Heart said doing a punch to the main body causing the mech Blood piloted to fall apart completely.
"Its over! A triple knockout by Justice Men eliminates Steam Machine! They have won!" the announcer said. "A total redemption from their loss against Demon's Blight. As for team Rising Risks, they have just cleared the finish, leaving Undead Party in the dust. I would not want to be them right now. What a bunch of boneheads."
"Hey!" Bones said. "That was aimed at me!"
"The only reason we lost both of our races was because you keep getting chippy." Graci said.
"You're one to talk. You spent more time flirting with those boys than clobbering them!" Bones said.
"Geez… I'm starting to feel sorry for Graci for having to put up with him." Mayumi said.
"Yeah. Same here." Jexi said.
"By the way, how did you block out her advances?" Mayumi asked.
"Simple way." Jexi said holding a blindfold and earplugs.
Alec stared at Bones and Graci arguing as he sighed. "Starting to think this team was a big mistake." he said.
"No, it's just Bones. He just needs to get his head out of his… Oh, forget it." David said.
"Oh so you guys think I'm a problem huh? Well, you can either put up with me or find someone else." Bones said as Alec and Graci looked at one another.
A few seconds later, Bones was ejected from the stadium and into the trash.
"Been wanting to do that since Day 1." Alec said.
"Yep. He's the dogs' problem now." Graci said.
"But...doesn't that put your team at a disadvantage?" Hope asked.
"No worries. We have some reserve members in the wings for when this situation happens." Graci said.
"Hope your sub's got a better attitude." David said.
"Trust me. They're way better than Bones." Alec said.
"We'll take your word for it." Lacy said.
"Okay. Now all that remains is the final races of the day. Matchups are Team Demon's Blight vs Team Imperial Steam and Team Eastern Warriors vs Team Silent Blades." the announcer said.
"Looks like Kabuki and Shinji are gonna have their battle after all." Tapu Lele said.
"But… Ogami is against Demon's Blight." Erica said.
"True. And considering their reputation...I don't see them making it out of the race unscathed." Kenshin said.
"Uh...did you forget we've faced Demons before?" Sakura said.
"But these are way out of your league. These are real demons of the 72 pillars." Takeshi said.
"They've easily dealt with all their competitors up to now. I don't think you guys have a chance." Ty said.
"You don't know that, and we won't until we face them." Ichiro said. "But i have to admit i'm a bit nervous about facing the next in line to be a Demon Lord…"
"Sigh. Fine. But don't say you weren't warned." Ty said.