I apolagize for the big, month long delay. My summers are always packed.

I'd like to thank all those who reviewed, and those who favorited and put my story on alert! I appreciate the support! I'd also like to thank my dear friends for constantly starting a conversation with "CH3".

Anyhow. I've chosen the first two OCs given to me. Thanks for them! Now, girls, keep in mind I haven't decided if yours characters will have major roles or not...but at least they'll partake in this. They do not appear in this chapter though.

Curimuch, I'll take your advice. I'll shorten my chapters. It's much easier on me~!


Olympic Bloodshed

~*Chapter III*~

Something, Something, Dark Team...

Today I'd be having my first Light vs Dark match. I was a little nervous, but thanks to my training, I was more confident than before. I was dressed in my ginger armor and waiting in the lobby, my only company being my friend Chary, who was clad in his Dark team armor. Since my suite was yet to be made, I'd have to fight like this. I still hadn't decided whether to join the Dark or the Light team.

"Ethan, please, just shut up," Chary begged, leaning back on his chair and putting a hand to his forehead. "Gods, my headache is killing me."

I pouted. I'd been talking to him about my day of training and other stuff he was usually interested in. But today, he seemed tired, but since I wasn't, he'd have to put up with my yap.

"Fine," I told him. "But tell me one thing. Where is everyone?" We were alone in the lobby. Not even the secretary had arrived yet.

"I don't know," he groaned.

"We got here too early, then." Which sucked. I'd have to wait around with this twit until everyone else got here.

To fight off the boredom, I retrieved my Samurai Blade from my treasure chest and unsheathed it. Then my entertainment became polishing the blade. I'd forgotten to wipe the blood on it, so now was a good time. I loved this thing. My first weapon, I'd constructed it myself, and had managed to make it look like the real ones made by Dyntos. It wasn't high in value and had no modifiers, but it was awesome nonetheless.

Aside from my blade, I had three more weapons: a Viridi Palm, an Aurum Bow, and Brawler Claws. The latter only had one negative modifier, which was why I didn't use them much, despite how much I loved that weapon. I'd won all of them in Free for All matches, though I was planning to reverse-engineer my Aurum Bow to make copies. I would sell said copies and get enough hearts to buy better weapons. If it was legal or not, I wasn't sure.

After half an hour, the massive oak doors of the lobby swung open, the creaking sound accompanied by loud laughter.

"Then she was like 'I'm gonna pluck out your feathers one by one and use them to stuff my pillows'!"

"She sure has anger issues. How are you still alive?"

"I don't know. All I did was pick a rose from her garden. Imagine if I used one of her precious trees to take a piss."

"And why'd you need a rose? Huuuh? Huuuuuh?"

"None of your business!"

I was curious enough to get up from my bench to check who was here with us. There were two teenagers at the secretary's desk, going over the paperwork. With a closer look, I came to the conclusion they were identical twins. They both had short, messy hair, the same face and eye shape. One of them had blue eyes and chestnut hair, the other red eyes and dark violet hair. They even had the exact same tunic, except one was white and the other black. I'd seen these guys before. It was on the tip of my tongue!

"Hey, Dark Pit!" Chary shouted from behind me. He walked past me and toward the pair.

"Yo," the red-eyed one greeted.

"Mornin'!" the other one chirped. His voice had this pitch that I found unpleasant.

Chary put an arm over my shoulder and looked at me. "Ethan, you know these guys, right?"

"I think," I mumbled. "Enlighten me."

"Okay," he seemed pleased to know something I didn't. "This here's Dark Pit," he slapped the red-eyed guy's shoulder. He just gawked at me with indifference. "Dark Pit, this is Ethan. He's the new guy."

"Oh, I see," Dark Pit said. "Welcome to the game then, kid." He dared call me 'kid' despite the fact he looked way younger than me.

But if this guy was Dark Pit, that meant the other, distracted guy with him was Pit. He was pouting at the big schedule on the wall as I was being introduced. That's when I noticed, since his back was turned to me, the pair of white wings extending from his body. Now I remembered how I knew their names from before. Pit and Dark Pit were the angels that fought in the LVD. I guessed I hadn't noticed Dark Pit's wings since he had them folded.

"Pittoo! Read this for me," Pit called out, pointing at the wall schedule and sighing in exasperation.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I can't." Dark Pit groaned.

Chary offered to read the schedule aloud to them. According to it, the Light vs Dark practice matches would begin at 10:00am and end at 7:00pm, with a total of five matches set to be fought. Right now it was nine in the morning.

To kill the remaining hour, the angels ran off to the training field and left us to think of our own activity. I sat back on the bench, retrieved a cereal box from my treasure chest, and munched away.

As time passed, more and more Fighters arrived. Most were in casual clothing and would get suited up later. By 9:30, there were at least twelve Fighters in the lobby. I didn't feel like socializing, so I shrunk back on my bench and poured another round of flakes into my bowl.

Then, like ten minutes later, someone slapped me in the back, and I nearly choked.

"Ethan! Good to see you here early," I glared to meet dark irises. Queen laughed when she saw the milk dripping from my chin because of her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt your breakfast. Carry on!" She left my side. I saw as she pulled Chary out of a nice conversation with another Fighter and into a bear hug.

"I see how it is," I mumbled and quietly continued with my cereal.

I felt slightly out of place, having different colored armor, and only Queen's presence comforted me a little, due to her being clad in red instead of white or dark purple. It was weird, though, wasn't she a Fighter in this, too?

Everything settled down soon afterwards. I was supposed to register my name with the secretary. But when she asked me what team I'd be playing for, I froze. I still hadn't decided. In the midst of my deep thinking, Queen came up from behind me and nearly made me fall onto the marble desk.

"Dark team for me, Dark team for Ethan," she said, clapping her hand on my mouth so I wouldn't object. The robust woman shrugged and wrote it down.

Queen managed to drag me into another room before letting me go. "What gives?" I said. "Whatever happened to free will?"

"Hush, you," she said as she removed her helmet and began to discard her red armor.

"You're basically still my student until the tournament begins. I get to pick what's best for you," her armor clanked on the floor. She picked up the pieces and tossed them in her treasure chest. She wore the same attire from the night before, only now she had sandals and small round earrings. "And the Dark team is the best choice at the moment."

I was slightly annoyed, but I could see her point. Chary was a Dark team Fighter, so I guessed having a friend on my team was an advantage.

"Maybe..." I said. "Perhaps..."

"Good. Now go get ready at your team's lobby. It's the next door to your right." Queen stated.

"Aren't you gonna fight, too?" Coming here and then putting away her suit made no sense whatsoever.

"I'll sit this one out," she sighed. "My medic agreed to meet me here for my checkup. I think I'll be done by round two." She gave me a thumbs-up and then left, completely forgetting about her treasure chest. I put it under a bench for her and hoped no one would try to steal it. Then I did as was told and went to join my team.


The Dark team lobby had light blue walls lined with stone benches, except for one wall that had a huge shelf against it. It was much like Queen's armory. Everything about the room was neat and tidy, but carried the stench of age. The entire LVD stadium was extremely old, yet it was so well constructed, it could still hold up. It was located on top of an equally old cloud higher up than the others and miles away from Lady Palutena's temple. Its stone structure had survived many storms and winds, and so had the strong cloud that held it up. My parents considered it a wonder worthy of the gods.

I sat on a bench with Chary, just like I had a while ago. He was completely suited up, Samurai Blade sheathed and strapped to his back. "No fair," I complained. "I was gonna use a Samurai Blade."

Chary looked at me and scoffed. "Sorry, but I thought of it first~"

Sighing in exasperation, I looked around my treasure chest and retrieved my Viridi Palm. I discarded the armor on my left arm and put it away, then slapped the gooey sphere on my skin. It then melted onto me, and transformed into a tattoo of the goddess of nature surrounded by pink petals and thorns. Rings of the same petals were suspended around my arm, spiraling slowly.

After I went back and sat, the red-eyed angel stepped in from the other room, holding his treasure chest under one arm, and locked the door behind him. "Well," he set down his red and green chest and drew a long, purple staff from it. "I hope you guys haven't been slacking off this last season," Dark Pit said. "I didn't come to Skyworld to lose...more than a few times."

"Nah! I've been waiting months for this!" One of the Dark members chirped.

"Let's kick Light ass!"

"I'm hungry!"

"My weapon will crush skulls!"

My teammates were already rallied up. Chary and I seemed to be the only normal ones here. Well, us and the Dark Fighter beside me, who sat quietly with their arms crossed.

The gates opened, letting sunlight pour into the dim lobby. I was immediately on my feet and running out without waiting to be chosen for battle. Behind me were Chary and another Fighter. My eyes were shielded from the blinding sun, but I could still feel the intense heat.

The stage we were tossed into was a large battlefield overlooked by an abandoned stone fortress. I'd always liked the Ancient Fortress, which meant I already had an advantage. I could see the green lights from the roof of the building indicating where the Light members stood.

There was an uneasy silence.

"FIGHT!"

And it started.

I saw Chary speed off toward the green jump pad before the fortress. He was too quick; probably had already activated his Lightweight power. He was met halfway there by a small flying rock, knocked back into the air, and then fell to the ground on his butt. A Light Fighter with a Cragalanche Cannon was heading his way.

Well, I received a good whack in the head for being so distracted. I tumbled to the floor, but managed to catch myself and spring to my feet. Almost immediately, the Light Fighter lunged at me with a glowing Optical Blade. He swung down onto me, but I was quick to react, and caught the hot blade with my bare hand. It felt as if I'd dipped my hand in open flames; felt so painful. Then I opened my palm and thrust forward, firing a massive storm of petals and pinkness that, at such close range, blew me back. But my foe took the blast to the face and was knocked into the air. I dropped the blade and went for the kill.

As the Fighter got up and reached for his blade on the floor, I swung my arm and shot another petal storm. But just before it got to hit, a bomb of sharp winds came crashing down on my opponent. He was flung into the air and replaced with a wing shaped tombstone.

"What the..."

"Don't just stand there!" Chary yelled. "Move!"

Chary had just stolen my kill. I groaned and placed my head back in the game.

I reached the fortress and climbed the stairs that led to the roof. Up there I was met with a donut on the floor. Not my favorite food, but I bent over to pick it up. But just as I bit into it, I saw a Light Fighter in the air. She was trying to get onto the roof so she could smack me with those deadly looking Raptor Claws, but her flying trajectory was way off, and she kept bouncing up and down on the jump pad. It actually looked funny. But I had to focus.

I readied my arm and predicted the next jump. As soon as I saw the tips of that white helmet, I dashed forward and sent the powerful pink storm at her. And just as I'd predicted, my shot impacted her chest, and she was sent flying higher, replaced with a tombstone that fell from the sky and crushed one of my allies on impact. You have to lose some to gain some, I thought.

Another item landed beside me, this time an Eggplant Bomb. I reached for the vegetable-like object like anyone would, but then another Fighter ran past me, taking the bomb with him. That had been one of my allies. He ran off with the bomb and jumped from the roof.

I groaned once again and got moving.

There was a blast of light in the distance, and suddenly I began to hear music. It was faint but quick, maybe played by an instrument with strings. A heavenly light rained down and an angel descended, slowly flapping his white wings.

"PIT IS HERE!" The announcer boomed.

It took me a moment to remember my objective. But Pit was way down there near the cliffs; he'd be dead by the time I got there.

Well, I just went for it and jumped off the roof. My armor protected me from fall damage, as it was designed to. I could jump off a skyscraper with this thing and land perfectly. Well, as long as my feet were aiming for the ground. You'd die at any other angle.

I was running across the field looking for the angel. He was up on a cliff firing multicolored shots from his golden bow, each arrow gaining speed as they traveled. I was far away from him, so the shots were fast and hard to avoid. My health points were probably pretty low, and I was surprised I was yet to die.

A Light Fighter got in my way, and I began to smash heart-shaped petals into his face. He readied his Cragalanche Cannon and jumped backwards, sending a big rock right at me. I got cocky and sidestepped, but ended up being blasted back into the air, feeling an ache in my gut from the heavy hit. And then light erupted, and I was teleported away, replaced with a tombstone.

When I reopened my eyes, body ready to sprint forward into the field again, I was shocked to find myself surrounded by light blue walls. I heard a groan.

"Looks like I'm up," Dark Pit complained as he sprung from his seat.

"Huh?" I was a bit confused. Then the angel teleported away, leaving behind some tiny leaves on the floor. Oh. I guessed VIPs got special teleportation effects.

I slumped on the hard bench and stared up at the magical wide screen on the corner of the room projecting the battle outside. Both of my Dark allies were still in the field, but this time Dark Pit was with them on the top of the fortress with his staff. Bellow the magical screen were two gauges, one white and one black that seemed painted on the wall. Every time an angel took a hit, their respective gauge decreased. This was what Queen had told me about.

The battle ended when Chary cornered the Light angel on a cliff and slashed him across his chest. Pit gave a cry of defeat and fell, causing light to erupt and the Fighters to freeze.

"GAME!" The announcer yelled.

Then I saw as Chary jumped down from the cliff and offered his hand to the wounded angel. He took it and was back up to his feet, and then a message appeared stating the Dark team had won.

The teleportation pads, which were identical to the jump ones except for being alternate colored, activated, and my teammates materialized into the room. Both Chary and that other Fighter with the Cursed Palm were keeping their cool, just casually walking back to the benches.

As soon as Dark Pit returned, the door slammed open and the rest of the Dark Fighters stormed in with food in their mouths or hands. I'd just missed snack time. Great.

"That was a good first match," Dark Pit said after everyone settled down. "Who wants to be in the second?"

There were a dozen Fighters in the room, and a dozen hands were raised in the air. Though Chary didn't seem as pumped as before; maybe that match had tired him out. Dark Pit chose a random Fighter with a Drill Arm. And then he pointed at me. "You, too. New guys need as much practice as possible."

A valid point, I thought. I did want to fight again anyway. So this was a good thing. Then, just before another Fighter was chosen, Queen came into the room and put on her dark purple helmet. She slapped Dark Pit's back rather roughly and smiled.

"I thought you were incapacitated," Dark Pit growled as he stepped away from her.

"Not anymore," she said. "A drink of the gods was all it took. Now, let's get out there and win!" She then took her chest from under the bench I'd placed it beneath and drew a golden bow with elegant curved ends decorated with tiny, pink hearts. It reminded me I hadn't prepared yet, so I quickly switched out my palm for my Samurai Blade.

Dark Pit groaned and pushed the gates open. He motioned us outside, and I ran forward.

The stage before me was large and hot. We were surrounded by stone walls and the smell of dirt. It was the Desert Tomb, a stage with a mini maze-like complex and a lot of hiding spots. It had three floors, one only accessible via jump pads.

The green lights weren't visible from the chamber in which the Dark team stood, so that meant I'd have to look for my foes. I stood there, gripping the hilt of my weapon, until the countdown ended.

"FIGHT!"

"I'm hitting the pads," Queen chirped. She ran past me, reached for her belt, and then suddenly disappeared.

I then took the corridor to my left, unsurprised to find it empty. I ran along it and reached the pink jump pad that launched me to the second floor, which consisted of a single corridor overlooking the first floor. I took said corridor to get a good view, and someone hissed at me. I saw Queen pressed against a corner, probably trying to stay out of sight, with light purple flames of energy engulfing her body. "This is my spot," she muttered, then fired a heart shaped shot of pink doom that chased a Light Fighter into the large pit. Energy charge was a pretty good power that lasted until you got hit, so it was best to stay out of sight while using it.

Choosing to leave her be, I jumped off unto the first floor and immediately encountered a Light Fighter. He began his assault on me with a pair of the fiery Pandora Claws. They threatened to melt my armor as he performed a combo of slashes upwards, downwards, crossed and in all other directions. I was already down in health. Then he made a mistake, averted his eyes from me a second, and I raised my blade. I swung down with all the strength I could manage and knocked the Fighter back down the staircase.

I lunged in for another slash, but was met with a red cloud of hot gas from that Fighter, and was defeated. I hadn't seen that obvious charged shot coming. My tombstone appeared on the stairs and the Fighter ran off. I respawned fully healed in the dark, bottom floor. One of my allies was in a melee clash with a Light Fighter with Beam Claws. I quickly took aim and swung my blade horizontally, firing razor sharp winds towards them. The Light Fighter took the blast and his tombstone nearly crushed my ally, who gave me a glare.

I went for the green jump pad, and as I did, a shot from Queen's Angel Bow zoomed from above, turned to avoid me completely, and struck someone behind me. When I turned around, there was a tombstone. Guess I had to watch my back better.

I took the pad and was launched up to the first floor, but I missed the ground and fell back into the pit. This process was repeated about three times and I got frustrated. Finally, I reached the ground and dashed toward a Light member. He saw me coming and met me with his Taurus Arm, locking me in a melee clash. His movements were fast, and glowing energy rings were surrounding his body. He was likely under the effect of Aries armor. I kept circling around him in hopes of getting his power to wear off before I could get a hit in. But he got me first. The bull-shaped arm really packed a punch.

I managed to slip out of his sight and into a corridor. Running wasn't my thing, but that guy was overpowered. So instead, I took a pink jump pad to the second floor, where I saw Queen get knocked off her spot and be defeated. The Fighter responsible was the same guy from before with the Pandora Claws. One melee dash attack from behind was all took to take him down.

I saw a burst of light coming from the pit, and suddenly the announcer shouted: "Dark Pit is here!"

That wasn't a good sign. Nope. Nope. Nope.

I died two more times before I finally got my hands on another Fighter. He had a set of Beam Claws that weren't very special. They hardly scratched my armor, so I easily overpowered the guy with a few slashes. He fell into the pit and was defeated.

"Pit is here!" The announcer boomed. Meanwhile, I was in a corridor helping out Dark Pit, who didn't look so good. He was alone against two other Fighters, but managed to escape using the jump pad. He left me there to deal with the Pandora Claws dude and the Taurus Arm brute. Talk about rude.

I reached for my power belt and activated my super armor before I engaged in a clash with the Pandora Claws guy, thinking the other Fighter would want to pitch in and beat me up. But I was wrong, as he took the jump pad and gave chase. Crap, I thought.

I was low on health. And then another pink arrow saved my skin, rapidly circling around us both until it hit my opponent and sent him back. Queen dashed in from behind and separated her bow into blades. A few quick slashes here and there, and the Light Fighter was defeated.

"I lost sight of Dark Pit," she panted out. "Where'd he go?"

"Up," was all I could say.

"Let's see if I get lucky then." She said as she reached for her power belt. She pressed a pink puzzle piece and warped away from sight.

Our efforts were in vain, though. The Fighter with the zodiac weapon got to Dark Pit, and the fight was over. I never even got to see the Light team angel. He must've been out hiding. After the match ended, the results were presented, and we were teleported back to the lobby.

I slumped on the bench and let my Samurai Blade clatter to the floor. I was panting, pretty tired. Shortly after, Dark Pit teleported into the room. He had scratches and bruises all over, some blood trailing down his arm.

"Alright everyone, twenty minute break." He said. He kicked open his red and green chest and retrieved a round bottle with tiny wings. It was a drink of the gods.

A centurion flew up to me. "Mister Ethan," he said, handing me a paper bag with something inside. "Your rewards." He then flew away.

I opened the bag to claim my loot from the battle. Inside was a metallic sphere with a red button at the center, and a rectangular, red power piece at the bottom. I grabbed the sphere. The contact with my skin caused a green ring to suspend around it. This was an Aurum Palm. I looked at the backside, where the modifiers were scribbled in black letters. It had health +1, poison +1, dash charge shot +1 and in-peril autododge +3. It had 5.5 stars in range, and 4 in melee, which I didn't care much about. Overall, it was a good weapon.

The puzzle piece was a reflective barrier level two, and upgrade from the one I already got. Nice.

After I put away the Aurum Palm and power piece in my treasure chest, I got up and left the room, following the other Fighters to the lunch room. It was a big area with goodies served on a long, white table. Each Fighter was allowed to grab only three of each food before repeating so that everyone would have a chance to eat. I grabbed a bowl, grabbed some cold milk, and poured in the cereal I'd brought from home.

I took a seat and munched away. Then, Chary suddenly appeared and sat beside me. He had a bag of jalapeno chips on one hand and flaming claws on the other. "Ethan, look at this thing," he shoved the claws in my face. The claws seemed to be made of silver and their base of some other material. The flames seemed to be fueled by magic. "I got these Wolf Claws from a fusion!"

"Cool," I was just trying to stay away from the fire. Was he that crazy?

Chary pressed a button on the base and the fire went out. The silver claws were shiny and sharp. "Cool, no? Check it out." He let go of it and placed it beside me. I sighed, picked it up, and examined the back. The thing's modifiers were melee combo +4, freezing +3 and other stuff I didn't care about. A decent fusion.

"Well, good for you. Now, eat your weird chips." And we munched away.


Once the twenty minute break was over, we all met up at the Dark team lobby. Thirteen Fighters were rounded up, and the only one missing was Dark Pit. I sat on the bench equipping my new Aurum Palm. My arm was completely tattooed dark blue, with some metal armor covering the upper part. A plate sprouted from my shoulder with a big red button in the center. I felt like a machine.

There was a loud clank!

A Drill Arm was now on the floor. The thing was like twice the size of my head. "Son of a bitch!" A Fighter beside me complained. "Hey, man, hand me that arm over there." He nudged me and pointed at the weapon. I bent over to pick it up, and it was heavier than I'd expected! I handed it to the Fighter. He was squatting on the floor looking around his gray and white chest. He took the Drill Arm and set it beside him. "Thanks."

The Fighter then placed his arm into the socket in the weapon, and once it was all in, the thing seemed to have replaced his extremity. It didn't look as heavy when he held it. But then he pulled out a second Drill Arm from his chest and equipped it on his other arm. I was dumbfounded. "Do me another favor?" He asked. "Close my chest." I did him such favor and pushed the chest under the bench.

"Why are you using two Drill Arms?" Wasn't it illegal to use more than one weapon at a time in a match?

"Silly Ethan," he scoffed. "The more, the deadlier, I always say!"

"And you know my name, HOW?"

"The Kyrm knows all." He replied, then got a bit closer to me. "All." He whispered.

This guy was creeping me out. "Just who are you?"

"I am Andres, the mighty Dual Wielder!" He lifted his Drill Arms to me, making sure to emphasize his title. I'd heard a little talk of a Fighter they titled Dual Wielder who fought for the Dark team. He wasn't too popular, though. I only knew of him from a couple of magazines. "I'm sure you've heard of me."

"A little," I said. "I'm Ethan." But of course he knew that already, why had I bothered?

"I'd shake your hand, but…" He lifted both arms and grinned. Okay, so he had a sense of humor. That was good. "Here's a plan," he suddenly said. "Since you have a ranged weapon and I'm melee all around, how about we watch each other's backs in this match? We'll be THE PERFECT COMBO!"

I suppressed a laugh and complied to who I guessed was my new friend. He was a hundred percent weird, but likeable. And the logic in his plan was just undeniable.

We spent the next few minutes discussing weaponry before Dark Pit finally showed his face. "Sorry about that," he said. "I was trying to get a decent fusion." He then showed us his new Magnus Club. "I'll be using this."

Soon after, it was time for the match to begin. I was tossed into the battlefield with Chary and that Andres. The stage was of medium size with a large, stone tower overlooking a rocky field. The tower had a small red flag on top that looked funny. The sky was eternally orange due to the sunset that seemed painted on but beautiful nonetheless. This was the Spiral Tower.

The Light Fighters were up on a hill, perfectly in my line of sight. We waited for the announcer.

"FIGHT!"

I decided not to be too direct and dashed over to the area with a large puddle. I waited behind a rock for someone to get close. Andres took the left side, and Chary sprinted like the wind and got his Wolf Claws in action. He caught a Light Fighter off guard with speed and finished him off with ten swift hits.

My first victim ran right past me. Lucky me! I went after them and thrust my arm forward. The palm's red button flashed and a huge sphere of bright energy shot from it. It was fast one, too. I got a clean hit. The Fighter fell face-first into the water. The button flashed red again, probably indicating it was charged, which was amazingly fast. I sent another big charged shot at my foe, but surprisingly enough it was completely evaded.

Without being able to register what'd just happened, I was pinned against the floor. "Sneaking up on people isn't nice," she spat. "But that's an awfully clever strategy. Too bad it won't work on me again." It was Queen. She was clad in ivory armor, had me pinned with the gray Cancer Claws and I was confused. Then, so very quickly, she slit my throat with finesse, and I died.

When I respawned, I fell to my knees gasping for air even though my body was perfect. Sometimes I forgot Fighters can't stay dead during a match. I was okay. And Queen was on the Light team.

It was time to get my head back in the game. I headed back to the puddle area for a rematch, but instead witnessed her locked in a melee clash with Chary. He was faster, but her claws were deadlier. They kept going for a few seconds before he managed to slip behind her and strike with multiple slashes to her back. Queen was then defeated. Basically, he'd stolen my kill.

"I love these claws!" Chary panted out as he ran past me. He didn't last long; got sniped by a Fighter with a Lancer Staff from the top of the Spiral Tower. Andres snuck up on said Fighter with his two Drill Arms and beat the daylights out of him shortly after, though.

It was a good thing to have such strong teammates, but I wasn't getting any action. I'd have to look for it. So I began to shoot. A Fighter got dangerously close to me with a Black Club, but I strafed, firing a powerful charged shot per second. I had him. I went for the final hit, but then, very suddenly, a flaming blade came from nowhere and took down the guy with the Black Club before I could. I glared as Chary went on his merry way, firing charged shots at others.

I didn't take long when I was up against Queen again. She was already pretty beaten after getting rid of Andres, so I didn't think it'd take much. She cancelled two of my shots my firing aquatic blades from her claws and got closer. So I settled for continuous fire; flashy, quick chains of spheres that would easily fit as party lights. And then it happened again. Chary didn't mind his own business and came in. She kept him busy by blocking his attacks, but he eventually got her before I did. I was officially ticked off at my friend.

"Quit it!" I shouted.

"I don't know what you mean," he ran off.

I inhaled deeply and went after the sniper on the tower. But another Fighter met me halfway with his Black Club. And boy, he seemed mad. And weakened. Unfortunately, I had to counter the powerful swing of his club with my palm, which sucked in melee. But my natural strength was enough to hold him off. He got a hit in, right to my ribcage, but I leapt back and made him eat my charged shots. Down he fell, and I got my first kill. Then I kept going up after the sniper. I took the jump pad and reached the top. There he was, unaware of my presence.

It would've been an easy kill, but then Chary appeared literally out of nowhere right beside the Fighter and slashed him across his chest.

"Where'd you come from?" I growled.

He flashed me a smile. "From my mother's womb!" Then he jumped off. I looked down. Come on, I thought. Someone kill him already. And I watched from above as Queen granted my wish.

I was disappointed when Chary's death wasn't the one that caused Dark Pit to spawn in the field. Instead, Andres took the fall just a few seconds after Chary. He was out of the game.

"DARK PIT IS HERE!" The announcer boomed. Literally a second later: "PIT IS HERE!"

Both angels were in the field now. That meant I'd have to choose between protecting Dark Pit or going after his twin. I wasn't much of a defender, so I chose to do the latter.

Before I jumped off the tower, Chary came up to me. "You go after Pit. I'll keep the Angel Hunter busy with my amazing claws!" That was my plan anyway.

Pit was in the puddle area, his arm tattooed in slimy like green, black, purple colors. His arm looked smooth to the touch. Symbols of a forbidden language magically spiraled around the Cursed Palm.

As soon as Pit saw me, he leapt backwards and shot a big, fuchsia ball with said symbols at me. It made a really creepy sound as it slowly approached me, so I was quick to fling my arm and a charged shot at it. My attack canceled his.

The angel then reached for his belt. I guessed he'd try to warp away from me, so I lunged and fired as quick as I could. But my prediction was wrong and I was slapped in the face with my own attack. And it seriously hurt! I fell on my butt and saw Pit had put up a glowing, blue reflective barrier. All of my shots would be useless unless I could get behind him.

So my movements were limited to strafing for the moment. The creepy balls kept coming at me and I couldn't shake them off, no matter how hard I tried. Dodging them was enough of a task, they just kept coming! I'd just about had it with the angel when I thrust my arm forward to begin my onslaught of charged shots, but then that blasted friend of mine came in with those flaming Wolf Claws of his.

Nope, nope, nope, I thought. Nope, nope, nope, nope, this is my kill!

I was wrong. He wouldn't let me have it. Apparently, Pit had been weakened enough, and a single slash was his downfall. He gave a cry, and it was over.

"GAME!"

I was frustrated. Not exactly angry, but frustrated. We were teleported back to the lobby, and I was handed a sheet that stated the scores. I'd placed last on my team, having a total of one kill. Then a centurion came up to me holding a paper bag. "Mister Ethan," he said. "Your reward."

He flew away. Inside the bag was a blue puzzle piece. It was an effect recovery level one. Not like I didn't already have it. This just irked me further.

"That was a good match, guys." Dark Pit said as he teleported in. There was barely a scratch on him. "Now, we'll have a thirty minute break before the next one. Don't die in the meantime."

I needed to chill out. Badly. I took a few deep breaths, and removed my orange helmet. My hair was drenched in sweat, as was my dirty face. So I also needed a shower.

"Oof, I am so pumped!" Andres came up from behind me, now disarmed. "That was a great fight! I took out that dumb sniper at least twice. You should've seen him rage." He boasted, a smug grin on his face.

"Good to know you enjoyed it," I said.

"Yeah," he said. "Say…how about you and me have lunch? My treat." He said. I'd already had a bowl of cereal, but, hey, free food!

So I went into the cafeteria with Andres. As we ate, he told me about his Drill Arms. One of them had a freezing effect, while the other had a burning one. It was the perfect fire and ice combination. One increased his speed, the other his defense. When I asked him about a downside, he refused to tell me he had one. Most likely, I'd have to be a better friend if I wanted all of his secrets.

We were almost done when he showed up. "I've been looking for you, Ethan," Chary said as he sat down with a bag of chips. He'd been too lazy to even remove his helmet. "Where've you been?"

"Away from you," I replied, finishing my orange juice.

"Oh dear," he gasped dramatically. "Have I offended you?"

I got up and left. Chary had really gotten on my nerves that last match. I was sure he'd purposely stolen all my kills, just to make me mad. But he knew I never got angry. Had he actually been trying to change that? Did he really want me to unleash my wrath upon his puny body?

Okay, maybe the wrath part is a bit off.

On my way back to the lobby, I stomped pass Queen, who looked like she'd just taken a quick shower; she wasn't wearing her armor. She was at the secretary's desk when she saw me.

"You mad?" She asked with a teasing grin.

"No…" I replied. "Just slightly annoyed." And that was an understatement. I just wanted to beat this frustration out on someone.

"I saw the scores. You got trolled pretty bad!" Queen laughed as she sat on the desk, ignoring the glares from the secretary.

"Don't remind me," I groaned.

"Come over here," Queen said, motioning me with a finger. "Let me tell you how to get even."

I leaned in. She whispered the simplest of plans in my ear.

"Join the Light team. That's how you can get even."


I'd love to comment, but I'm beat! I have a tournament to train for.

Also if you're on facebook and are interested in joining my perhaps-lovely KIU group, it's: /groups/ReadyforRebellion

Read and review! If you do, I'll be able to sleep at night! If you don't, you can try to find the fucks I never give.

ALL HAIL DA QUEEN!