Well, with this chapter, the tournament officially begins! From this point on...it's gonna be brutal.

Book I, Part I: Mortal Conflict - A Hero's Challenge

Chapter II: Round One Begins

"Next up, a match that should have you on the edge of your seats! A fighter from Besaid Island, give it up for Benji Powell!"

The crowd's cheering is near deafening as I step out into the open arena, both of my swords sheathed on my back. Looking around the massive stadium, my face turns to a look of calm as I reach the center of the arena. A slight feeling of nervousness is beginning to grow in my mind, but I push it aside, instead focusing on the task at hand.

"And from the Calm Lands, his opponent, Catherine Stone!"

Approaching from the other side of the arena is a beautiful yet frightening girl, her midriff exposed by the short, black shirt she's wearing. A closer look reveals that the girl is dressed in nearly all black, a pair of black capri pants and high-heeled boots adding to the dark look. Along with the dark makeup, a stark contrast to her flowing blond hair, merely looking at her is making me wary.

"So, you're one of the infamous high summoners. I'll be honest, I expected you to be more...dangerous looking than this," she says, running her eyes up and down my body for a moment, a small smirk growing on her face.

"Rest assured...I'm quite dangerous. You'll find out very quickly," I reply, a small smile appearing on my face.

"I just hope you can keep up," she says, turning and beginning to walk back to her side of the arena. The eerie tone to her last words almost makes me freeze, her soft voice sounding remarkably deadly. Silently, I walk back towards my side of the arena, popping my knuckles and neck before grabbing one of the swords from my back and holding it with the tip facing down.

"Fighters ready!" the referee yells, floating above us in a hovering platform. Both of us nod our assent, and the referee slashes his arm down, signaling the beginning of the fight.

(Play: Battle - Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenosaga I: Der Wille zur Macht)

Instantly, I explode from my position, sprinting towards Catherine with as much speed as I can muster, my sword held behind me as I prepare to slash across. With one fluid motion, Catherine unsheathes a sword of her own from her back, parrying my attack and lunging in like a fencer. Spinning around the attack, I bring my leg up in a snap kick, my foot bouncing off of Catherine's left arm as she blocks, then grabs my extended leg, kicking the other out from under me and causing me to land on my back. Rolling backwards, I evade a stab before flipping back to my feet, instantly meeting Catherine in a flurry of lunges and slices.

An overhead slash is deflected by Catherine's weapon, a quick snap kick flying over my head as I duck, lunging out with my sword to miss her by inches as she twists aside. Kicking my right arm farther down, she slashes outward, earning a small hiss of pain from me as she cuts into my shoulder. Spinning, I launch a heel kick, knocking her sword aside as she blocks the attack, then throws a palm into my chest, forcing me to stumble back. A vertical strike comes from Catherine now, clanging off my sword blade before she rips her sword to her right, slashing low. Jumping up, I lash out with both feet in a sort of drop kick, the unexpected attack knocking her down as I land on my back, wincing as I get up.

The both of us are back on our feet at nearly the same time, sizing each other up for another engagement. A spinning diagonal slash from Catherine causes me to move, strafing the attack to end up near her left side, casting a quick Fire spell into her side and creating a slight burn. A retaliatory Thunder spell catches me across the front of my shirt, a long tear in the fabric accompanied by a burn along the right side of my chest.

'She's fast...faster than me, even. And there's no doubt that her magic is strong, too...she just hasn't bothered using any of her stronger spells yet.'

"Let's take it up a notch. Haste!" I yell, jumping back as the magic flows through my body, enabling me to strike and move faster.

"My thoughts exactly," Catherine echoes, pointing her free hand at me. "Demi!"

The magic roars through my body, instantly sapping away a good amount of my strength and stamina, but leaving me far from beaten. Charging back in, I begin to strike with my Haste-enhanced speed, Catherine fluidly blocking every blow and dodging when the opportunity presents itself. A brief moment of surprise comes over me as to the skill she's displaying, but I quickly cast aside my shock and slam a fist into her stomach before leaping back.

"Flare!"

The beam of magic fires from my hand like a rocket, but Catherine gets her sword up to defend at the last moment, the energy beam hammering into her and shoving her back across the arena with an explosion of dust. Just as I prepare to attack again...

"Flare!"

An orange energy beam, exactly like the one I just fired, sails out of the smoke cloud and slams into me, hurling me back through the air to land hard on my back, the wind blown out of me with the impact. Coughing, I get back to my feet, watching Catherine approach again with her sword held at her side.

"You're pretty good...for a kid," she taunts, smirking. Eyes narrowing, I bring my sword in front of me, before slashing it out to my side and charging.

"Block this! Renzokuken!"

My first strike, an overhead slash, is deflected by Catherine's sword, but my second attack knocks the sword to the side, allowing me to slash viciously at her now-unguarded chest. The girl still shows incredible grace, dodging to make my strikes nearly ineffective. Four more strikes connect, however, digging shallow cuts along her midsection.

"You're done playing? Good," she says, seeming to not even feel the gashes on her body. "My turn." A leaping high kick snaps my head back, and a second punch doubles me over in an instant, a gash opening up along my left side from a quick following slash by Catherine. My feet leave the ground a moment later, Catherine spinning me and grabbing my arm to throw me through the air, an audible snap echoing through the air as I land awkwardly on my left arm. Gritting my teeth, the instinctive yell of pain comes out as a guttural growl mixed with a groan. With my entire left arm throbbing from the now-overwhelming pain of the broken bone, I get my bearings once again to find Catherine simply standing there, seeming to wait for me to recover.

Trailing a finger over one of the cuts on her stomach, she flicks some of the blood off, watching with an almost uncaring expression as blood continues to seep slowly from the line, leaving trails of crimson down her lower body.

"You're a joke. I don't know why you even entered this thing," she scoffs, shaking her head.

I choose not to respond, merely walking towards her, every step sending jolts of pain through my arm and side. The Haste spell has worn off now, and I flinch inwardly as a new thought crosses my mind.

'If she has Haste...then I am well and truly screwed.'

Sheathing my sword quickly, I aim with my right hand, a burst of fire flaring out of it and exploding on the dirt where Catherine is standing, the girl leaping high into the air to avoid the magical attack.

"Silence!"

Immediately, my magical power seems to lock itself, the status magic keeping me from casting anything. Catherine falls out of the air, a foot slamming hard into my chest and blowing me backwards onto the ground, feeling as if it cracked my sternum in the process.

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six!"

Coughing blood, I manage to get back to a kneeling position with my right arm, grimacing as I do so.

'At this rate, I'm not going to make it past round one...'

"Are you going to sit there, or fight?" Catherine asks, palm raised for a spell. "Flare!" The reddish-orange energy beam blasts towards me, kicking up sand and dust as it moves. Instinctively, I dive to the side, landing on the ground again as the Flare passes over me.

"I can't just keep dodging...I need to hit her, and fast," I mutter, standing up again. Focusing all my rage, my pain, and my strength, a red aura flares around my body as I call upon a power I haven't used in over two years in Spira.

"Hyper...Rush!"

The red aura continues to shine as I move like lightning, the Overdrive enhancing my speed and physical strength. Dashing up to her, my right hand slams hard into her face, her nose beginning to bleed even as I drive a knee into her stomach, stepping back and following up with a straight kick that throws her back and off her feet to the dirt. She begins to get back up, only to be met with an elbow to the face, followed by a soccer kick that tosses her through the air again. I can tell I only have another few seconds to keep the Overdrive active in, and so I let her get back up, before running and executing a spinning heel kick to her shoulder that spins her around. A popping sound lets me know that I dislocated her shoulder, and the red aura dims as I sink back to the ground, instinctively placing both hands on the ground to support me. That elicits a short cry of pain from me as the broken bone in my forearm has pressure applied to it.

"Told you...I was dangerous..." I gasp out, struggling to stay calm and alert. The blood loss from the cuts in my shoulder and side, as well as the broken part of my forearm have made my vision swim with pain. Catherine looks better than I do at this moment, but I've evened the odds now with theincapacitationof her left shoulder.

"...I underestimated you, I suppose..." she mutters, clenching her right fist tightly. Moving quickly, she picks up her sword from where it was dropped during my Overdrive, before racing at me. "Let's see how well you move now!"

Running on instinct and very little energy, I grab my sword from its sheath, standing up and spinning around a downward slice to her left before bashing the hilt of my sword into the back of her head. Instantly, she crumples to the ground, stars now dancing around her vision from the strike. Before she can get fully back to her feet, I spin, the heel of my right foot meeting the side of her head in a sweeping kick that knocks her unconscious. Seeing this, the referee moves over, beginning to count the fallen girl out.

(End: Battle - Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenosaga I: Der Wille zur Macht)

"...Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, your winner by knockout! Benji Powell!"

I breathe a sigh of relief, wincing in the process, as the crowd begins to cheer. Shaking my head, I try to clear the blurs from my vision, nearly falling to the ground in the process, as several people dressed in white begin to move over to us. Two of them begin to help me out of the main part of the stadium, another two beginning to move Catherine out of the arena as well. The men take the two of us into an infirmary of sorts, where I can see a few other fighters sitting or lying on beds, medical personnel examining and beginning to work on cuts and broken bones as well. One of the medical personnel helps me lie down on one of the beds, beginning to examine my body for injuries.

"Long cut on the side, another on the shoulder, a burn on the chest, anything else?" he asks, and I nod.

"One of the bones in my left forearm was broken," I reply, wincing. "And I think she might've cracked my sternum...can't tell."

"Just stay still," he instructs, walking over to one of the many tables scattered around the large room. He comes back a moment later with an Elixir, handing the powerful healing drink to me. Slowly moving into a sitting position, I drink the concoction, feeling the cuts in my side and shoulder seal over, the burn on my chest also fading away slowly. The pains in my left forearm and chest remain, however, and the medical officer steps beside me, energy focusing around him for a spell.

"Curaga!"

The powerful healing spell covers me, and slowly, over the course of what feels like a minute, I can feel the pains ebb away, though they don't fade completely.

"I think that should do it. You won't be back at full strength for a bit, though, so just take it easy until the next match. There will be a 15 minute intermission between matches, and there are still around 13 more matches left to go in this round, so you should have plenty of time to rest up," the officer says, causing me to nod.

"Thanks," I reply. "Are we allowed to leave, or what?"

"You can leave, but as I said, take it easy until the next round to let the Elixir and Curaga do their work. You should be back to normal by the time the next fight is scheduled to start; just don't exert yourself too much until then."

Nodding, I begin to walk out of the large room, taking a look around at some of the other fighters as I leave. Some are being tended for burns, gashes, and a few are slowly waking up, or still unconscious. Walking out of the room, I stop to look at a map on the wall, detailing the entirety of the stadium. Luca's stadium is a lot more expansive than I first realized. The main arena is connected to a series of locker rooms, twelve in all, for use during the blitzball championships. Three hallways, one at either side and the back of the arena lead to more rooms, which are lounge areas of sorts. Hallways lead from the lounge area to equipment keeping areas in the back of the stadium, as well as a large room at the very back, which is the infirmary I just left.

"...I need a drink," I mutter, heading towards one of the lounge areas. The hallway is quite long, lined with pictures of winning blitzball teams from years past. Stopping, I glance up at a picture, showing the Aurochs holding the trophy from two years ago.

"They must've taken that picture after we finished Yuna's pilgrimage...pretty nice picture, too," I comment, continuing to head down to the lounge. Still glancing at the walls, I notice that several of the pictures show the Luca Goers, proving that at least they weren't all talk.

"Care for some company?"

A voice behind me causes me to stop, and I turn to see the approaching form of Catherine, now awake and looking none the worse for wear.

"Why not," I say, shrugging and resuming my walk. Stepping up beside me, the blond-haired girl easily matches my somewhat fast-paced walk, and the two of us enter the lounge together.

"That was a nice fight," I finally say, hoping to make some conversation as I head over to a vending machine along one of the walls.

"Thank you. I could say the same," she replies, leaning against the wall. Pulling out 100 Gil, I drop it into the drink machine, pressing a button and taking out a water from the bottom a moment later. Opening the bottle, I take a big gulp, turning back to Catherine.

"Thanks. You had me outmatched, though...for a long time. I think it was sheer luck that I managed to win that one," I admit, taking another swallow of my drink.

"You didn't seem entirely focused," she says, also walking over to the machine and depositing money for a drink.

"Truth be told, I wasn't," I say, shrugging. "I really didn't know just what to expect. And, really...I was pretty nervous."

"Nervous...or afraid?"

"Both." Sighing, I take a seat in one of the chairs of the lounge area, continuing. "I didn't know what to expect, like I said. That was the nervous part. But...when we started fighting...there was a certain amount of fear. Enough to keep me moving, enough to keep my actions sharp. I just let it get out of hand."

"Fear keeps you alive," she states simply, opening her drink and taking a sip. "Keeps you on your toes."

"Indeed it does," I reply. "You just have to be careful not to get too afraid. If you do..."

"You die."

"Exactly."

Sighing, I decide to change the subject, finishing another fourth of so of the bottle of water before speaking.

"Are you going to stick around to watch the rest of the tournament?" I ask.

"Probably. I'd like to see how it turned out, maybe pick up some tactics for next year. Who knows," she replies, finally taking a seat as well.

"A good idea," I say, nodding. "I really should watch some of the other matches, see how my opponents fight."

"Then why don't you?" she inquires, taking another swig from her water.

"I guess I like being surprised. I like knowing what I'm going up against, don't get me wrong...but I like keeping my skill at improvising strategy sharp. Personally, when you Silenced me...I wasn't sure if I could win at that point or not."

"I noticed," she comments. "I saw the look in your eyes. One of unsureness and confusion."

"I really had to work to get myself out of that one...and that was just the first round. I've still got 5 more to go if I win..."

"If you win," she echoes. "I've watched some of the first round fighters..."

"Won't be easy to beat, I can imagine," I comment, causing her to nod.

"Not at all."

Drinking the last of the water, I throw the bottle away, standing up and stretching slightly as the speakers begin to play an announcement.

"Attention, all fighters. The fifteen minute intermission after round one will now begin. Please be ready for round two when the announcement is made for the round to begin."

"Well...time to get ready," I murmur, turning to Catherine. "Hope to see you later."

"Likewise. It was a pleasure," she says, turning and walking off towards the arena again.

"I had better be more prepared this time...especially against status effects..." I mutter, beginning to walk back to one of the locker rooms.

I hope I did better on the fight scene this time. I want to show that this is a completely different ballpark that what we're currently used to, and I hope to be able to do so. As always, please review! I'd like to know what I could improve on, or just suggestions in general.