Flood lights poured luminance into the gate room from the borders of the glass ceiling, masking the lack of natural light. The high up grandstands surrounding the centre was packed full of sweepers cheering, and chattering, and making a general noise. In the centre of the room stood a small obstacle course. A start line, then a short dash before a set of three ledges to climb. After which, a rope swing over a gap, and a final drop down into a caged area, with wooden barrels along the cage walls. The course snaked around the lower level of the centre, around the promenade and lowered staircase. On the catwalk that the staircase lowered to become, both Blinx's and Roland's teams stood, equiped with their sweepers, looking out to the sweepers spectating the event about to take place. Skye began to pull her stance in tighter, becoming more anxious. 'That's... that's a large crowd.' She said, worried.
Skitch walked up beside her, facing the same direction she did. 'It's not that bad Skye. See those sweepers there?' Skitch pointed to one of a small amount of sweepers scattered amongst the crowd, all donning navy blue trousers, orange puffer jackets with blue collars, a backpack, and a clipboard. 'Those ones that stand out are ticket handlers. They're what a sweeper uses to bet in one of these matches. A lot of them are here for the results as opposed to the show' Skitch replied. Trying to reassure Skye.
'But gambling is banned in the factory, how is this a thing?' Skye asked, turning to Skitch. Before Skitch had a chance to respond, Minden slammed his palms on Skitch's shoulders and steered him away.
'Jimmy runs it in return for a cut. He needs to make his money to cover this somehow.' Minden responded in a friendly tone. Walking Skitch away, he started to talk to him. 'Okay Skitch, keep away from Dafydd for this one, okay? He's already on edge.' Skitch sighed in response, before affirming the request. Minden let go of him as a result.
Amongst the two teams, Roland approached Blinx. Blinx was looking out into the crowd, with his expression being more sombre than anxious. Roland asked if Blinx returned the papers, Blinx nodded in response, not turning to look at him. Roland then asked Blinx what he was feeling.
Blinx huffed before gesturing to the crowd. 'Look at them.' He started. 'None of them care about Kevin, or Skye, or anyone other than their immediate connections.' Blinx dropped his hands and turned to Roland. Lowering his voice a little. 'Skye is mourning Kevin already, Skitch is so used to death he might as well spit-shine his scythe, and it's not like the weather he was lost in was habitable for this duration. I just... What if finding him is going to do us more harm than good?'
Roland paused, looking to the side so he can pool his words together, he moved one of his hands to his neck to readjust his goggles, hanging in place of the spiked choker he would wear whilst off duty. Roland eventually replied to Blinx's vent. 'It's the work ethic, Blinx. Everyone here has either lost someone or knows other who did during. But we don't address it because it's part of our job.' He grabbed Blinx's arms just below the shoulders and warmly smiled to him, 'But just because that's the way we do things doesn't make it right, after all-'
'We have a problem here, leaders.' A voice called out. Both Blinx and Roland turned to the sweeper who spoke out to them, and in a grey jumpsuit, with a blue undershirt, stood the white furred, blue eyed tower of a sweeper that ran both the athletics events and most of the shops: Jimmy.
Standing in between the two, Jimmy, holding a clipboard started to talk in his own hushed tones. 'Madame Skye appears to have changed her last name to Justice after I could pull my paperwork together.' This revelation to both Blinx and Roland caused a reaction from both of them. Roland looked down at the clipboard before raising his eyes to see Blinx's surprise. Blinx made a confused look and propped Jimmy's clipboard down to look closer.
'No, that can't be right. Unless...' Blinx turned to look at Skye, he barked out her name and motioned his head to get her to approach them. As she walked up to them, Blinx started to interrogate. 'You got married without any of us knowing?' Blinx asked Skye. She stood still for a second before nodding slowly at him, with a hesitant look. Blinx warmed his tone slightly, 'Why didn't you say? We could have thrown together a party or something.'
'They were going to throw a party a little while later.' Skitch told Blinx, approaching the building crowd. 'Skye and Kevin didn't want a big event, they were going to tell us after.' He elaborated.
Jimmy waited a second before picking up the conversation again. 'Regardless, the paperwork here hasn't been updated, So I'm going to have to use Skye's maiden name instead.' The males around Jimmy immediately protested the action. Skye being speechless at his decision.
'That's hardly the right thing to do.' Skitch asserted.
'Yeah, it's a kick in the teeth for Kevin's memory.' Blinx added.
'Come on Jimmy, just do this for us. Just this once?' Roland asked, tilting his head slightly, giving a slight innocent smile.
'It's just how it works.' Jimmy said, shrugging. Blinx and Roland looked at each other for a second, before both nodding.
'If we can't have our member addressed by their legal name, I'll be withdrawing my entire team.' Blinx confidently said to Jimmy. Jimmy turned and looked at Blinx with shock and confusion.
'If we don't face off against Blinx's team, I'll be withdrawing my team, as well.' Roland added, crossing his arms and turning his smile to a more cocky grin.
'You can't be serious.' Jimmy responded, panic slowly rising. The two team leaders look at him silently. 'Have you seen the crowd up there? I can't turn them away.' He continued. Blinx and Roland shrugged their shoulders, pulling a face to subtly tell him it's not their issue. Finally, Jimmy huffed, flapping his clipboard down to his knees. He rolled his eyes. 'Fine. I'll do this for you.' Jimmy started to walk towards the start line for the course. He pointed his clipboard holding hand out behind him and to the two sweepers. 'But you can both kiss your shop discounts goodbye!'. Blinx and Roland looked at each other smugly.
Jimmy reached into one of his torso pockets and pull out a microphone. Walking towards the start line, he clicked the mic on and immediately entered a presenter persona. 'Sweepers, make some noise!' He shouted, holding emphasis on the last word. 'The time has come once again to pit team against team, member against member to find out who is the best sweeper, without their time powers. Are we ready to begin?' The crowd roared out to Jimmy. 'Again! Are. We. Ready?!' The excited screams and cheers from the spectators echoed off of the walls, filling the gate room with raucous noise. Jimmy began to announce once more when the crowd simmered down.
Roland's run
'First up, the leader of the Rollers team! He was a key operative for extracting sweepers in peril during the big crystal incident! He fended off spikers while stuck in a fast forward control! He's the one, the only, Roland Oscus Goldtrail!'
The commotion from the audience picked up once more as Roland started to walk to the start line, rolling his eyes in bemusement. Blinx looked at him in a confused and almost mocking manner. 'Oscus?' He asked, expecting Roland to elaborate.
'Hush, kitten. It wasn't my choice.' Roland responded, walking closer to the start line. Standing at the line, Roland lifted his hands over his head, clapping his hands in the middle, before dropping them all the way down, and repeating. Each clap was matched by more and more of the audience clapping along. The slur of claps carrying on for a few bounds as Roland prepped himself. Right foot well in front of his left, knee bent, leaning forward.
Jimmy called out to the crowd once more. 'Countdown!' And in unison, the entire gate room erupted in step:
'Five! Four! Three! Two! One!'
Away from the microphone, Jimmy yelled out 'Go!', waving his hand like a green flag. Roland pushed his front foot down to the floor, and using the momentum, started his charge down to the ledges. Roland's strides were long, his arms swung to and fro in a rigid motion. The ledges closed in, Roland waited for his left foot to hit the floor before bending that knee, he bent his right knee at a slower pace, and once both feet hit the floor, he sprung into the air.
Roland's jump took his chest above the ledge. Given the ledge's one foot clearance, he couldn't flop his body onto the surface above. Instead, he tossed his arms up and pushed on the ledge to lift him far enough so that he could swing a knee onto the jut beneath him. Sliding his hands along the height of the wall, he gently pulled his other foot onto the ledge, pushing on it to stand properly. As he stood he felt his hands clasp the second ledge. More confident in himself, Roland jumped a little harder, using his hands on the ledge above to lift him further in the air, letting both legs tuck under him on the ledge. Steady in his motion, Roland slid one of his feet under his body, before standing to allow the other foot under. Stood up, he took a deep breath before swinging his arms up and grabbing the ledge above, preparing to jump.
Roland leapt up and used his arms to thrust himself on to the floor above him. The floor was plenty big enough for him to lean onto his front and roll to safety. Rushing to his feet, he eyed the rope and the gap beneath. The rope dangled half way between both sides of the gap. Too far to reach. Roland pulled a deep breath, charged and jump full speed toward the rope.
Roland kicked his legs as he soared across the gap. His hands threw themselves forward and grabbed the rope. His body colliding with it. The inertia of the rope slowed Roland down, but a single rock back and forward built himself back up to speed. Roland leant to the side, sliding his feet around, he let go and sprawled himself out. Clasping the far side. Hanging on, he once again slid his legs up as he leant back and outstretched his arms, and in an almighty thrust, flopped onto the platform. On the platform, he noticed a single bomb. In front of him, in the caged area, he spotted an octoballoon in the air, and a keropper on the floor. Roland pulled out his sweeper, a red-painted chrome, almost tear drop shaped piece of equipment designated the TS-1600. Using his sweeper, he swept up the bomb and eyed the octoballoon. Soon enough, the octoballoon charged a shot, and set itself to launch at Roland. The octoballoon fired a large vase at him, which he swept up. Taking aim at the octoballoon, Roland fired the vase back, landing the shot perfectly centre to the monster's body. As the octoballoon fell, Roland jumped off of the ledge, shooting the bomb at the keropper as he was airborne. The keropper looked up and swallowed the bomb whole. Roland landed with a forward roll, with the keropper leaping in the air and violently throwing its limbs out. The bomb's explosion muffled by the keropper's body.
Running over to open the cage, Jimmy called out to the crowd again, 'Well then, ladies and gentlemen, there we have it. A strong, respectable first run. One last round of applause for Roland!'. The audience cheered as Roland walked out of the cage with a collected smile on his face.
Chesh's Run
Walking back to the start line, Jimmy began to hype the crowd for the next contestant. 'And next up, it's the second in command from the Rollers team, he's held the record for the longest bullseye for over three years straight, and yes, his fur is naturally coloured, it's Chesh Lintern!'. Hearing his cue, Chesh walked to the start line with a smug smile on his face, fueled by the crowd's cheers and applause. Taking position, he put his left foot a small increment in front of his right. He nodded to Jimmy, shifting side to side, aching to begin. Jimmy called out to the crowd for another countdown.
'Five! Four! Three! Two! One!'
At the wave of Jimmy's hand, Chesh hopped on the spot for a split second before running towards the ledges. At each of the ledges, he gracefully hoisted himself up with his arms, tucking both feet under him as he stretched both arms under him. Reaching the top of the last ledge, he shook both legs before eyeing the rope. Chesh pulled in a deep breath before sprinting at the gap, and jumping towards the rope.
Chesh's hands failed to grab the rope, letting the rope careen into his face as he started to plunge down the gap. Chesh didn't have any time to adjust, flailing his limbs before hitting the floor below. His un-tensed legs gave way without resistance, and the rest of his body slammed into the hard floor like a ragged doll. Chesh groaned as Jimmy walked over. Jimmy squatted onto his knees before speaking into the microphone. 'That definitely hurt you more than it hurt us'. The audience quietened down with exception to a collection of giggles cracking through.
Minden's Run
Jimmy stood back up and began to walk to the start line once again. 'He'll scrape himself off of the floor before he gets in the way. In the mean time, let's introduce our next contestant. He's a survivor to the core, one of the last of the Leopard team. Here to prove his skill one more time, Yannick Minden!' The crowd whooped and whistled at the mention of Minden.
Minden slumped his shoulders and rolled his eyes before walking towards the start line himself. He whispered to Jimmy, 'You know I hate my first name.' Jimmy just gave him a bemused glance as response. Looking back up to the crowd, Jimmy once again called the countdown.
'Five! Four! Three! Two! One!'
Minden ran at the ledges with a slight limp, measurably slower than the two team members who came before him. At the ledge, he dangled himself by his arms, bouncing himself a couple of times, before thrusting his arms down with such force, he cleared the gap to the next ledge. Minden dangled a bit, regaining his effort. He bounced himself a few more times before throwing himself up at the last ledge, where he slung himself over the top and onto the platform.
Standing up once again, Minden sighed as he looked at the rope. He pulled his sweeper out, a and in a light jog, ran to the ledge. Minden activated his sweeper, pointing it at the rope. The rope moved towards Minden, and stretching his off-hand out into the gap a little, he gripped the rope. Stowing his sweeper, he grabbed the rope with his other hand as well, he twisted the rope around his strong hand, and leapt across the gap.
The rope swung across without issue, and Minden planted both feet of the other platform, letting go of the rope and letting it flow free. His balance started to drift, leaning back, trying not to fall. Causing the audience to build their excitement. The octoballoon in the distance spotted him, causing Minden to flail his arms desperately. He rebuilt his balance, standing steady again, and, drawing his sweeper, swept up the bomb as he ran past it.
The octoballoon fired at Minden's feet, tripping him and making him tumble into the cage with the keropper. Crashing through the wooden barrels, Minden grabbed his head, wincing in pain. The keropper started to hop on its legs, turning to face and approach Minden. He slowly aimed his sweeper at the keropper, still lead in the wreckage of the barrels. He fired his sweeper and saw the bomb immediately get swallowed by the keropper's starry, warped mouth. The keropper jumped, flailed its limbs, and landed on its back. Minden turned his attention to an intact barrel in the near distance, he aimed his sweeper again, and swept it up, before pointing the sweeper in the air, and firing at the octoballoon.
The crowd's cheers died out, with applause filling the room instead. Jimmy walked over to the cage and unlocked it. Teasing Minden as he climbed from the splinters and walked to the exit.
'Well, that was tough to watch. Good to see there's still life in this cat yet, put your hands together everybody!' The crowd erupted once again. Enjoying the ensuing show. Minden walked over to his team mates, who patted his shoulders and smiled at his success.
Dafydd's Run
Jimmy walked to the beginning, introducing the next contestant. 'Last up in the Rollers team. A sweeper of barely any experience, but if he landed a spot in Roland's team he must be good. Or he's just another clown like Chesh over there.' The crowd picked up, laughing. 'Presenting to all of you...uh...'Jimmy stalled, trying to find a way to pronounce Dafydd's name. '...That guy.'
Dafydd, stood amongst his team, froze in place. Roland stood close to him, holding Dafydd by the upper arms. 'Come on boy, time to shine.' He warmly said, forcing the two of them to walk to the course.
'I'm not shooer about this. What if it doesn't go well?' Dafydd coyly asked. Unnerved by the crowd.
'Just do what you do best. You've shown me what you can do, now go and show them.' Roland patted Dafydd's arm and gave a firm push. Dafydd stood just before the start line, arched over and looking back. 'Really, it's okay. Go for it.' Roland assured, sticking out a thumbs up. Dafydd looked forward, taking a deep breath before leaning over and touching the floor with his hands. Roland, standing beside Jimmy at this point, nodded his head whilst crossing his arms; and Dafydd, looking at Roland as he did so, stretched his body a little, bending his body into a more quadrupedal stance. Jimmy and the crowd gave the countdown once more.
On Jimmy's wave, Dafydd charged at full pelt toward the ledges, still on all fours. His ears rotated outward, and slicked back to fold into his general outline. His extremely soft, bushy dipstick tail straightened behind him. His four legged sprint outpaced his team mates by a significant amount. Approaching the ledges, Dafydd adjusted his path toward the far side of the ledges, giving as much gap between his ascent and the rope as he could. At the ledges, Dafydd didn't break his speed, scaling each ledge as a step in his run, climbing to the top in a fraction of the time as his team mates. Once at the top, Dafydd slung his centre of gravity to his right hand side as he turned to face the rope. Steadying himself again, Dafydd continued his sprint to the gap, and at the last second, lunged to the rope. His mouth agape, showing his large, pointed teeth. He clasped his jaws onto the rope near the bottom of its length, his momentum swinging the rope, and himself, close to ninety degrees out. Near the apex of the swing Dafydd let go of the rope, sending his body through the air, over the next platform, and straight into the monster cage.
Landing inches from the far side. He drew his sweeper, a simple yellow circular piece named the TS-1000, swept one of the barrels next to him, and shot it at the keropper as it was still turning to face him. The keropper was knocked on its back, downed for a few seconds. Dafydd eyed the octoballoon in the air, seeing how it was the other side of the keropper. Dafydd stood in a crouched position, and while waiting for the keropper to stand up again, swept another barrel. The keropper slowly hopped toward Dafydd, but he remained still. The gap closing inch by inch. Dafydd readied his sweeper to shoot. As he planned, the octoballom fired its shot at Dafydd, catching the keropper from behind as it hopped in the flight path. Dafydd lunged backwards, shooting at the octoballoon and scoring a direct hit. The keropper flopped onto its belly, wide eyed with its mouth ajar. The octoballoon simply sunk and came to rest atop the barrels on the platform's side of the cage.
'Sweepers, behold! A new record!' Jimmy shouted out. The crowd exploded into cheers and applause. Dafydd looked amongst the spectators and smiled in a content way. Jimmy unlocked the cage, with Roland and Chesh stood behind him. Dafydd left the cage, and immediately got hoisted by Roland and Chesh to sit on their shoulders. Both of them parading Dafydd around.
Intermission
Blinx and Skitch looked at Dafydd in pure shock. 'What. Was that?' Blinx quietly asked Skitch.
'That's what I've been trying to find out.' Skitch responded, jaw agape, keeping his gaze on the ecstatic sweepers on the gate room's floor.
Letting go of Dafydd and leaving him with Chesh and Minden, Roland approached Blinx's team. 'Come on, that was a hell of a run, hmm?' Roland said, his elbows bent and arms out at an angle.
'What even is he?' Blinx replied, still in shock over the speed of the run Dafydd had just completed. Roland chuckled as he pulled his arms to his sides.
'Don't be so mean' Roland answered with a cheeky smile. He started to get closer to Blinx. 'If he wasn't a sweeper like us, he wouldn't be here.' Up close to Blinx, Roland pulled out his index finger and ran it up the front of Blinx's neck, stopping at his chin. 'Perhaps you should broaden your expectations, kitten. You may well be surprised at what you find' Roland intimately whispered, his eyes shining into Blinx's, and his smile widening.
Blinx batted away Roland's hand, pulling his index finger away from Blinx's chin 'And now I remember why I can't stand you sometimes. You're too pushy.' Blinx swooshed his head to tell his team mates to follow him as he walked towards the start line.
Jimmy, walking towards the start of the course himself, noticed Blinx's team and used their movement to hype the crowd. 'What's this? Team Blinx are now going to challenge the Rollers? Let's see if they have what it takes!' The crowd whistled and cheered as Blinx took to the start line of the course, with Skitch and Skye standing a few steps behind.
Blinx's Run
'First we have the orange tabby himself, he singlehandedly saved a world from the chronohorn, he was a major player in the big crystal incident, and let's not forget that time he wasted a small fortune on that striped uniform, only to tear it on the first mission he wore it to.' The crowd laughed for a second. 'It's the one and only, Blinx! Give us the countdown!'
The crowd counted down, each number making him strain his muscles harder and harder, before Jimmy waved his hand and Blinx began to run at a slower pace towards the ledges than most of his peers. 'You'll have to go faster than that!' Jimmy teased, with Blinx nearing the ledges.
Blinx jumped to the ledges, and climbed them one by one in a consistent pace, reaching the platform above, Blinx limbered himself, loosening his shoulders before running, jumping, and grabbing the rope. He swung back and forth a few times, pulling himself into the rope on the back stroke and unfolding himself as the rope swung forward. He let go and slid on his back onto the next platform. Blinx swept the bomb and jumped between the octoballoon and the keropper, shooting the bomb at the keropper as he flew over the top of it. As Blinx landed, the keropper flailed and thrashed as the bomb exploded inside it. Blinx swept one of the barrels along the cage wall, and bent his knees.
Extending his legs, Blinx leapt into the air, and back-flipped, as he back-flipped, he fired the barrel at the octoballoon and landed the shot at the balloon portion on the top, thrashing it into the cage and eliminating it in the chaos. The crowd roared in amazement. Jimmy let him out of the cage, commented as Blinx left. 'He may be slow in stride, but he can certainly deliver trick shots at a moment's notice, one last time, give it up for Blinx!' Roland walked over to Blinx as he was on route to meet the rest of his team. Roland held his hand out, with Blinx ignoring it.
Skitch's Run
Skitch stepped forward onto the line, prompting Jimmy to give his introduction as he walked back. 'And next up, we have a sweeper whose list of injuries is taller than he is, someone who could be an android under that fur for all we know. The other half of what's left of Leopard team, the bundle of scars we all know as Skitch!'. Skitch leant his torso forward, his drooped ear dangled over his eye, blinding him to Jimmy in all but his waving hand. The crowd counted down, and Jimmy waved his hand. Skitch took a step forward.
His foot caught itself against Jimmy, who decided to lift his own foot in the way of Skitch's stride. Skitch felt himself trip and, outstretching his arms, braced to hit the floor. As his hands made contact with the hard surface, his elbows buckled and gave way. Slamming Skitch's face into the ground. 'Ooh, you did remember to tie your shoe laces, yeah?', Jimmy taunted. The audience burst out into a cacophony of laughter. Looking on at the pratfall, Skye clenched her fists, looking at Jimmy with disdain. Skitch pulled himself off of the floor to reveal a slightly bloodied nose. The crowd let out an 'ooh' in response to the small trail starting to run down his philtrum toward his mouth. Skitch shook his head slightly and kept on as normal, running towards the ledges.
At the ledges, Skitch stopped, very clearly being too short to reach up. He looked out to the crowd as they started to giggle, and, bending his knees to charge up a jump, leapt from the floor to the ledge above, without touching it with his hands. Skitch would repeat this another two times, each time prompting a larger cheer from the audience.
At the platform on the top of the ledges, Skitch took a few steps back to build a run-up. He started to run at full speed, thrashing his limbs forward and back, twisting his core side to side as he did so. Skitch gnashed his teeth and squinted in pain from the over stretching of his body. Reaching the gap, he hopped, skipped, then using both feet, jumped. Soaring across the gap, Skitch tucked his legs under his chest, and threw his arms out to the sides, fanning them in circles as he cleared the gap without touching the rope. Rolling forward as he landed.
Taking a moment to breathe and re-adjust, Skitch looked at the octoballon charging its shot. He drew his sweeper and readied it. Same with the rest, it fired at Skitch, only for him to sweep the trash up and immediately launch it back at the octoballoon. Without hesitation, Skitch swept the bomb on the platform up and, looking over the edge, pointed and fired at the keropper. With the course finished and the crowd cheering, Jimmy gave his announcement on Skitch's run. 'And that is a perfect demonstration as to how this sweeper dodged death on more than one occasion.' Skitch dropped down from the platform down to the floor outside of the course, rolling on landing. 'Shame he dodges the cosmetic surgeons too, hmm?' The crowd giggled as Jimmy gave Skitch a mean smile. Skitch shook his head slowly as he walked by, towards the rest of the sweepers. With Blinx and Minden clapping for him.
Skye's Run
'And last up, we have a sweeper who seems to lower the mood, if you haven't heard her, you've sure seen her, the queen of mope, recently married to the king of getting lost, Skye Justice!' The audience quietened a little, with a mix of murmurs, cheers and claps. Skye walked forward to the line, staring down Jimmy with rage filled eyes. Jimmy gave the final countdown, and waved his hand to begin the course.
Skye sprinted off of the line at full speed, but wasn't running at the ledges, rather, she ran towards the gap the rope dangled from. Once between the platforms, Skye leapt from wall to wall, steadily climbing with each jump. After scaling the height of the platforms, Skye gripped the rope from the very bottom of its length, and pulled herself up. She awkwardly swung back and forth to build up speed, and eventually let go as it swung her to the platform nearest the cage.
On the platform, Skye stared down the octoballoon before reaching for the bomb, grabbing it at the base of the fuse. She pulled her arm behind her, twisting her body to the side, before throwing the bomb over her shoulder, at the octoballoon. The bomb slammed into the octoballoon with enough force to eliminate it, but due to it not being fired, the bomb didn't explode at that instant. Instead, the contact with the octoballoon triggered the fuse, leaving the lit bomb to fall into the keropper's mouth. The crowd fell silent at the sight of Skye taking out the two monsters with one bomb.
Post-challenge
In the silence, Jimmy scaled the course himself, vaulting the ledges and effortlessly swinging across the gap to stand on the same platform as Skye. Giving his final verdict on her run. 'That's a new approach to tackling the monsters.' Skye grew visibly angry at Jimmy's presence. His fists clenching, visibly shaking. Her teeth gnashed, and her head hunching over. 'It could well be the fastest possible time for that section. Although cutting the ledges out of your run does class as a disqua-'
Skye turned around and immediately swung her fist in front of her. Catching Jimmy in the neck, directly on his windpipe. He hacked at the assault, falling behind him, still on the platform, rolling over and clenching his throat. He hacked, wheezed and coughed violently, his eyes wide with pain. Skye looked up at the crowd as they began to grow from murmurs to shouts one by one. Skye held up one of her fists and began to chant 'Justice for Kevin!' She repeated her chant over and over, rocking her fist in the air. The crowd's shouts began to build into a riot of raucous yells both between themselves and at the sweepers in the centre.
Skye's chants still reigned as the loudest, and resonated with Skitch, who joined in the chanting. Blinx added to the chants, and Roland, after waiting a minute or two, joined in himself. Their chants all mixed with shaking fists. The commotion soon attracted the attention of heavily armoured guards. Who entered both the gate room and the spectator stands. In the stands, the mere presence of the guards turned the shouting into a violent confrontation as brawls broke out across the grandstands. In the centre of the room, a flight of roughly a dozen guards assumed formation and aimed their sweepers at the chanting three on the floor. Chesh, Minden, and Dafydd all stood clear to the side with their hands in the air. One sweeper fired at Skitch, shooting out a rope with a weight attached to each end. The rope tangled around Skitch and tumbled him to the floor. Blinx and Roland looked down at Skitch for a second before looking back at the guards, most of which pointing their weapons at Blinx and Roland. In near unison, the guards fired their weighted ropes in an attempt to subdue the pair. Blinx reached to his sweeper on his back and activated a slow control, turning the room around him to a yellowed hue. The guards, not affected by the time control, instead stowed their weapons as they charged to Blinx and Roland, meanwhile the ropes slowly flailed through the air in a straight-ish trajectory. Skitch called Roland over, relying on Blinx to cover them both for the split second. 'Under my goggles, now!' Skitch firmly told Roland. He lifted Skitch's goggles and saw a fold-away knife fall out. He swiftly caught it, unfolded it, and started sawing at one of the winds of rope. The knife proved surprisingly sharp, slicing through the rope in a short amount of time. Blinx noticed how short the time left on the control was, back-flipping behind Skitch before grabbing him and dragging him back. The guards quickly closed in, mere inches from the three, before the control expired. Sending the rope back to full speed, tangling most of the guards in the process.
One of the few guards that didn't get tangled bear-hugged Roland, trying to tackle him to the floor. Seeing this, Dafydd began to snarl. Minden whispered for him to calm down, but Dafydd couldn't listen. His head filled with anger. Dafydd broke from his stance, dashing toward the guard that had trapped Roland. Once in range, Dafydd leapt forward and clamped his mouth around the guard sweeper's leg, growling profusely. The guard screamed in agony, letting go of Roland, turning to try and beat Dafydd around the head until he let go. Roland returned the gesture by pushing the guard over and pulling Dafydd by the scruff of his neck back to his feet.
Blinx, Skitch, Roland, and Dafydd all stood next to each other, poised to continue defending themselves from the guards, until a larger flight of guards entered the gate room, and once at a halt in a line, they all deployed record controls. Knowing their defeat, all four of the sweepers stood down, allowing themselves to be cuffed and taken by the guards.