Joey looks down at his right fist. The gleam and shine of his new gauntlet catches his eyes constantly and Joey can't stop looking at it. The bright green gauntlet on Joey's right arm was insanely expensive but getting it wasn't Joey's idea. Niki had gone and bought it without Joey's input but he is still grateful to her.

With this new gauntlet, Joey feels like he can destroy a stone tower with one punch. With the fight against the former commanders coming up in about an hour, Joey is amazed at the timing in which they managed to find a gauntlet that made him more powerful.

As Niki and her guards walk through the streets, enjoying the sights around them, Catia runs up to the group with a happy smile on her face and a pep in her step.

"Congratulations on making it to the finals of your division everyone! I'm so proud to be the personal guild assistant to such strong individuals."

Catia speaks with genuine happiness for her team and everyone except Tanner says "Thank you" for the kindness Catia is showing them. Tanner decides now is the time to mess with Nathan a little bit.

"Add more personal and less guild to that sentence and that is what you are to Nathan." Tanner says under his voice but Nathan heard him and swiftly delivers a quick jab to Tanner's shoulder. Tanner just laughs at Nathan as Tanner's overcoat absorbed the blunt of the hit. Catia tilts her head as she doesn't understand what just happened between the two.

Catia decides to ignore the two and turns her attention to the Princess, who seems to be the most nervous about the upcoming fight. As they all walk along together, Niki and Catia slow down so they can have talk among themselves.

"Why are you so nervous Princess?" Catia asks with a quizzical tone in her voice. Niki nervously laughs as she begins to think about the various reasons on why to be nervous.

"Though I have faith in my guards, the fate of my country rests on their shoulders. There is also the fact I am sending someone who I intend to be very close to me in a fight he could nearly die in. On top of that, something happened recently that seems to have mentally shaken Nathan and I worry if he will lose control again..." Niki says with a stiff and scared voice as she remembers when Nathan lost control back at the castle.

"What do you mean he lost control?" Catia asks with a really worried voice. Niki covers her mouth in surprise as that event was supposed to have never happened and to never be spoken about. Knowing that Catia is with the guild and Niki telling Catia, it could cause a political catastrophe. Trying to kill someone you hired through the guild is declaring war against the guild. Niki shakes her head and puts a hand up to Catia.

"Nevermind." Niki says in a dismissive tone, hoping that Catia will just drop the topic and Catia does just that. An awkward silence comes between the two and they look forward at the four in front of them. Tanner looks disappointed as Joey is standing beside him and laughing hysterically. Bree stands there shaking her head at the two and Nathan isn't seen unless you look up a little bit.

Nathan is standing on the shoulders of a large statue and to Niki and Catia, he is making the a weird gesture with his arms. It could only be explained as sneezing into your right arm and sticking your left arm outwards. This was known in the group's old world as "dabbing". Nathan did it all the time to mess with people and he is currently doing it on the shoulders of a famous Emperor.

"Nathan! Get down from there!" Niki yells as she runs towards the group. This only makes Joey laugh even more as Nathan is now getting by their Princess. Nathan stops dabbing and begins laughing as well. Nathan jumps off the shoulders of the statue and does a backflip in mid air to show off. A soft thud is heard as Nathan lands gracefully.

Joey continues chuckling while clapping in approval at the acrobatic display before him. Tanner sighs as though mentally exhausted and Bree slightly giggles. Nathan is smiling ear to ear as he looks over his three friends that he would never let go, even if the world is offered to him.

Nathan's head turns sharply and the laughter around him begins to die down. Everyone looks at Nathan with confused gazes but Nathan ignores his comrades and stares at the buildings around them.

"I swear we are being watched." Nathan mumbles under his breath before shaking his head.

"Don't mind me, I just thought I heard something." Nathan says to reassure the group. Everyone relaxes after that and the group continues to be tourists in the beautiful city.

The sun begins to disappear over the horizon giving the sky a beautiful orange and violet tone. The final fight in each division will be starting soon and the group of 6 are sitting in a wide open court yard, each doing their own thing and reacting different ways to the upcoming fight.

Tanner seems to be doing a thorough check to make sure his equipment is ready for the upcoming fight while also talking to Niki at the same time. The conversation consists of Niki trying to make moves at Tanner and even though he doesn't seem interested, Tanner's mind is fully focused on the fight. Tanner more than anyone knows how important this fight is to the stability of the world with the knowledge he has gained about the recent events of this world.

Nathan sits on a bench and is making a mentally going through the combat moves he knows and how to combo them together. No one in the tournament so far has been able to withstand an all out attack from Nathan and with so many people betting for Team Turncoat, they are obviously the favorites. Nathan knows he cannot underestimate his opponent so he is going through many different attack plans for many different scenarios in his head. He also seems to be humming a catchy tune while he does so.

Catia, Bree, and Joey are all sitting on a bench on the other side of the courtyard from Team Turncoat and all three of them are having idle chatter. Joey is enjoying his free time while he can since he can't be anymore ready than he already is. Where as Tanner and Nathan are thinking of strategies and checking their equipment, Joey already has done this a long time ago. Joey likes to get things done as soon as he can with the most amount of effort he can put in. He is especially good at planning things out before hand.

Bree is practicing her magic by summoning a ball of water and controlling it for a long amount of time. Bree believes this will help her train her mana usage and she will become more efficient in using magic. She also seems to be the least worried since she has the most faith in the group's success.

Several people walk by the group and gawk at them with wide open eyes. After the most recent fight for each team, it is hard to tell who is stronger. With everyone witnessing Joey's physical power first hand, they know Nathan is most likely not going to be able to take a hit from Joey, but that's only if Joey hits him. On top of that, Bree might have range on Tanner to everyone's knowledge, Tanner is completely shrouded in mystery. No one really knows what he is capable of, just that he has extremely high defense. Then is again, all of this is just the opinion of the public.

Now what is known as a fact among the public is that the Elite Guard of the Princess Niki is something otherworldly. The public is actually scared of a war against the Ethyrian Kingdom if they can have powerful people like this on their side.

A horn blares throughout the whole city, signifying the battle will start in ten minutes and masses of people begin to flood both stadiums. The crowds do split open and let both Team Turncoat and Team Joey and Bree make their way into the stadiums. Finally inside their stadiums, both groups take on different demeanors. Team Joey and Bree are brimming with attitude as Joey loves to be in front of big crowds of people, entertaining the masses with his ability to fight. Bree loves to win and believes that having a good attitude while help in morale. Team Turncoat on the other hand has a more somber and sharp attitude.

Nathan is holding a glare that can pierce your soul and instill fear whereas Tanner has a face that seems indifferent but shows a glimpse of concentration. This just shows the difference in the personalities between the two groups, but that doesn't matter in the arena. What matters is their ability to fight, and those abilities while be tested now.

*****************

Tanner and Nathan both walk out to the middle of the arena. They are met with the ear deafening shouting and cheering of the crowds. The stadium is completely packed with people and it even sounds like there are people outside of the stadium cheering to Nathan. With their being so many people, Tanner and Nathan's attitudes do not waver and they look prepared to fight.

"Welcome everyone to the Finals in the Red Division! I am Dante, your host and play by play announcer! The first team on the field is some of the strongest fighters ever seen in the Empire, the Demonic Flash and his partner, Unbreakable Holiness!"

Nathan looks at Tanner and mouths the words 'What the hell?' and Tanner just shrugs his shoulders. Apparently the populace came up with nicknames. Tanner didn't mind but the corny nicknames slightly struck a nerve to Nathan. He thought the names were stupid and the announcers should use the names given to tournament, Haku and Novaxil.

"Now entering the arena are your two reigning champions in the red division and 2nd place winners in last years tournament, Lila, the Neverending Onslaught, and Zorg, the Green Heaven."

As this echoes throughout the bustling stadium 2 figures come out into the arena, both of them shaking their heads. One is comparably short and has purple hair put up in pigtails while the other one is covered head to toe in armor. It seems they don't like the nicknames they were given either.

A certain amount of bloodlust is coming from the short one named Lila while the other one named Zorg is radiating confidence. Tanner looked over at Nathan with a face full of indifference.

"Think we can take them?" Tanner says nonchalantly. Nathan scoffs loudly and looks down at Tanner.

"What are you, dumb? Of course we can. Easy peasy-."

"Ready.....?"

Nathan's statement was cut off before he can finish it by the deafening sound of the announcer. With the match getting ready to begin, Tanner readies his shield and pulls out his sword for the first time in the tournament. The crowd cheers loudly at the magnificent looking sword that Tanner has had sheathed for most of the fight. Nathan pulls out his long sword and twirls it in his right hand a few times while grabbing some throwing knives from the inside of his cloak. Nathan has the knives concealed for the time being and they are even coated in poison that Nathan had bought.

Their opponents also readies their weapons, the one in armor has a massive mace weapon and a tower shield while the short one twirls a Scythe around like it is a baton.

"Then begin the fight to the DEATH!" the announcer yells in a sadist tone and the crowd cheers even louder than ever.

""Wait, what?"" Tanner and Nathan both exclaim at the same time.