Chapter 5

The Teams

The dull roar of the crowd.

The effervescent peppering of color splashed against the night sky.

All the energy and anticipation of those gathered in the stadium was filtered through each of Meredith’s senses. Staring through the window in their waiting room, Meredith noticed the lights that lined the street from the coliseum, all the way to the Metropolis. From high up, people could be seen streaming in, chattering excitedly, each ready for the event they were gathered there for. The very volume of the crowd told her how important this event was.

Despite this, Meredith kept remembering the face of the girl she’d met, Brynn Taylor, and the challenge she’d sent over that television interview. Sweet in demeanor, there was still no doubt she was someone fierce in the ring. The very thought led Meredith to shake with the need to battle her. Either way, she was someone to watch. Not that she’d shared it, and ever since Vivian had joined up with them before they proceeded to their waiting room, there’d been no chance to, not between changing into new uniforms and the girl’s incessant chatter.

“You’re telling me you spent the whole afternoon with them and didn’t get a single piece of information that could help us win? What kind of spy are you, Edwin?”

“It’s Eddie, and I’m not a spy,” Eddie said. He was looking fed up with Vivian’s usual attitude, and Meredith couldn’t blame him. With Amelia absent from the room and Emil emulating herself in staring out a window, there was no one to curb the blonde’s tongue. “They’re my friends, and you shouldn’t underestimate them.”

“Why bother? Must I do all the heavy lifting?”

“Give it a rest, Viv,” Emil sighed out. More fireworks whizzed through the air, and the line of people outside started to dwindle. “We don’t even know what’s going to happen at this tournament. Can’t exactly figure out a strategy on any side unless we know stuff like that. Besides, not like any of us here don’t know A-Class’s magic, right?”

Vivian’s face twitched, trying to find fault with Emil’s logic, but eventually she folded her arms and huffed. Meredith was grateful for the silence, even if the ambience didn’t provide any. Given those few moments, she was able to turn away and join her teammates.

“We shouldn’t underestimate anyone out there,” she said, pointing her instruction at her rival. “They’re coming in there as a team, and so should we. I get the feeling they’ll have more tricks up their sleeve than we could anticipate.”

“Well said, Childs.” The door banged open, Amelia framed in the light of the hall beyond. Her striking figure made them all snap to attention, afraid of getting walloped by the woman. “Home Guard’s out for respect, you need to beat Benny’s team, and from what Roy says, the civilian team will make this quite the event. Be ready for anything.”

The four issued a lazy agreement, which Amelia would have chastised them for, were it not for the screen in the room beeping, a red message scrolling across it. Meredith didn’t even need to look to know exactly what it was telling her: the time had arrived.

“Guess that’s our cue,” Emil said, his breath ruffling the edge of his scarf. He wrapped it tighter around the blue robes they wore, each emblazoned with the Corps’ insignia.

“Let’s go, then,” Meredith replied. She pounded her fist into her palm and strode for Amelia. The commander said nothing, nodding to the team. It was a nod that conveyed her expectations and instruction. Winning the tournament was up to them.

The quartet stepped into the hallway, the sounds of the gathered people growing louder and louder as they walked down the short passage that joined the circular path, straight for the ground floor of the stadium. They saw no one, except for some of the Guardians that were posted at entrances to the stadium. One of those entrances had a very clear sign over it, the two swords surrounded by six circles, that was the emblem of the Guardian Corps. Without hesitation, the four turned into that dark corridor, the light of the stadium moving ever closer.

As they approached, the voices became distinct. Music rang through the stadium, and if Meredith squinted, she knew she could see streamers and confetti falling around. People were already present, doing dance numbers, and the rotors of news helicopters could be heard over the din. The crowd looked pumped up, with numerous sellers of concessions placed strategically throughout. It was a vivacious crowd, packed to the brim and ready for the event to begin.

Soon enough, the quartet pulled to a stop, right at the edge of the hall. It was close enough to see the large box, situated near the top of the stadium, where prominent people sat. Meredith couldn’t see them, but that issue was made irrelevant by the large popping noise, followed by a sudden flux of balloons magically rising through the floor and streaming into the night sky. They exploded into fireworks, signaling the beginning.

This was made more evident by the voice of a familiar reporter calling to the crowd.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! Young and old! Metropolis citizens, or those from far away! We’re mere moments away from a moment in history!” the reporter shouted, his voice booming over the stadium. One of the screens opposite Meredith lit up, showing the camera to be focused on himself and the panel of people with him. “That’s right! You’ve waited well over a week for this event, bringing together the best of the best, the representatives of the major organizations in the world!

“It’s time to begin…the Alliance Games!”

“WHOOOO!” The cry was deafening, forcing Eddie and Vivian to turn away (likely for different reasons), until the shouts subsided. When they had, the reporter continued with his spiel in building the crowd up.

“That’s right! Four teams go in, one comes out the winner. Seven days of events and it all starts tonight! I’m your lead commentator, Freddy Chapman, and I’ll be covering every moment of this auspicious event. I won’t be alone, though, as over the course of the next many days I’ll be joined by guests and judges alike, from champions to presidents! With me today, however, is none other than a man you all know and love. Please welcome Commander Royston Masters!”

If there had been any ill will towards the Corps in the crowd, none of it was shared with Masters. True to his media presence, the crowd was enthralled to have him there, their cheers shaking the stadium in a way that even the start of the Games couldn’t make happen. True to form, Masters was also gracious about it, raising his hand as the camera focused on him, smiling. When he had the chance, his voice carried over the stadium. “It gives me great pleasure to be here as a judge for the week, offering a look at what will be one of the most talked about events in the days to come.

“The Corps has worked tirelessly with the others to produce an event we think will be worthy of the front-page headline. No doubt each team will put forth their best contestants, and I’m excited to see just what each has to offer.” Before anyone could doubt his words, he finished his statement off. “No worries, however, I’m here as an impartial judge of the competition and want the best team to win.”

“And with that, let’s waste no more time!” Chapman agreed. “We’ll explain the rules for each of the teams once they’re on the field, so it’s time to introduce our competitors, the ones who’ll be representing their organizations over the next week! First to hit the field are the ones who have been in the news lately, ready to make their mark! Please welcome the team for the Guardian Corps!”

Meredith adjusted her robes, making sure they were the best representation of the Corps that was possible, and then took a step. Small fireworks lined their way out, leading them out into the bright fluorescent lights of the stadium. To announce their presence, Meredith raised an arm into the air, a grin on her face. She couldn’t deny the slight tremble at being looked at by so many people, yet found her confidence in knowing she was part of a team, the other three behind her.

It wasn’t all cheers, though. A very vocal section was made manifest.

“Go back to the Corps!”

“How come you four get to represent the Corps?”

“Bring out the commanders! No one wants a candidate!”

“Wait…are they…are they booing us?” Emil asked. He didn’t seem offended, and was more amused by the unexpected treatment. It wasn’t the majority of people gathered in the stands, but it did appear to come from an extremely loud subset of people, mostly those who were young and had gathered in one section of the stadium to watch the event. Their intent and anger was duly noted.

“They’re just jealous fools,” Vivian said with a scoff.

“You sure about that?” Eddie asked. Despite the question, there was little doubt about it. Meredith watched the group, recognizing one or two of them from the trials she had previously partaken in. None seemed like those in support of another team, yet the fact they were booing them spoke volumes. It was something that Chapman commented on, at least.

“Well, it seems our Corps team has had a less than warm welcome!” he said, his laugh imbuing the crowd with greater goodwill. The insults from the vocal crowd began to die off, and Meredith had to laugh inside. “Would seem all that publicity may have backfired on them, wouldn’t you say, Commander?”

“Depends on your view.” Masters was in focus, the camera taken off their team to show his explanation. “There are certainly a great many candidates out there that would be displeased to see another mere candidate taking part, but there is no doubt that our Corps has carefully selected those we feel would be best for representing us in the upcoming tournament. I’ve no doubt that Miss Childs and her team will best exemplify the standards we strive for.”

“Thanks for the pressure…” Meredith mumbled. It didn’t help that Vivian was glaring at her, as if it was her fault she was the only one receiving a mention.

“Well, they won’t be the only ones aiming for excellence! No doubt this team will do the same to make their school proud! It’s the team from Lacardia!”

The fireworks popped off again, putting small pockets of dust in the air, but this time they weren’t alone. With it came a giant tree branch, snaking out from one of the hallways to the stadium. Riding atop it, right at the head, was Felix. Accompanying him were his classmates, each raising their hands into the air so as to garner a cheer. They received it. The crowd applauded, and some screamed support for Lacardia.

“I’m starting to wonder if this is just a popularity contest,” Emil joked the second their opponents landed with a great cry from the crowd. Felix had to have heard him, because his glare was honed in on the dirty-blond. “Lighten up, Felix. Let’s have some fun.”

“I can think of ways to have fun.”

“Go back to your team, Conrad,” Meredith insisted, pushing the boy away. As usual, Vivian scoffed, earning ireful looks from the twins. Chapman, to Meredith’s great thankfulness, was unaware of the drama on the field, moving the proceedings along.

“Lacardia’s A-Class, I’m told, is the best of the best when it comes to using magic. It’ll be interesting to see how things turn out when put against such battle nuts,” he said. The images on the screens showed him shuffling papers as Masters nodded. “And speaking of battle nuts and battle mavens, it’s time for our third team. Fellow Metropolites, you know ‘em! You love ‘em!”

Meredith turned to the other two open corridors, wondering which she would come out of. “Let’s see who you really are…”

“Mera, what’re you mumbling about?” Eddie asked. Chapman provided the answer.

“Give a great, rousing welcome to your very own Home Guard!” This time, the cheers dwarfed any that had come before. The Corps was popular, but they had nothing. All the love was reserved for this group, and as the fireworks indicated their own arrival, Meredith watched the corridor.

Lightning flashed, a tempest of storms created where the team was entering. With narrowed eyes, Meredith could peer through the flashes and crackling to the form of the pink-haired girl named Brynn. She strode forth with confidence, now wearing a piece of armor across her chest and a black knee-length skirt, small knives at her side. She was waving to the crowd, congenial and loved while her hair bounced back and forth.

Behind her were three young men, each looking slightly older than her. One was a buff, burly man, another was a studious gentleman, and the final one looked mousy, giving smiles to the crowd so as to not feel left out. They were mismatched and out of place by Meredith’s vision, yet each of them was very much part of the team. The glances the three gave to Brynn showed them following her lead, trusting her. When she waved, they whipped the crowd into a frenzy. When she smiled, they flexed the unique attributes that made them who they were.

And when she finally dropped the pretense to address her opponents, they became battle-ready warriors that would put a rock’s sturdiness to shame.

“If I’d known you were going to be my opponent in the ring, I would have tried to press for more details. This is quite a surprise.” Brynn’s statement had no doubt been applied to her, proven all the more when the two girls locked eyes.

“I’d say the same,” Meredith said. Neither approached the other, though the rest of the teams gathered in the stadium flicked their gazes between the two.

“Brynn, this girl bothering you? Edgar can take care of it.”

“No need, Edgar. She’s not bothering me at all.” Brynn flicked her hair, the cocky grin placing itself upon her face. Edgar nodded, his bulky body flexing with every movement. “Well, it’s looking like this’ll be fun. I’ve always wanted to face off against a Corpsman.”

“You might not like what you find out,” Meredith said in retort. Brynn’s eyes flashed, accepting the challenge. Both were on the same page, each studying the other to find out who they were and what made them tick. Whatever that may have been, it was precluded by the energetic Chapman.

“Whoo, seems we already have some rivalries on the field. Looks like your Corps and our illustrious Home Guard might be duking it out.”

“Yes, how fortuitous,” Masters said. His booming voice appeared to quiet the stadium, everyone now waiting with bated breath for just who the mysterious civilian team was going to be. All on the stadium floor were drawn to the final entrance. “Now, enough with the editorializing. I think it’s time we introduce the final team.”

“Right you are!” This time, Chapman didn’t shuffle his papers at all. This time, it seemed like he was a reporter that had practiced this segment more than anything, because it was the biggest news there would be all tournament. Meredith had a guess that he was right the second he opened his mouth. “So, without further ado, this team blitzed their way through the preliminaries, and after all the news we’ve heard about them the last few weeks, it’s no surprise! They’ll make this an interesting show, and they’ve got the strength to back it up.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome the Renegades!”

“What?!” The cry from their team was simultaneous. Brynn and her Home Guard narrowed their eyes, but said nothing, while A-Class was utterly nonplussed. The crowd was more divided. A number cheered as would be expected at any sporting event, while others mumbled in curious confusion. Smattered amidst that was light applause, drowned by the last of the fireworks. The entrance to the corridor was momentarily obscured from the rising dust, but their team knew who would be walking through there. They didn’t need to see them.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the very familiar individual that was Rico, leader of the Renegades, strode into the stadium. His skin was tanned from ages in the desert, though the thin mustache he normally wore was gone, leaving only his jet-black hair, which was also cut short. He looked a changed man, with harsh lines on his face, and he showed none of the jovial energy that the rest of the teams did. Nor did his fellow teammates, all familiar down to the last one.

Following behind him was the lively Maria, her earrings jangling with every step as her wavy brown hair made little movements. Hers was the only face sporting a smirk, in complete contrast to the man next to her. Stoic, nearly unmoving, and with a long face and bald head that belied a certain inner peace, Carlton was as reticent as the day Meredith had seen him gathered amidst the crowd of Renegades in a burned-out village. Picking up the back end of the team was the girl Lovelia, timid in the face of the crowd, but holding the same sense of purpose that Rico did, using him as her guiding light.

Their inattentiveness to the crowd drew further mutters, up to the point until they stopped, gathered with the other teams in the center. No one said a word.

Meredith watched Rico, observing him and his demeanor. It had been two weeks since she’d last seen him, fought alongside him in the settlement, but he seemed different now. There was a fiery focus that she thought he might have lost after the Beastmaster had been captured. To emphasize this, he looked to her, dragging his gaze along her entire team and then giving a nod. He shared no words, and indulged in no frivolities, same as the rest of his team.

“Uh-um…w-well…the frosty reception on the stadium floor is certainly unexpected,” Chapman said. Back to shuffling his papers, he looked to Masters for an opinion. The commander wasn’t willing to give one after his cold stare. “However, that might be for the best. This is a tournament after all, and teams aren’t out there to get buddy-buddy.”

“What are you doing here?” Vivian hissed, finally breaking the pall of silence.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Maria answered. A finger was pressed to her lips, indicating the secret before she winked. “Can’t even we have some fun?”

“Maria, enough.” The woman obeyed Rico’s order, and in the silence that resulted, Brynn happened to move closer to Meredith.

“Do you know them?”

The black-haired teenager jerked, surprised to find her opponent so close to her, and she wheeled herself away. “A little. Why?”

“You seemed familiar with them. And a Home Guard soldier must always be observant,” Brynn said. She snapped her fingers shortly after, having come to some sort of conclusion. “Ah, that’s right! You were on the news together, right? The alchemic settlement? That was a real disaster.”

“Think you could do better?”

“Let’s find out, yeah?” Brynn’s statement concluded the conversation and she rejoined her team, just as Chapman got things moving again. Meredith spared one more glance to Rico, the man as indiscernible as ever, before her ear turned to the announcement.

“Well, now that all our teams have been introduced to each other, it’s time to begin…the Alliance Games!” Energy returned to the crowd in full force and cheers split the air. The screens that dotted the stadium changed, no longer showing faces but instead revealing a large, seven-day schedule. Most of the slots were filled in with question marks, but the one at the very top, labeled as “Day 1”, was outlined quite explicitly.

“Looks like they’re going after the teamwork aspect pretty heavy from the beginning,” Eddie commented. He was closest, now, along with the rest of her team. All the others had formed up into their individual teams, separated from one another. Although, the furtive glares from Lacardia to them, the stares from Emil and Vivian to the Renegades and the Home Guard’s air of ease indicated that not a single team had forgotten about any other. “Tag battles, huh?”

“That’s, what? Working together in a team?” Vivian asked. She was distracted, though not nearly to the extent Emil was. Leastways, they were until Meredith grabbed their robes and pulled them back into reality. “Touch me again and you lose a hand.”

“Your threats mean nothing, Viv. Pay attention already.”

“As you can see on the screen,” Chapman spoke, his voice drowning out all others, “the Alliance Games are set for seven days, and each day is a different event. Maybe it’s a battle, maybe it’s a contest. Who knows? The event won’t be announced until that day begins. From there, depending on the event, points will be awarded in a different way, and the team with the highest amount of points at the end of the tournament wins it all!”

“We’ve designed it this way to give each team a fair chance, and a wild number of days to give us turnarounds and victories,” Masters continued to explain. “Working with Lacardia and the Home Guard, this will ensure that any team can come out the winner.”

“And that’s what this tournament is all about! Work with your team and show your strength! Earn points for your team, and come together as one. This will be a test of that mettle to the very end, not unlike the Trial of Power and the Trial of Teamwork that this represents.” Chapman took a breath here. “So, with that said, I think it’s time we begin the very first event of the Games! Against a backdrop of night, our teams will have two members chosen to take part in a thrilling battle against another team. The winning team will receive two points, the losers none. If you tie this round, each team receives one point.

“Oh, and before any of us forget, for this round, you don’t get to choose who you send out on the field.”

“Crap.” Emil and Meredith’s remark was easily heard in the lull of voices. Vivian’s face twitched, realizing they were speaking of her, but she made no movement thanks to the changing images on the screen.

“For the tag battle round, the two members will have what we call a ‘combined health bar’, that will be displayed on the screens for all to see. The first team to have their bar depleted by taking damage in battle will lose the match. We’re not looking for casualties here!”

“That’s similar to the Trial of Power, I guess. You want to prove strength, but they’re not out for bloodshed,” Vivian said. Her arms were folded, staring at the screen. Sixteen faces had appeared as cards before flipping around and swirling in a storm across the monitor.

“The referee on the field below will determine the amount of damage done by a hit with his colored flags, red, green and yellow, all while looking towards the teamwork displayed by each member. It’s sure to be a thrilling opening event!” Chapman’s cheer incited other cheers, and even some applause from Masters just as the cards on the screen stopped. Eight of the faces fell away and a line split the screen into two to indicate the matchups. There was a moment of waiting, and then they flipped over, followed with an announcement. “And there we have it, folks! The first round, this tag battle bonanza, will begin with Lacardia’s Felix and Summer against the Renegades’ Maria and Carlton! Following that will be the highly anticipated Home Guard pair of Gregory and Theodore against their rivals in the Guardian Corps’ Edwin and Vivian!

“Let the Alliance Games begin!”