“I'll take on the world before you know it. So, cheer up, the worst has yet to come.”

A little motto someone close to me would say — it's also something I hold close to me each day. Deveron looked down at his right hand, clenching it close to him. The beeping sounds of a heart being monitored within the room. He was dazed, feeling the gentle hand of another on his left — he glanced over, witnessing a young girl hooked up to a breathing machine. A respirator mask on her face and dimly opened eyes, she gazed at Deveron, only a brief smile catching his notice. She looked to be around the age of eight; there would be three more within the room. However, to Deveron, they would be darkened out of his mind, shades of darkness taking the form of humans.

One shade wept — another embraced it. The last shade stood there unmoved, holding in its hand a clipboard shaded in light. Seconds passed, and their attention turned to the girl lying in bed. They approached Deveron and the girl, but upon speaking, their ramblings were alien to the two, with the girl’s body trembling in fear. Her breathing became burdensome by the second, speeding up in pace when one of the shades grasped her hands.

With the touch of another on her right, she felt the warm comfort of Deveron as he grasped her other hand also. Her body no longer shook in fear, and her heart readings began to slow down, a moment of relief for Dev. He glanced over to his right now, noticing a desk with papers lying around on it. Medical bills that his family could not pay for with bills increasing and payments closing in, it was only a matter of time before his family could not do anything for the girl.

It was his little sister, who went by the name of Liana Mosely. A girl with a rare disease that even singularities that were able to heal diseases could not treat. For two years, she’s been in and out of a coma on a thread between life and death. Deveron continued to clench his right hand, knowing why he rejoined the tournaments might be considered selfish or, in reality, a low chance of occurring. But, winning the grand prize for the team tournament, even if he took a tiny part of the money, most would go into helping his sister in the long run.

Continuing to grip his sister's hand, it only burned the longer he held it like a simmering fire that would never die out. All he could do was close his eyes, recollecting the past just for him to open them again and immediately get side-swiped by Quinn’s energy. His body tumbling across the ground before slamming into a steel pole.

The pain on impact caused him to lose his breath for a brief second. Did he zone out during the fight? Why now, of all times, did he go through his own memories. Questions that didn’t need to be answered — best saved for later for Quinn was back on the attack. Standing to his feet, he grabbed the steel pole, ripping it up from the ground with his bare hands — the power of his singularity kicking in once more. The dust began to fade from the playing field only in a few areas. It was still visible; hard to make eye contact in what was through it. For a moment, he’d wait to grip the pole in his hands before flinging it towards the remaining dust that covered the area. The pole bursts through the dust, impaling two tentacles only for it to then hit Quinn in the chest, knocking him over.

Deveron dusted off his hands, frowning, knowing fully well having the ability to sense energy was a bit cheap in itself when doing these tournaments. Yet, he had no right to complain — such an ability came naturally to the people who were quite proficient with their powers.

“Now that’s a shame. If only you knew where things were.” Deveron, without wasting this opportunity to finish off, Quinn rushed in to attack. From the body of Quinn, the remaining tentacles of energy lashed out towards him, radiating with intense heat, bobbing, and weaving against the energy, his movements fast-paced and his fists strong enough to counter.

As Quinn rose, he retracted the energy back into his body, forcing it through his body to accommodate the front of him. The two made contact, sending their fists flying at each other in rapid succession.

The match picked up the pace once more, with the audience around the stadium going crazy. A noticeable sigh left the voice of Maria as Saint Mary continued to watch the match together.

“I think we might lose this one,” Aiken said. Not really showing much confidence in Quinn’s abilities at this point. “Cursed luck is what this is.”

“You never know, Quinn still has things under control.” Angela proceeded to pray for a victory, only for Maria to become excited at the thought of her participating in a match today. The beginning matches from yesterday never did satisfy her having to beat down on the already weak schools. Idaho, after all, wasn’t known for its powerful nor unique users.

“This feels kinda rigged if you asked me. He’s fighting someone that just keeps getting stronger the more damage you lay on him. Lucky.” Aiken leaned back in his seat, observing the screen. His jealousy for a singularity like that apparent on his face. “Kinda wish I developed a second ability.”

“No use in complaining about the unfair nature of your opponent. We knew something like this would happen eventually.” Joan joined in.

“Yeah, but this early. I was expecting it for the finals and the nationals, of course. But this is too much.”

“I say this is wonderful~!” Maria’s excitement at the fact that Quinn maybe throwing this match just for her or him merely struggling to win allows her to finally show off.

“Oh yes, great for you. You can finally play — We’re truly saved.” Aiken scoffed a bit at Maria getting a bit heated for her potential upcoming match.

“Oh, deary… For now, let’s not count Quinn out, please.” Lennox chipped in to ease the group down a bit, turning to his left, still seeing Angela praying. At this point, he was more concerned with the team's overall confidence when it came to these tournaments. Their full-proof plan to make it to the nationals together might have been a little too high hoped. Nevertheless, the match was not stopping and only approaching its climax.

The two fighters slid across the ground after bashing each other in a flurry of blows. Each one was exhausted after the constant fighting, but Deveron decided it was time to end it. Concentrating all of his power into his right hand, it burned red heat exhausting itself from his palm. He gripped it, balling it into a fist. At the same time, Quinn, on the other hand, instead of seeking to go on the offensive, stayed on the defense, allowing more of his energy to form tendrils and tentacles around him.

To the two—time slowed down the cheers of crowds from all around the building coming to a halt with all witnessing the fight no longer able to make out what was about to occur. The feeling of regret, pain, and joy all about to kick off within a moment's notice. A whisper in the wind as Pearl and Maria each muttered, “It’s over.” respectively, in their areas.

With a hint of gratefulness that was overshadowed by the brute force of his power, Deveron now face-to-face against Quinn, his fists moving in to connect against his chest. All of the tentacles angled against Deveron lashed out, aiming to strike him down. The motion was faster than what the normal eye could see and when it occurred. SLAM! The ground ruptured, breaking apart and kicking up dirt into the air.

“Game.” The monotone voice of the system echoed out. Pearl could only let out a sigh of relief, looking at the viewing screen. On the other side of the building, Maria was delighted.

“Winner! Starlight Academy!” The monotone voice rang out throughout the building as Deveron and Quinn were kicked out of the system. Quinn rematerialized on the center of the Singularity Machine, and Deveron standing next to him. Their wounds and clothing fixed back up as to where they were before the match. Sadly, the vibrations among their bodies and slight pain still lingering.

The two did not mutter a word to each other. Deveron simply stepped off the machine and exited the room upon placing his suppressor back on. Quinn did the same, but upon placing his suppressor on, all he could do was attempt to slam his fist into the nearest wall; however, to his surprise, Lyn immediately grabbed his fist with ease.

“No throwing fits, please. Respect the matches.” Lyn released his fist as Quinn simply nodded, exiting the room. He was taken by surprise at that moment. He couldn’t even see where she came from — not to mention he put all his strength without knowing into that punch. His emotions in a daze, he’d fix himself up properly and replied back to Lyn.

“I apologize for the behavior.” And finally left.

“YEAH!!! He did it!” Roy jumped up with praise from his seat, but the semi-finals weren’t over just yet. They had one more match to go through before they could take a break. Even then, the break would only be temporary if they made it to the finals for tomorrow.

Cheveyo crossed his arms, knowing Deveron could do it. Heidi, on the other hand, was still worn out from her match; only a measly “Woo~.” left her voice. Reynolds grew less worried as time went on, peering over towards Alexia. He’d give her his approval before the match.

“It’s your time to shine again, but be careful your opponent is also new to the tournaments. But, as you say, have fun… But, bring us back a victory.”

Night closed in with the sun finally proceeding to set outside the tournament building the final matches for the semi-finals about to take shape for the state tournament. Alexia rose from her seat, reaching into her uniform pocket, taking out her weapons of choice combat gloves specially modified to suit her needs. Slipping them on both her hands, she hurried to the door then stopped halfway there.

“I’ll try my best, of course. I’ll bring us to the finals with ease!” Showing a bit more confidence than usual — Though it's to be expected at this point throughout her matches that she participated in, her thrill for these fights grew. In reality, she was only anticipating the unique abilities of her opponents. However, she hasn’t shown off everything in her arsenal either.

“Yeah! Go win it for us!” Roy replied back. Cheveyo gave his nod of approval, and the slight hand raise of Heidi gave Alexia thumbs up. With that, she’d exit the room and head down the hall to the fighting room. Before any camera and live feeds showcased Alexia, she ran into Deveron walking back; he didn’t have a cheery attitude despite winning.

Alexia frowned, beginning to squint her eyes at him, not because she didn’t like him, but because there was strange energy lingering around him. Only she could see it; it resembled the radiation that pulsed off the stars she could form. With a little whisk of her hand, the radiation departed from his body and vanished into the air.

Deveron looked perplexed at what Alexia just did. He didn’t feel any different but shrugged it off as nothing. “Try not to go losing this for us, okay? I’d rather not be in a state of madness when we get back home.” He slipped past Alexia without even a notion of good luck to grace her for the match.

“Yeah, Yeah. I’ll do my best.” She attempted to speak back only to realize he quickly walked away from her. All she could do was give a hefty sigh before continuing on — she’d need this next chunk of courage for the cameras. Though getting used to the cameras would take time.

On the other side of the building, Quinn headed back to his team's room only to be intercepted by Maria. She was in quite the spirited mood, a smile present on her face. Quinn squinted his eyes, the shininess of his bald head glimmering in the light of the halls.

“Thank you, Quinn~!” Maria spun around, doing a little twirl in excitement. Her long-sleeved coat nearly smacked Quinn against his sides while this occurred only for Quinn to move back with ease starting to question if he really did mess up.

“You really shouldn’t be thanking me, Mary. I’d rather you not go gun-ho into this match.”

“I thank you for the concern, but you and I both know it's not needed. Let’s save it for tomorrow...Heh.” Stopping her little twirl, Maria started to smirk, beginning to stretch her light body as an essence of crimson energy started to manifest itself around her. The lights in the hall started to flicker before Quinn immediately swatted Maria on the forehead. Just as they flashed, the lights stopped such action upon Maria getting whacked — Quinn couldn’t believe he had a freshman like this at the academy.

“It’s not that I don’t doubt your ability, but believe it or not. Your opponent is new, similar to you, though. She’s not your age nor in your grade. We don’t know much about her, so do proceed with caution.”

“That’s okay with me. I don’t mind hitting elders.” Immediately as she said that, she received a flick to the forehead. “Ow! Ass! Next time stop using your power in a strange fashion too!”

“Heh… Be mindful of your elders. Also, I’ve tried before. It didn’t end well. Fission power is tough to handle when I can only generate the heat from those tentacles. If you want to take my spot, by all means, have it next time.” With that, Quinn gave his blessings to his junior and headed back to the room.

Maria stood there watching him walk away, the same smirk gracing her figure. She was planning to disregard his words, anyway. It was time to show off to the sponsors after all; she had what it took to take out the state champion with ease.

“Hmm~♪ Hmm~♪ Hmm~♪” Proceeding to head to the fighting room, humming a little tune.

“AND WE’RE BACK~! Welcome everyone to the Captains match of the Semi-Finals! Winner takes all folks! This will look to be a promising match to watch with the two newcomers taking the stage!” From the press box, Joel's voice echoed through the monitors across the complex.

Pearl now had a cup of coffee in her hand, drinking it for the approaching night. She had to stay awake for this one, two promising fighters. No matter who won here, both of them would surely be on her lists for future references.

“Quite. I look forward to this match.”

“And rightfully so! Introducing the new star on the block! Her first time participating in the team tournaments, all those who’ve watched her progress since yesterday know this girl is packing more of a punch than the lotta’ ya!” To Pearl, Joel seemed to be really loving his job as an announcer. He really enjoyed stretching the detail. “Introducing Alexandria Winchester!”

Brushing past the cameras as quickly as she could, Alexia entered the room, glancing around to see that she was there first. Immediately, She was approached by Lyn.

“Good to see you again.” Lyn extended her hands out for Alexia’s weapon. “Weapon, please.”

“Oh, right.” Instead of taking off her gloves, she’d leave them on and simply show them to Lyn to inspect. They were in proper condition and had the necessary requirements for them. When the quick inspection was finished, Lyn motioned for Alexia to take a step onto the machine.

“But, of course! We have another newcomer to the tournaments! Scoring perfects in all her matches yesterday! No one could lay even a single finger on this girl! Saint Mary’s one and only Maria Sutton~!”

A cold chill entered the room as Maria opened the doors — Lyn frowned, feeling this chill while it caused Alexia to shiver a bit. The chill began to turn into tension in the air with Alexia and Maria’s eyes locking-on to each other. Lyn felt it and knew this tension was common primarily in the nationals and more populated tournaments. Having seen this through the years more noticeable in the far populated states such as California and New York.

Though, this would be the first time she felt something like this spark in this tournament. Lyn immediately moved to Maria. “Weapon ple-” Stopping quickly and merely letting her through. Maria didn’t use any weapons at all, only each time Lyn instinctively always asked for a weapon, another common thing she’s done for years. “Take your positions, Please.” Lyn stood to the side.

“Ho~ Ho~. I’m fighting someone in Quinn’s age group...A bit older, but don’t worry, hold nothing back, okay?” Maria stepped up onto the machine situated across from Alexia.

“Well, we’ll have to see about that.”

“Oh, no, no. I mean it. We gotta show our stuff to the sponsors, you know.”

“See, I sorta forget about sponsors but, I don’t think it will work out for me.” Alexia thought a bit more about the sponsors, but in the end, she didn’t know many that watched in Idaho. Frankly, the ones that did sponsor were local businesses in the state.

“Makes sense… You’re bound to end up like the rest.” Maria’s words hit Alexia hard a bit, though she quickly guessed what she meant by it. “Though, like I said. Do feel free to go all-out. We have to show our stuff~!”

Just as Alexia was about to speak, the singularity machine started up; blue particles began to flare up and appear around the two of them.

“Fighters at the ready!” The machine echoed out. Alexia looked down at her wrist, releasing her suppressor from grasping her arm. On the opposite end, Maria dropped two suppressors, both of which hid perfectly amidst her long sleeves. This was surprising to Alexia; this would be the first opponent she’s ever faced with two suppressors. This only fueled her excitement even more that she couldn’t help but smile. Of course, she had two as well but no longer wore her old one. The experimental suppressor drained her too much already when equipped. Another one would be a pain.

“Opera Stadium!” Once more, the machine echoed the particles showing up more and more. Alexia and Maria began to phase out of reality and vanished from their respective areas.

Within one of the lobbies, Campbell sat down in one of the many seats preparing to watch the matches. There were no guards around him nor any foundation members, just himself continuing to watch the events. In his hand was a tablet with bits of data on it. As he was scrolling through the data, a familiar woman sat down next to him. It was Gabby still wearing her school jersey and jacket, arms and hands still wrapped in bandages.

“Good to see you again, Gabby. Here to ask me a question?”

“Of course not. I apologize, Mr.Campbell. But I'm here for my team.” She replied, leaning back in her seat, glancing up at the viewing screens.

“That is quite alright… Worried about these two newcomers?”

“Not really. But, both of them do pique my interest...They remind me of Mahdri sorta.”

“Oh! The New York state champ? You lost to her last year in the semi-finals. Looking to get revenge?” Campbell seemed to be testing the waters, his eyes still on the tablet moving his hands about it.

“That’s very clear, but I do have to ask. How’s your little project coming along? Is it almost done?”

“Oh, that little thing? It’ll be done before Christmas gets here. Well, so long as no interruptions come out of nowhere.”

“Hm… Well, I know when to stop poking into business that no longer involves me. But I’m still interested in it. Sooo… If you have another testing opportunity, I want to participate in it!” Gabby looked a bit excited about this little project, her facial expression more vibrant despite her tomboyish looks.

“Yes, Yes. For now. Do your team a favor and watch the match. After all, you’re not the only one interested in these two.” Campbell finally looked up from his tablet, placing it away into his pocket. He’d finally take in the moment to relax while the captain's match finally began.

Alexia reappeared in the middle of a 1st-floor row of seats. Above her were balconies, two of them, which led to the 2nd and 3rd floors, filled with the same set as the first. In front of her, the grand opera stage itself curtains pulled to the side, and standing in the middle would be Maria.

A streak of lightning flashed from outside the building as roaring thunder rolled in with the droplets of rain. Once more, the machine echoed out, “Match Start!”.