Deon raced into Gloat Stadium’s enormous main hall, twisting around people as he hurried along.

Crap—why does that bed have to be so comfy?! I’m gonna miss it! he thought frantically.

He never saw Skrili come back the night before, despite how late he stayed up reading The Multiverse: A Complete Guide for Complete Idiots. Her training with Pang must have dragged on pretty long.

And when he awoke today, he didn’t even see Skrili in the morning. Instead, he was left with a message from her on his TeamTrack:

“I’m sorry I got back so late. And we’re fighting first, so we have to get there early. Pang said she’d make Phillip wait for you.”

“Yeah right—the guy hates me,” Deon grumbled to himself. Phillip was already long gone by the time Deon was up.

He double-checked the digital pass on his TeamTrack: Section E, Balcony 7. Deon read the floating signs along the wall of the circular hall: he was almost there. He passed by countless food stands and stores, wishing he’d gotten up early enough to explore this place. Extravagant posters and projections of Kotono Inoue and Hiroko Hamasaki were everywhere.

Soon he approached a levitation platform for Section E. After showing a worker his digital pass, he rushed towards it. The platform was packed with fans levitating up towards the seating, but he managed to squeeze in. As he floated, markings along the glistening black wall revealed the balcony levels: 1, 2, 3…and within a few seconds, Deon reached the landing platform for Balcony 7.

He hurried through the short tunnel leading to the balcony, hearing booming music and voices all around. When he reached the inside, despite his rush, Deon paused to behold the extravagant view.

This stadium was about ten times bigger than Preliminary Arena 14, and it was absolutely packed. Deon couldn’t find an empty seat in sight; thousands of people of all types and species sat in anticipation of the Main Event. Thanks to his evening reading, he now recognized many of the non-human species, spotting minotaurs, elves, and goblins amongst the crowds.

Large platforms floated just below the outskirts of the tall roof, and Deon caught glimpses of dragons peering down from them. There were openings in the high wall behind them, allowing an easy entrance and exit point.

He could feel the raw excitement reverberating all over the stadium. It gave him goose bumps.

Snapping back into his sense of urgency, Deon rushed up the staircase to his balcony. His row was just as packed as the rest of the place, but he spotted his empty seat halfway through. Phillip sat beside it quietly, staring at the empty fighting platform below.

Deon used his levitation bracelet to float above all the other spectators in his row, until he reached his seat and plopped into it.

“Thanks for waiting for me, really appreciate it,” he spat to Phillip.

“Of course they would assign us seats next to each other…” Phillip mumbled in annoyance.

“Trust me, I’d sit anywhere else, too.”

Their view was just about perfect: they were high up enough to easily see the entire fighting platform, but close enough to follow the fight in detail. The platform looked similar to the preliminary one, but it was about half the size. A red watermark in the shape of a dragon’s head was in the center.

Ads filled the walls around the outside of the arena like in the other stadium, but there were many more, and these were animated. Several of them included Kotono Inoue or Hiroko Hamasaki (or both) endorsing a particular brand, wearing alluring smiles and poses.

Along these walls, the same kinds of robed league workers from before stood and waited in purple, green, and gray.

“I’m…I’m not too late, right?” Deon cautiously asked Phillip.

Before Phillip decided whether or not he felt like answering, a massive screen of light appeared in the air high above the fighting platform. It had four identical sides so everyone in the stadium could see equally. The bright, flashy words, “WELCOME!” popped onto the screen.

The stadium erupted into cheers. Deon could feel the whole balcony shaking with energy.

“YO!!” an energized voice echoed across the stadium. “Coming at you with a washed-up fighting career and way too much bewitched coffee, it’s me: Soot!”

The crowd screamed even louder.

“Actually though, that’s his fourth cup this morning. He has a problem,” shared another, more levelheaded speaker.

“That judgmental voice you hear is the League aficionado and geezer himself: Talonvorp!”

“You know, not every dragon can say they’ve been commentating for four-hundred and fifty years…” uttered Talonvorp.

Dragons high above let out deep, resonant laughs as people continued to cheer all around.

“Point taken, point taken…well then! Let’s just get right to it—we’ve got a lot in store today!” announced Soot. “Kicking off the first fight of the Main Event, we have two fairly new, young, but promising teams!”

“I’m already eager to start following their careers. This one will be a fun matchup for sure, Soot.”

“Indeed it will, Talonvorp! Now: who’s ready for the Fantasy Country Conscious Competition?!!”

The audience got so loud that Deon had to cover his ears for a second. His legs shook with anticipation as he watched on.

“Dang, Skrili and Pang get to fight in front of all of this?! I’m so jealous!” he exclaimed with a smile, though he wasn’t sure Phillip could hear him over the cheering.

“My oh my, everyone’s wide-awake this morning!” commented Soot. “Well, we won’t hold you up any longer: let’s begin! Entering from the north end of the stadium, it’s the eccentric and surprisingly laid-back duo who stole the show at Preliminary Arena 5: Reginald Glass and Cauli Rhyme!!”

A massive, elegantly decorated gate on the left side of the stadium vanished from the wall, and Reginald and Cauli emerged from it, floating on a moving stage of light. It was very much like the ones used in the Preliminary Rounds to remove defeated contestants. Reginald waved nervously to the cheering crowd, while Cauli seemed to be reciting something to herself.

“Probably the most important trait of a strong team is good chemistry, and that’s something these two have certainly displayed,” Talonvorp commentated. “While this is the farthest they’ve ever made in a major Conscious Competition, they took fourth and tenth place in two smaller competitions in their home country, Realistic Fiction. It’s quite a treat to see how well their consciousness types go together.”

“Whatever, they have no clue what they’re getting themselves into,” Deon muttered.

“And from the south end of the stadium, here come their contestants: total newcomers, Pang Pereo and Skrili Kay!”

“WOOOOOO!!!! HECK YEAH!!!!” Deon screamed, standing to his feet as the rest of the crowd clapped politely.

The right side’s gate vanished, and a light surface carried Pang and Skrili towards the fighting platform. Pang checked out the crowd, while Skrili kept her eyes on her opponents warily.

“Now, we really don’t know much about these two,” explained Talonvorp, “but what we do know is very impressive. Pang and Skrili teamed up about a year ago as rookies, and went completely undefeated in their pre-certified career—at only sixteen and seventeen years old.”

“Wow, that’s unheard of nowadays!” Soot noted.

“Not only that, but they shocked Preliminary Arena 14 with an instant victory in the second round. This is absolutely a team to watch. They’re both very rare types—a Manipulator and a Power Rebound—so we’re about to see some interesting fighting.”

“They kind of have a Kotono and Hiroko look going on, huh?” realized Soot.

Deon watched on with wide eyes as the two teams stepped onto the fighting platform. Keeping a distance on either end, they bowed to each other.

Down on the platform, Skrili felt her heart pounding much harder than she thought it would.

“Hey,” Pang said over to her. “Just like we planned, right?”

Skrili nodded. She briefly tried to find Deon and Phillip in the crowd, but there were far too many faces.

Just like we planned, she thought.

“Alright, then! Here we go,” began Soot. “You may begin in Three…Two…One…”

“FIGHT!!!” almost everyone in the stadium roared together.

As practiced, Skrili immediately darted forward with Pang. They stayed close as they zipped towards their single target: Cauli.

However, it seemed Cauli and Reginald had a similar plan: they raced straight at them, leaning their aim towards Pang. Their speed was equal.

“Changeup: Block the target!” Pang shouted quickly. She shifted, focusing all her momentum on Reginald.

Skrili pushed herself to run even faster, reaching Cauli just in time to lock arms. They slid for a moment, but Skrili was able to hold her in place.

As she did, Pang reached Reginald. She ducked low, and with ease, grabbed his leg. She used her momentum to spin, tossing him away. Reginald almost slid off the platform, stopping just before its edge.

Wasting no time, Pang shot forward towards Skrili and Cauli. “Back to the plan!” she called.

“Whoa! Neither team is wasting any time, and now Cauli’s got two fighters on her hands!” Soot announced.

“It looks like both teams wanted to double-team one of their opponents,” explained Talonvorp. “It’s a smart technique: take out the fighter you think is the biggest threat first, then finish it early. Pang and Skrili were able to seize the opportunity.”

Breaking hold of Cauli, Skrili sidestepped to let Pang close in. Together, they began their attack.

Strangely, Cauli seemed unfazed as she went on the defense. If anything, she looked confident.

Skrili and Pang both sent endless arrays of punches and kicks—but none of them landed. With a small smile, Cauli managed to dodge every single blow. Even with their lightning-speed, Skrili and Pang couldn’t touch her.

“How the heck?!” Deon exclaimed up in the balcony. “Is that her consciousness type, or something?”

“That’s just her raw ability—she hasn’t used her powers yet,” uttered Phillip.

Down on the platform, Reginald was making his way back to the fight. He ran up behind Pang, but she spun and easily kicked him away.

“Well at least that Reginald guy seems weak,” noted Deon.

“This team hasn’t even gotten started—didn’t you do any research on them last night?” Phillip asked. “They haven’t even begun their main technique.”

“‘Main technique?’”

Skrili went in for another punch, but Cauli caught her arm and kicked her in the stomach, launching her to the floor. She hurried back to her feet.

Crap—she’s faster than we planned for, Skrili thought. We can’t even push her back.

Meanwhile, Pang managed to trip Cauli up and kick her down. She quickly recovered.

No—we can do this, Skrili realized, using the chance to close back in and continue the double-team.

But Cauli’s smile grew. While she expertly blocked and avoided Skrili and Pang’s attacks, she opened her mouth to speak:

“Okay, maybe it’s time we kick this up a notch,” she said.

Deon and Phillip heard it from where they sat; the sounds from the fighting arena were being amplified for the audience to listen in.

“Here it comes,” Phillip said.

“Here what comes?” wondered Deon.

“We’re too late—backup plan!” Pang warned, and Skrili’s eyes widened as she turned to face her new main focus: Reginald.

“It’s about time!!” exclaimed Reginald. Immediately, a blue and green hue began emanating around his body, and his eyes lit up in the same way. “That was pretty bad, by the way,” he said to Cauli.

“Good,” Cauli replied.

“Aaaand THERE IT IS, folks!” Soot declared. “It’s the first pun of the fight, and Reginald is pumping with a power boost! Things are really cooking, now!”

“It appears Cauli has decided to get serious,” noted Talonvorp. “Like I said earlier, this team’s types couldn’t be a better combination: since Reginald is a Pun Power, any time he hears a pun, he gets a power boost. And with Cauli being a Wordsmith with an emphasis on puns, she can power him up and really overwhelm their opponents!”

Skrili’s eyes locked onto Reginald. We were too slow, she thought. Now I guess we’ll see how long I can last against him.

She pounced forward, trying to initiate the faceoff on her terms. But Reginald zipped right at her like a blur. Skrili expected direct contact, but instead he shoved her shoulder and sent her spinning to the floor.

“Sorry, but I’m gonna have to avoid your Power Rebound,” Reginald said to her. “We power-up types can be a handful.”

He zoomed at her again, this time grabbing her arm and tugging her off her feet. With his whole body, he tossed Skrili into the air.

As she spun, she managed to notice the edge of the platform—she was on track to fall off. Twisting herself, Skrili turned upside down and brushed her hands against the nearing floor. This created just enough friction to slow her fall and send her crashing onto the very edge.

In a hurry, she shot back to her feet. The impact sent a small surge of energy through her body.

“You’re not doing a very good job so far,” she told Reginald.

“WHOA—Skrili managed to escape a swift defeat!” Soot’s voice echoed. The crowd cheered.

“So close…” Reginald uttered. “Hey Cauli, I’m gonna need more power than just this!”

“A little busy…” Cauli replied.

Meanwhile she was engaged in a rapid-fire matchup with Pang. Both threw swift punches and kicks, matching each other’s speed and strength.

“Yeah, that’s enough puns out of you,” Pang grumbled as she struggled to gain any advantage.

“But is it D-nough puns out of me?” Cauli retorted.

The crowd booed and groaned in response.

“What? That doesn’t even make sense—”

A burst of thunder resounded from Reginald. Now he stood tall, surrounded by an even brighter hue of energy.

“Alright, that one was painfully bad,” Reginald called over, shifting into a confident fighting stance. “But I’ll take it!”

“Uh-oh! Things aren’t looking so good for Skrili, now! Reginald’s power just increased way more!” Soot exclaimed.

“It’s probably more than doubled,” analyzed Talonvorp. “The lamer the pun, the greater a power-up Pun Powers get.”

Up in the balcony, Deon threw his hands up in frustration. “WHAT?! That’s such a stupid power!!” he protested.

In a blink, Reginald appeared right in front of Skrili.

“Sorry,” he said sincerely. Then, he lifted her by the waist and once again leaned forward to throw her out of the ring.

Just as he launched her with his incredible strength, Skrili grabbed hold of his sleeve, anchoring herself. Instead of freefalling, she slammed hard against the platform, losing her grip on Reginald.

“OH!” the crowed shouted.

“Youch! Skrili takes a brutal fall!” Soot announced.

But Skrili immediately stood back up, ready to keep fighting.

Now we’re talking, she thought. She felt a massive rush of power pump through her body.

Reginald tried to throw a palm at Skrili’s stomach to push her back, but she caught it. She slid a step back, but used her newfound strength to deflect the blow.

With a shrug, Reginald smiled. “Dangit. Well, I was trying to avoid this kind of situation…” he shared. “If I can’t send you out of the ring, it looks like I’ll have to face your powers.”

They ran at each other and began exchanging powerful blows. Skrili’s Power Rebound gave her just enough energy and strength to keep up, but she knew this couldn’t last.

Time to take a couple hits…I have to give myself more power than him…she thought, bracing herself.

Analyzing Reginald’s movements, she subtly gave him an opening to her shoulder. He sent a kick, which sent her spiraling backwards. After tumbling to the floor, Skrili shot back to her feet.

“Uh-oh,” uttered Reginald, eyes widening.

Before he could even think of his next move, Skrili kicked him square in the chest, launching him across half the platform. Now she felt like she could lift a house, as her Rebound had increased even further.

Reginald was slow to stand back up, and Skrili noticed the colors emanating around him were beginning to fade.

Good, she thought. I need to time this right before Cauli says another—

“This fight is like our camping trip the other day, Reggie!” she said as she dodged countless punches from Pang.

“Oh, for the love of—” started Pang.

“It’s pretty intents!”

Again, the crowd groaned.

“AHA!” yelled Reginald. The hue around him returned, just as before. He launched himself back at Skrili, even faster this time. Easily, he landed several hard hits on her.

Skrili winced, shifting into defense. She knew her Rebound-induced speed gave her the ability to dodge him, but that wasn’t the objective—she needed to keep increasing her power-up. That meant having to face his hits head-on.

“While Pang and Cauli seem to be at a standstill, Skrili and Reginald are in a back-and-forth punch fest!” Soot narrated.

“This could really go either way,” Talonvorp added.

Deon shifted in his seat, watching intensely. “They need some kind of technique…Skrili can’t keep letting herself get pounded on forever,” he said.

Phillip nodded in agreement. “Wait…is that what they’re doing…?” he wondered.

“What?”

Skrili noticed Reginald’s power-up was wearing off again as they exchanged blows. Meanwhile, hers was increasing with every hit.

If I can just time it right this time…she thought.

Reginald sent a swift kick to her side, and she stumbled a bit as the pain spiked through her.

“Cauli! It’s time again!” yelled Reginald.

That last hit raised Skrili’s power boost so high, she felt her body shaking. Meanwhile, it was clear Reginald’s power-up was near-depleted. She knew this was the right moment.

Seizing the chance, she jumped forward and wrapped herself around Reginald’s in a tight hold, pulling him to the floor with her weight. Reginald struggled, to no avail.

“Any time now would be great!” Reginald called anxiously.

“PANG, NOW!” Skrili shouted.

Abruptly, Pang hopped back from her duel with Cauli. “Finally,” she said with a wink.

“Huh?” uttered Cauli.

Pang turned from her, and started running at Reginald and Skrili.

“UM, CAULI!! PUN ME!!!” Reginald screamed while Pang closed in. Still, Skrili held him perfectly pinned.

“Um…um…it needs to be really bad…” Cauli uttered. “This fight is taking forever—no—it’s taking longer than forever…” she started worriedly. “It’s taking FIVE-EVER!!!”

This time, the crowd went silent.

“That was dumb!” a single goblin yelled in the distance.

By now, Pang was right in front of Reginald as Skrili kept him in place. She had come to a halt, watching him closely.

“Sorry, too late,” Reginald warned.

Pang smirked, placing her hand on her hip. “Am I?” she teased.

Reginald looked back at her with concern as his green and blue power-up energy reappeared. Skrili immediately started struggling to hold him.

“We only have one chance,” Skrili let out.

“Hush-hush, Skrili-dear, I’m busy,” said Pang, gazing closely into Reginald’s eyes. Then, a wide smirk formed on her face. “Looks like one chance was plenty.”

Suddenly, the same hue circling Reginald began emanating around Pang, as well.

“Ah, this feels kind of cool,” Pang noted.

“You know how to manipulate Pun Power?!” Reginald exclaimed, beginning to break free from Skrili.

“Nope—first try,” Pang tranquilly explained. “Wasn’t even that hard to sense it.”

Meanwhile, Cauli was rushing their way.

“Hurry!” Skrili demanded.

“Alright, alright, gosh…” Pang sighed.

The instant Reginald broke free, Skrili and Pang grabbed him by the arms and legs. Both having enhanced strength, they tossed him high into the air. He freefell for a moment, before crashing outside the bounds of the fighting platform.

“OH!! Reginald is defeated by ring-out!” yelled Soot.

The crowd burst into applause.

Cauli came to a skidding stop, and took a few steps back as Skrili and Pang faced her.

“Now, how about we try that double-team again?” Pang said, checking out the glow around her body.

“Nice…” Cauli admitted. “So your backup plan was to let Reggie power Skrili up, so she could trap him and let you copy his powers…” She gave them a friendly smile. “Very crafty of you. Consider me a fan.”

“Likewise—you took us both on so easily,” Skrili shared.

“Thanks for the challenge, girl,” Pang said. “That’s not something I’m used to saying—but you two deserve it.”

“Such good, wholesome sportsmanship!!” Soot proclaimed, as the crowd also voiced their appreciation.

“But no more stalling—These power boosts don’t last,” Pang insisted, preparing to attack. Skrili followed suit.

Cauli shrugged. “It was worth a shot—I hate quitting,” she laughed.

Skrili and Pang charged at Cauli like lightning, and the fight resumed. From Deon’s view up above, Skrili and Pang looked like they were mere flashes, appearing for an instant in one spot, then reappearing in another. Despite Cauli’s impressive speed, there was no way she could keep up with both of them anymore.

Even still, she was quick enough to closely evade Skrili and Pang’s biggest attempts to finish her off. They shifted their approach to out-speeding Cauli, forcing her closer and closer to the edge of the platform. All the while, the crowd cheered both sides on.

Soon enough, while Pang distracted Cauli with a false head-on attack, Skrili dove past her with a sliding kick, knocking her feet out from under her. Cauli tripped and tumbled off of the platform.

The crowd went wild.

“YES!! LET’S GO!!!” Deon cheered.

Phillip sighed. “Well done,” he said softly.

Down in the arena, Skrili and Pang approached the edge of the platform across from where Cauli had landed. She sat with a calm smile.

“I’ll be honest—I thought you guys might suck when I realized what your types were,” said Pang. “But that was pretty fun!”

“You two deserved to make it farther,” added Skrili.

Reginald approached them as a green-robed worker followed him, moving their healing device around him. “This is the farthest we’ve ever made it in a huge Competition like this—feels like a win to me!” he said. “Besides, as long as we’re still best friends by the end of it, I’m happy!”

Cauli nodded.

Skrili and Pang glanced at each other in response, but quickly broke eye contact.

“Sorry Reggie; I lost my footing at the end there,” Cauli added. “I guess you could say I was defeet-ed.”

“Give me a break…” Pang said under her breath. They realized their audio was still being amplified, because the audience booed one last time.

But suddenly, Skrili brought her hand to her mouth. She tried to hide her face as she started shaking.

“You alright there?” wondered Pang.

Unable to contain it, Skrili burst out laughing.

“It was funny…!” she managed. “Because, like, defeat, and tripping…”

Amongst the crowd, Deon slapped his hand against his face. “Really? She thought that was funny?” he complained. “Why do I even try…?”

As Soot formally announced Skrili and Pang as the winners, the air filled with applause. They were off to the next round.