The Seoul arena was huge. And by huge, Eniola meant huge.

It was bigger than Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York put together. The ceiling was curved in waves, facing down at an enormous playing pit with silver sensors. The seating area circled around the pit and glowed with a myriad of colours and screaming fans. Down below was one SCOPE marker packed together tightly, like a complex.

There was a feeling here.

Eniola took it in, as the strobing lights in the arena turned into the colours of red, white, and blue and people cheered their country's name. On the gigantic screens above them, the crowd's reactions were filled with excitement and glee as they flew around the arena on the hover platform.

The lights illuminated their identically styled black shirts, embellished with the US flag on the back. Olu designed it for them, and they looked stunning.

This was Eniola's third time doing the flight introduction, and despite her growing familiarity with the area, she nearly tripped over the unexpected dip of the arena onto the ground. Immediately, Jay's hand took her own, and they exchanged a smile.

They weren't Rogue anymore for the internationals. They were going to be known as the US for now. An entire country was on her back. Literally.

The hover dropped them off in the seating area right next to Uganda and the United Kingdom. They gave their nods and smiled at them. Eniola searched around for Greece but couldn't find them anywhere.

The opening ceremony went on, and the cheering arena yelled louder as more teams came through and filled up the seating area. Fans were waving flags in the crowd, many of which were from the US. It was so different from their first-ever championship when people were confused about what Rogue even was. They had been an uncoordinated rookie team that only had drive and passion.

Finally, the country introductions ended as the last country, Hungary, came through and sat rows above them. Eniola wondered who would be hosting. Howie wasn't here, and like Lucia, Eniola wondered why.

Another hover flew suddenly, gazing down on the crowds before it stalled in the middle. An eruption of cheers came out. The holo-screens showed a girl who looked young enough to blend in with the players. She decorated her face in jewelry and her hair dyed a vibrant purple that was cropped at her chin. Her eyes were a bright blue before they shifted into a deep purple. Colour-changing eyes were the newest fad.

"Hello Seoul and hello SCOPE fans!" she yelled excitedly. "Welcome to the International SCOPE Championships!"

The arena erupted in a blast of cheers that Eniola happily contributed to.

"I'm your host for this year's games, Eunji Lee," she introduced, and it hit Eniola.

Eunji Lee was the youngest head coordinator of SCOPE in South Korea at 22. She was a 2-time international champion with South Korea and was known for her out-of-the-box style. Eniola was sure Eunji was the coolest girl ever.

"I'm so excited to be hosting," she revealed, in a toned-down voice that made her accent stand out. "This year's competition is going to be very steep with so many amazing teams from around the world! I was so impressed with this year's competition, and I bet I'm going to be impressed this year!"

Everyone hooted in agreement and a smile spread across her face.

"Before the games start tomorrow, we are going to be playing a symbolic all-star round!" she announced. "We will draft 8 members from the top 4 countries into a special one-time team to get things started!"

Eniola's mouth dropped excitedly. All-star games were a great way to boost recognition. They never revealed country rankings and national scores until a moment at internationals. It was all an exciting mystery.

Eunji let the anticipation of the crowd wash over her confidently before the lights shifted into a burst of colours. "The top 4 countries for this round are Greece!" Everyone cheered as their flags and team photos took up the enormous holo-screen. Eniola smiled and clapped for her newfound friends.

"Nigeria!" Eunji continued. Eniola hooted, especially for her country winning, which was no surprise. The last time she had been there was 12, which was also the last time her family was together. Maybe her parents might tune in this time.

"United States!" she continued.

Eniola jumped up and hugged all her teammates as the arena screamed for this. They were among the top 4 countries to start with! Excitement burst through her.

"And finally, Sweden!"

Eniola focused on the screen, as the nervousness sowed in the excitement. Everyone knew Sweden for being ruthless in SCOPE. They weren't 5-time champions for no reason.

Immediately, the country's flags were separated into lists showing the top 2 members of each team. Lucia and Jay. Eniola wasn't surprised at all. They were the best. A hover immediately came to their area, and they went off and down the pit with all the talented players. Stavros and Artemis were already there and smiled at them.

"Today you'll be playing in the classic world of the Island of Dragons!" Eunji announced as the arena cheered. Eniola held back a chuckle. That was the first place Jay had played against Lucia. And now they were playing together.

"On the 1st team we have the US and Greece and on the second we'll have Nigeria and Sweden."

The arena instantly shifted into the familiar land with the purple skies and the swirling dragons and the huge mountain peaking to the top of the land and into the clouds. The dragons appeared beneath them.

The disks this time would be flags of countries, but for now, it was the logo of SCOPE, almost like it was their one country.

No one repeated the rules as they were ingrained in their heads. Start at the base and try to grab the disk of the other team before they grabbed yours. Collect power-ups and coins and don't die, or else you'll respawn at your base or out of the game.

"In 3, 2, 1!" Eunji yelled, and the alarm blared out into the arena.

Lucia took off, riding fast on her dragon as it sped forward with a lick of fire, knocking the other teams off track. Stavros and Artemis immediately took defence as the other shot fire at them. Artemis made a barreling turn before colliding with the other teams. One guy from Nigeria fell off him before his other teammates came to rescue him.

The other teams faced each other before the members from Sweden both dipped down from theirs in one fluid motion like it was a choreographed dance. Immediately, coming down from the mountains, and attacked the players.

They all flew down as the sharp spear of arrows all attacked them at once. Jay immediately took out his weapon and slew the elves that ran toward him, while Stavros, Artemis, and the boy from Sweden stayed on the disk, preventing the other team from attacking them.

The arena was going crazy at this battle, and Eniola was no stranger, cheering for the team Rogue was on.

Soon, was knocked off her dragon. Eniola's excitement turned into nervousness.

Suddenly before Jay swooped down and picked her up, before he dropped her back onto the dragon. Everyone screamed in excitement at the quickness.

She attacked the others members with fire, before she pushed through the crowd of dragons, creating a tail on her, well, tail. She made a quick turn around the corner of the mountain before she leapt off into the sky, with yellow coating her avatar. Lucia used a power-up for higher jumps.

Good move, Eniola thought.

Lucia caught the disk in her hand before she fell and the game ended. Eniola stood up with yelling cheers.

Cheers echoed around the arena when the simulation receded. Jay attacked Lucia in a tight hug before Stavros and Artemis congratulated her from a distance, and the other members of both teams even further away.

It dawned on Eniola that this would be the only time they would come together as allies. After this, everyone was simply a competition. Even the warm and welcoming twins would be too. The hover took them back to the seating area before Rogue attacked them in tight hugs.

"That was amazing, Lucia!" Theo said, planting a kiss on her cheek. "You won."

"It's only really symbolic," Lucia said before a smile crept onto her face. "But I won."

"Good job, Lucia," Eniola congratulated, then hugged Jay once again, which he reciprocated immediately. She sighed.

Now it was time for the actual competition.