The final day arrived for the State Championship, with many of the schools attending still gathered to lay witness to the victor. To the school that will best represent their state in the national tournament. Of the three days within the tournament, the final day always had a packed crowd, especially on the last day before the weekend. The stadium could house up to 10,000 people. However, it wasn’t the biggest stadium within the nation for the nationals could accommodate 100,000. From the main building where all the fights took place, the stadium resided to the left of it along the way. People started to fill the stands starting around 10 A.M. approximately an hour before the official finals began.
Starlight and even East Bridge were both situated in the same building as before on the opposite ends within the same waiting rooms. Only this time, the rooms were stocked up with an assortment of items before the actual match was underway. The kitchen compartment was now stocked up with snacks and food for an individual to cook on their own even drinks and sports beverages lined up neatly. Upon entering, everyone except Reynolds was amazed at how different the room was compared to yesterday.
“No way?! We can make our own food here now!?” Roy now amazed after opening the fridge to witness the meals inside. Upon closer inspection, the meals within were only for lunch, and dinner. The latter in case the matches extended into the dead of night.
“Lucky us, we don’t need to go out and get our food. It’s right here with us, and we can take some back home too.” Deveron gave a cheeky laugh after saying so only to move next to Roy, searching in the cabinets for some chips to eat.
“We just ate breakfast.” Cheveyo glanced at the two of them, actually counting it three. Heidi was also there searching the cabinets.
“And now it's time for brunch~!” Heidi was the first to find the chips only for a bag to be snatched away by Deveron. Alexia peeked behind Cheveyo, baffled at those three, it seemed she and Cheveyo were the only ones with a full stomach.
“Roy, I don’t think you should be eating before your match. You’re the first one up.” Alexia jumped over the couch, landing in front of it before falling back to have a seat.
“Hey, don’t do that. Have some manners.” Reynolds entered after witnessing Alexia jump over the couch.
“Sorry, Teach.”
“Anywho, I hope you all are prepared. I know I'm repeating myself, but give it your all today. Don’t hold back. This is East Bridge, after all.” Reynolds peered to look at Roy, in particular, who was just about to open up a bag of chips before Heidi swiped it from his hands.
“I know only two of you have officially used the real machine within the stadium before. But, this time, the stage you all share will be the same. You all will meet with the other team on the machine at the same time. Exchange greetings as fighters that made it to the finals, and then the vanguards will take over.”
“Wait, we gotta meet them?” Roy didn’t expect that.
“It’s a tradition I think for all the final matches I recall reading online.” Heidi started to munch on the chips snacking away. Having way more freedom at it, similar to Deveron, who did the same. Cheveyo, on the other hand, quickly took both of their bags.
“Save the snacking for later. You don’t want the lions to sniff you out.”
“Lions? I don’t see what that has to do with East Bridge.” Alexia looked towards Cheveyo interested in why he called them lions. This was the first time he referred to another team as an animal.
“You’ll see why when you see them.”
“Ominous~. I like it.” Alexia smiled, reaching for the remote, turning the TV on to the broadcasting room. The very same announcers as before Joel and the professional fighter Pearl situated in the press box overseeing the singularity machine. Joel was fully prepared for the craziness and hype this day would give. Pearl, on the other hand, appeared sluggish, despite still being in her gothic lolita attire. Her mannerisms this morning were frail, to say the least. In her hand was a cup of coffee, though from afar anyone could tell that she didn’t get enough sleep.
Pearl took a sip of coffee, attempting to wake up only for her to take a few moments to close her eyes before being startled by Joel’s microphone check. Nearly spilling her coffee in the process, Pearl quickly fixed herself properly before letting out an exhausted sigh.
“Beshrew the morn of morrow, I cast my doubt away.” Pearl lowered her cup of coffee, reaching into her pocket, pulling out a cross pendant. Gripping it tightly, she entered into a tiny trance beginning to mutter nonsense only for Joel to look on in a state of shock.
“S-Someone sure doesn’t like mornings. But don’t worry. Leave most of the work to me.” He could only say that for the moment before the little chants of Pearl continued only a bit louder in the process.
Thirty minutes passed with the sound of a trumpet echoing across the buildings. This symbolized the gathering of teams, making their way towards the main stadium Starlight could only hold their anticipation in front of an even bigger crowd. Though, this crowd would fail in comparison to the nationals. The team stood in front of two double doors leading out into the center of the arena, the mumblings of the crowd echoing from above and in front of them.
Heidi kept taking deep breaths in and out, while Roy could only keep tapping his feet while waiting. Alexia tried to mentally prepare herself before a crowd, but her eyes seemed dazed with anxiety. The other two were fine, having experienced something on this level before. The second trumpet rang out, with the doors finally beginning to open up on their own.
The cheering became louder and louder, the more the doors inched away from each other. Without even a hint of hesitation, Deveron stepped up first out of everyone on Starlight; he wanted to be the face of the team by going in ahead of the others. After this, Cheveyo followed, then Heidi, Roy, and lastly, Alexia. Walking on an extravagant red carpet, which led to the machine that took up almost the entire stadium floor, the finals weren’t playing around when it came to displays. Even the stands were filled to the brim with people. Alexia glanced to her upper right, noticing that Saint Mary was seated in the stands watching. Though Maria herself, in particular, was nowhere to be seen. Even the other schools or at least those that had not left immediately after the first day located themselves around the stadium.
Heidi waved at everyone cheering for them; even Roy started to feel motivated by the cheering, Deveron, of course, living it up as well with them. Cheveyo, on the other hand, emitted a low hum, which seemed more like a growl, the closer they approached the machine. His growl all but faded away when they walked up the steps only to see the panels on the machine were covered entirely by a metallic surface that could not be seen through to prevent damage to the glass.
Alexia squinted her eyes a bit peeking behind Roy as they made it up the machine only to see all the East Bridge members. While the two teams were distinct in their school uniforms with Starlights, white, blue, and gold colliding with East Bridges black, white and red. What made the state champions stand out more would be their bandages, every single one wore a bandage in various parts of their body. With Gabby and Daniel being their arms and legs, while Caitlin had hers around her waist hanging off, Tommy only had his wrapped around his forehead, and Vincent wore his wrapped around his shoulders. A unique feature to set the team apart, especially among the nationals.
Deveron stood across from Gabby, making it seem the two of them would square off against each other to the audience, Roy to Vincent, Cheveyo to Daniel, Heidi to Tommy, and Alexia to Caitlin. Caitlin, in particular, seemed shocked viewing Alexia indeed; this was the girl they passed on the first day of the tournament. Still, the energy she sensed from the girl had all but faded away.
Daniel was about to greet himself only to be immediately interrupted by Lyn jumping from the stands and landing in front of them all.
“Welcome, Starlight and East Bridge! You stand here to decide who will represent your state in the nationals! No matter what happens, you will respect your opponent while fighting in the confines of this stadium. Shake hands with your respective opponent.” Lyn moved out of the way and allowed both teams to shake their hands. In particular, Gabby teasing Deveron with their handshake, their grip tightening by the second. Daniel’s grip was strong; the tightening of it amazed Cheveyo for a brief moment, as for the rest, their handshakes were reasonably normal.
“Now, we shall select the stage for the final match.” Lyn reached into her pocket, taking out a small red button holding it out into the palm of her hand. The broadcasting screens began to change to display an assortment of playing fields ranging from vast mountains to endless plains.
“As with tradition, May one of East Bridge approach me.” Before anyone could react, Daniel began to stretch his arm, revving it up in a spinning motion taking a position in front of Lyn.
“Alright! Champions picking first!” Without even giving Lyn time to answer back, Daniel pressed the red button beginning to stage selection; monitors began to flip through them all at rapid motion. It didn’t look as if it stopped at all until the button was pressed again.
“T-The selection commences!” Lyn quickly caught herself from Daniel's immediate reaction. Daniel rubbed his hands for good luck, praying for a perfect stage.
“Danny boy, fortune is with you~.” Pressing the button once more, the stage selection immediately slowed to a crawl. Everyone’s eyes peered at the stage selected with the simple image of a grand city, the words laid out ‘Metropolis.’
“YES!!!” Daniel raised his fist into the air for a victory. Fights in a city biome often raised a bit of hype around them as to the crowd's excitement and cheers roaring after the selection. This was due to seeing what singularity users could really do in terms of damage.
“A metropolis fight is about to occur, May the Vanguards step to their respective positions.” With that, Lyn jumped off the stage and headed off to the side.
“Good luck, Roy! Do your best.” Heidi waved, beginning to depart off stage with the others.
“Yeah, Don’t screw up,” Deveron interjected.
Cheveyo shook his head, looking at Deveron. “Ignore him.”
As for Alexia, she’d place her hand on Roy’s shoulder, attempting to give him good luck. Roy gave a thumbs up before speaking. “We’ll be in the nationals in no time. Sit back and relax while I handle this.”
“At least your confidence isn’t riddled. Now’s your chance to show everyone your stellar moves.” Alexia teased Roy for a moment by saying that, but he took it as a compliment.
“You know it. After this, I'm gonna be a crowd favorite.” Roy smirked, balling his hand into a fist, leaning it close to Alexia. Alexia returned the favor as the two fist-bumped after that. Alexia waved goodbye, getting off the machine and heading back to the room with the others.
With them now gone, Roy turned around, looking for his opponent. Daniel stood on the opposite side of him, flexing his muscles for the crowd. Roy couldn’t hesitate once the metallic surface retracted to the sides revealing the panels underneath. Daniel pulled his hair back, making it appear slicker. With the machine activating, the loud hum accelerated in volume with the crowd's cheer.
“Fighters at the ready!!!” This time the voice emitting from the machine wasn’t monotone and resembled a professional male announcer. Particles shot up into the air, encircling the edges of the device — Roy and Daniel began to fade away in the particles with their suppressors detaching themselves automatically.
Roy closed his eyes during the process, and upon opening them, he stood in the middle of an empty city street. Skyscrapers and buildings of various purposes all around him, in the distance, there was a tower resembling the Space Needle and a mountain range stretching off the horizon. Even towards the mountains, he saw buildings; this stage was a megacity.
The sun shined brightly upon it, light reflecting off mirrors making the city shine in the daylight. A magnificent city modeled after many around the world — With the wind picking up, the match commenced only for the music of wind to wander about. No cars, no people, not even the ringing of alarms, just silence.
Roy wondered where Daniel had spawned, The distance between them shouldn’t have been great. They didn’t even provide them with a map to find each other; however, one thing did catch his attention. In the distance, the sound of a train approached from somewhere, due to how quiet it was the sound bounced all around him.
“Great. More walki-” Roy cut short of his words as the thud of stomps approached him rapidly. In the distance, a loud shout echoed, coming closer and closer. Just as Roy was about to move out, in front of him bursting through one of the street shops breaking the wall and window, Daniel made his appearance. Even being unharmed in the process, he stamped his foot down on the broken glass, the loud noise had come from him.
“GOOOOOO BUSTER!!!” Daniel shouted at the top of his lungs, his muscles bulging around his arms, and his right fist slamming into the ground. Uplifting the earth beneath the city streets, there was not a moment of pause with this guy. The ground shook Roy, causing him to lose balance before ultimately shifting upward, launching him into the air.
With a skillful jump, Daniel leaped at Roy, slamming his fist directly into the gut. The force of the hit knocked Roy into a nearby restaurant breaking through the window and colliding with the tables. Landing with ease after an immediate attack, Daniel proceeded to hold his arms up and flex them once more.
“GOOOOOOO BUSTER~!” Repeating the same phrase again, the crowd viewing the fight raised a cheer. Joel adjusted himself properly, preparing to address the crowd.
“AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS! Without a moment of silence, Daniel, in true vanguard nature, launches the first strike! Will we see another spectacular match, or will Daniel show us the power of a national-class vanguard!”
Pearl now composed and no longer chanting glanced over at Joel’s little comment. It had been a while since she saw any national-level fighting; so far, the only thing that came close to that type of tournament power being the match yesterday between Alexia and Maria. Though, it seemed only she among those viewing the match noticed.
“Well...A sliver of power…” Taking in another sip of coffee, Pearl leaned back, closing her eyes. For now, she’d allow Joel to do most of the work. Joel showed more emotion in his work than Pearl did, after all, she was only here to fill in as a secondary commentator. Being a fighter didn’t mean she commented a lot for other matches, though some professionals enjoyed that, she did not. However, Joel didn’t seem to mind, and the times Pearl did commentate it was insightful for many watchers.
Despite all this, Joel's claims of Daniel being one of the nation's best vanguards in this age group made her question it. Though, East Bridge did make it very far in the nationals but was stopped short before the semi-finals by Hawaii. Pearl recalled the memories of the tournament, only showing interest in the semi-finals when Texas, Hawaii, and New York were knocked out by Georgia. The memories of this match only showcased a devil in her mind, though she liked the idea of it being an actual devil rather than fake.
Peering into her cup of coffee, Pearl emitted a very light and gentle pulse from her body. The vibration wasn’t visible to any normal human, nor could singularity users pick it up due to how weak it was. Gently the coffee moved from side to side, ripples repeatedly appearing in the drink. A beep emitted from her suppressor signaling her power had just activated. Immediately, Pearl reacted as if her neck was stabbed, quickly holding it tightly and turning her chair away from Joel.
At first, Joel glanced her way but made no mention of what just occurred to Pearl, seeing it as a regular occurrence when a user's power activates with their suppressor on. Pearl unwrapped her hands, revealing her suppressor once more as she always wore it around her neck. Laying her head down on the table, becoming more docile in nature before her eyes shut for some needed rest.
The match, on the other hand, continued despite Pearl's little awakening of her power. From the rubble of the broken tables, Roy rose to his feet beginning to bulk up in size, his fat becoming pure muscle in the process. Even his height started to increase slightly due to this — Daniel's curiosity got the best of him from this, allowing him to let Roy finish bulking.
“Well then, Roy, was it? It seems we have the same singularity, but you’re in for a world of hurt!” Once Roy finished bulking up, Daniel rammed through the restaurant wall charging towards Roy. Roy braced himself, bringing his right shoulder forward, taking the charge head-on only to be sent through two walls and out into the other end, getting tossed onto the road.
“You still have a ways to go.” And Daniel was correct; Roy was bulking up his overall body seeking to have an intimidation factor play into his muscles. In contrast, Daniel, on the other hand, didn’t look that much different despite the slightly meatier arms. His overall body performed better, it was faster, stronger, and more flexible compared to Roy’s.
Rising to his feet once more, Roy braced himself for the fight ahead, his body beginning to shrink back to its standard size no longer retaining the muscles. Just from that bulking, his energy had drained — Taking in a breath of air, clenching his fist, and stamping his foot into the ground. Roy’s stance turned more defensive.
“Hmm. I like your spirit! Very well, I shall give you praise for not backing down.” Daniel smiled, generally after the first few hits and charging. His opponents were either extremely winded from a single punch or retreating to hide. But, the onslaught had just begun.
