Post by Strato Abyss on Apr 29, 2015 11:54:53 GMT -6
Chapter 2: The Judging
“Ladies and Gentlemen!!” the announcer shouted. “It’s time for the Judging!!”
The crowd went wild as another Judging tournament was ready to go underway. I could hear it all the way from the waiting area.
I was instructed to wait in a certain area with the other Electric elements. They were already sizing me up, and I could tell that they didn't like the idea of a newbie encroaching on their turf. I mainly just kept to myself and watched the monitor as the announcements went on.
“OK! We will now go over to our undisputed king of Ascension City, King Ethan!!”
I continued to watch as a white and gold Dragon stepped up and waved, a smile on his face. Then he held a hand up, silencing everyone in the arena.
“This will be a Battle-Royale style elimination battle,” he boomed, his voice reaching the entire stadium without a microphone. “The winner of each element group will be sworn in as the new Elemental for that element. I want a fair fight; no dirty tactics. Those with a known Avatar Awakening can use it at will. And with that…”
Ethan had closed his eyes, then he opened them, confidence pouring out of them.
“Let the games begin!!”
The crowd roared loudly, and Ethan took his seat.
“OK! Let’s do this! First up are the Grass Elements!” the announcer boomed. “Come on out!!”
All of the Grass element competitors stepped out onto the field. They were all very well built, and I could tell that this would be a battle of brute strength.
“Begin!” Ethan shouted.
All of the Half-bloods ran at each other, and before you knew it, it was the Civil War all over again. Fists and weapons were flying, and it wasn’t easy to follow what was going on in the arena. Eventually, though, the combatants were left with trying to take down one guy in general, a Turtle avatar. His amazing defenses weren’t easy to get through, and everyone wore themselves out trying to destroy him. He was the last one standing.
“Winner, Byron!!”
The Turtle waved to the crowd and exited the stadium. A short intermission was held as the defeated competitors were hauled off the field, and the call for Fire elements went out.
The battles went on for quite a while. The Fire elements went at it for at least 15 minutes before a Dragon named Rayna landed the final blow on a Fire Necromancer. Then it was the Water elements’ turn. Max was in a tight spot against a Serpent avatar who was using his slow squeeze to try and cause him to faint. However, that wasn't flying with him, for he dug his rear claws into his abdomen, causing the Serpent to let go. Max finished the battle by releasing his Avatar Awakening, Abyss Spiral, which sent a spiral wave of water erupting from beneath him and defeating him before he hit the ground.
Next was the Light Elements. Almost immediately, a biped Tigress stole the show, destroying the opposition with her sharp blade-like claws. Her name was Claire, and she won that round.
The Dark Elements took the stage afterwards, and their battles were fierce. Quite a bit of blood was shed, but the battle ended with a Werewolf named Michael landing a devastating blow to an Eagle’s throat, defeating it but not killing it. He was well within the rules, but some were questioning him.
Finally, it was time for the Electric Elements to take the stage. I stood up and walked out onto the field with the other combatants. I looked up at the king’s loft, and I noticed that Ethan had locked eyes with me. He nodded and smiled, giving me a look that said, “Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”
Once we were in position and weapons were drawn, Ethan stood up and said, “Begin!”
At that very moment, every combatant looked at me. That’s when I knew I was in trouble.
Once they rushed me, I unfurled my wings and took to the sky, being chased by three of the Half-bloods who could fly. One of them, a Gryphon, fired a sharp stream of electricity at me, which I narrowly dodged.
That triggered a resolve that I didn't know was inside me.
I flew up and behind my pursuers, knocking all of them out of the air with short bursts of wind from my wings, then eventually, I was flapping them hard enough to create a small twister, wrapping them up in my windstorm and sending them plummeting to the ground. After they had been taken out, it was time to take out the ground players.
Folding my wings back, I dove at the remaining four fighters and fired off a bolt of electricity at all of them, hitting at least two of them; the other had dodged out of the way. I landed on the ground, sliding a bit, then gathered myself and ran at the combatants I had strafed and took them out with a couple swipes of my blades.
“Amazing! I've never seen this kid before, and he’s totally destroying the competition!” the announcer said, excited. “Listen to that crowd!!”
Just as the announcer had said, the crowd was going nuts over my moves, even chanting my name. I thought about waving to them, but I couldn't let my guard down, not when there was one more fighter to defeat. And he also happened to be a Dragon, almost like me, but built much more stout than me. I went into a battle stance, blades out and ready to win.
“OK, pipsqueak,” the Dragon said. “I’ll make your defeat as painless as possible.”
“Bring it on, steroids,” I said roughly.
“Oh! Looks like Strato’s last hurdle is Xerxes!” the announcer said, his tone changing to one of sympathy. “He’s the most feared among our competitors, since he’s held the title for 3 judgings and never let it go! Can Strato pull off a win?”
“You’re damn right I can!” I shouted, rushing Xerxes immediately. We clashed swords harshly, and the real battle began.
One by one, we traded blows at lightning speed, almost so fast that no one could see us. We clashed swords so fast that it was practically a blur of yellow and silver, and the crowd was loving every moment of it.
“Look at them go! Strato is giving the current Elemental a run for his money!” the announcer boomed, his voice excited. “I don’t think Xerxes has ever had a challenge quite like this!”
I could already feel Xerxes loosening up, and that meant he was getting tired. Eventually, he jumped back and fired a Shock Wave at me, which I managed to dodge just barely. Like Xerxes, I was exhausted.
“You’re pretty strong, but I’m not done yet!” Xerxes said, charging up a beam of electricity in his mouth. I knew that I had to do something fast, or I was going to lose.
Right then, out of pure instinct, I cupped my hands behind my back and charged up a beam of my own, but unlike Xerxes’, mine was much bigger and with a higher voltage level.
“What is this…?” the announcer said, stupefied.
“Bolt Blast!!” I shouted before launching the massive electric attack at my unsuspecting opponent. A sharp “Ooooh!!” erupted from the crowd, and I took notice of where my attack had connected: right up Xerxes’ jewels. The Dragon screamed and fell to the ground, jolting and writhing violently before returning to his human form, defeated.
“Ouch!! That one had to hurt! Strato just launched an Avatar Awakening up Xerxes’ nads!” the announcer shouted. “He’s not getting up after that one!!”
Ethan stood up, an impressed look on his face, and he shouted, “Winner: Strato!!”
The crowd cheered as I retracted my hands and took a bow before exiting the field, a smile on my face. It was soon after, while the battle between the Poison elements was going on that I got a visitor. The door opened, and I was left looking at the king of Ascension City himself. Frantically, I stood up and kneeled down, showing my respect.
“Oh, Genesis, there’s no need for that,” Ethan said. “Stand up, kid.”
I looked up at Ethan, who had cocked an eyebrow. I quickly stood up and nodded.
“If I may ask, sir,” I said shakily. “What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be watching the matches?”
“Nah, I've got the announcer doing the decisions now,” Ethan said. “Much easier, if you ask me.”
“I see…” I said, calming down.
“That, and I decided to come and see how you were doing,” Ethan continued. “You took quite a few hits during that last battle. I was beginning to think that you weren't going to make it.”
“Nah, it’s cool,” I said. “I’ll be OK.”
“That being said, you were quite impressive,” Ethan said, cracking a smile. “You defeated our Electric Elemental for 30 years running with nearly no problem at all. He’s never been defeated, not even in the other judgings. Not bad, considering you haven’t had any kind of combat training.”
“Thanks…I think,” I said, not knowing how to take that.
"I just want you to know that our first meeting will be held on the day of the next full moon, like all of our meetings," Ethan said. "I expect you to be there."
"Yes, sir," I said.
Ethan nodded and exited the room. After he’d left, I plopped down onto the chair, taking a deep breath and looking at the screen to watch the rest of the matches.
After about an hour, the matches were over, and the winners were called out to the stadium. As soon as Max saw me, he made his way over to me and said, “Dude! I don’t care who you are, you don’t send an attack up a man’s pills! That’s not cool!”
“Hey, I didn't exactly plan that out,” I said in my defense. “Besides, would you have a better idea if you were in my shoes?”
Max opened his mouth like he was about to counter, then he shut it.
“And now, here are your new Elementals!!” the announcer shouted, somehow turning the whole arena dark and shining a spotlight on the individual winners, announcing their elements first, then their names. The ceremony ended with all of us getting to know each other. Surprisingly enough, 7 of the 13 Elementals of the last decade kept their titles. One of them happened to be Steele, which I half expected.
“So…you’re the Dragon everyone’s talking about,” Claire said, walking up to me. “Strato, right?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said. Then I perked up. “Wait, people are talking about me?”
“Haha, I can tell you've never done anything like this before,” Claire laughed. She gave me a warm smile and held out a hand, saying, “I look forward to working beside you.”
“Same here,” I said, taking her hand and shaking it.
Claire walked off to talk with the rest of the veterans. I was left with the other Half-bloods who had just gained their titles.
“Hey, there’s the man of the hour,” Max said. “I was just telling them about you!”
“Yeah, that was pretty impressive how you took down Xerxes,” the Fire Elemental said. “I’m Rayna, by the way. Glad to meet you.”
“Good to meet you too. I’m Strato,” I said. Then I cracked a smile. “But, then again, you already knew that, didn't you?”
“Well, well, Strato,” said a black Werewolf as he stepped up to me. “Didn't know you were one of us. Who’da thought it?”
“Wait, Michael?!” I said in surprise, recognizing him as one of my friends from Earth. “Wow, how’s that for a shock?”
“Not like the one you gave Xerxes, that’s for sure,” Max said, laughing. “But yeah, what gives? Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't think you’d think highly of me for being a Dark-element, so I kept my mouth shut,” Michael explained. “Anyway, I gotta go. I told my mom I was at the bowling alley, and she’s going to pick me up soon.”
Michael dropped through the Colosseum floor, exiting the city and leaving me with a shocked look on my face.
“Yeah, we oughta get going, too,” Max said. The rest of the Elementals were clearing out as well, and before Rayna left, she gave me a wink and a smile, saying, “I’ll see you around.”
“See you around,” I replied, nodding and smiling. Rayna exited the city, and Max gave me a quick run-through on how to go back to the ground before we, too, exited the city.
Once we touched ground, Max and I went our separate ways, back to our own homes, me to the hospital, of course. I didn't exit my Avatar form until I was near my room, for it gave me a sense of freedom. Once I got to my window, I climbed inside and crawled back into the bed, exiting my Avatar and closing my eyes. But I couldn't sleep. For I knew that a new adventure was about to take place.
And I was ready.
“Ladies and Gentlemen!!” the announcer shouted. “It’s time for the Judging!!”
The crowd went wild as another Judging tournament was ready to go underway. I could hear it all the way from the waiting area.
I was instructed to wait in a certain area with the other Electric elements. They were already sizing me up, and I could tell that they didn't like the idea of a newbie encroaching on their turf. I mainly just kept to myself and watched the monitor as the announcements went on.
“OK! We will now go over to our undisputed king of Ascension City, King Ethan!!”
I continued to watch as a white and gold Dragon stepped up and waved, a smile on his face. Then he held a hand up, silencing everyone in the arena.
“This will be a Battle-Royale style elimination battle,” he boomed, his voice reaching the entire stadium without a microphone. “The winner of each element group will be sworn in as the new Elemental for that element. I want a fair fight; no dirty tactics. Those with a known Avatar Awakening can use it at will. And with that…”
Ethan had closed his eyes, then he opened them, confidence pouring out of them.
“Let the games begin!!”
The crowd roared loudly, and Ethan took his seat.
“OK! Let’s do this! First up are the Grass Elements!” the announcer boomed. “Come on out!!”
All of the Grass element competitors stepped out onto the field. They were all very well built, and I could tell that this would be a battle of brute strength.
“Begin!” Ethan shouted.
All of the Half-bloods ran at each other, and before you knew it, it was the Civil War all over again. Fists and weapons were flying, and it wasn’t easy to follow what was going on in the arena. Eventually, though, the combatants were left with trying to take down one guy in general, a Turtle avatar. His amazing defenses weren’t easy to get through, and everyone wore themselves out trying to destroy him. He was the last one standing.
“Winner, Byron!!”
The Turtle waved to the crowd and exited the stadium. A short intermission was held as the defeated competitors were hauled off the field, and the call for Fire elements went out.
The battles went on for quite a while. The Fire elements went at it for at least 15 minutes before a Dragon named Rayna landed the final blow on a Fire Necromancer. Then it was the Water elements’ turn. Max was in a tight spot against a Serpent avatar who was using his slow squeeze to try and cause him to faint. However, that wasn't flying with him, for he dug his rear claws into his abdomen, causing the Serpent to let go. Max finished the battle by releasing his Avatar Awakening, Abyss Spiral, which sent a spiral wave of water erupting from beneath him and defeating him before he hit the ground.
Next was the Light Elements. Almost immediately, a biped Tigress stole the show, destroying the opposition with her sharp blade-like claws. Her name was Claire, and she won that round.
The Dark Elements took the stage afterwards, and their battles were fierce. Quite a bit of blood was shed, but the battle ended with a Werewolf named Michael landing a devastating blow to an Eagle’s throat, defeating it but not killing it. He was well within the rules, but some were questioning him.
Finally, it was time for the Electric Elements to take the stage. I stood up and walked out onto the field with the other combatants. I looked up at the king’s loft, and I noticed that Ethan had locked eyes with me. He nodded and smiled, giving me a look that said, “Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”
Once we were in position and weapons were drawn, Ethan stood up and said, “Begin!”
At that very moment, every combatant looked at me. That’s when I knew I was in trouble.
Once they rushed me, I unfurled my wings and took to the sky, being chased by three of the Half-bloods who could fly. One of them, a Gryphon, fired a sharp stream of electricity at me, which I narrowly dodged.
That triggered a resolve that I didn't know was inside me.
I flew up and behind my pursuers, knocking all of them out of the air with short bursts of wind from my wings, then eventually, I was flapping them hard enough to create a small twister, wrapping them up in my windstorm and sending them plummeting to the ground. After they had been taken out, it was time to take out the ground players.
Folding my wings back, I dove at the remaining four fighters and fired off a bolt of electricity at all of them, hitting at least two of them; the other had dodged out of the way. I landed on the ground, sliding a bit, then gathered myself and ran at the combatants I had strafed and took them out with a couple swipes of my blades.
“Amazing! I've never seen this kid before, and he’s totally destroying the competition!” the announcer said, excited. “Listen to that crowd!!”
Just as the announcer had said, the crowd was going nuts over my moves, even chanting my name. I thought about waving to them, but I couldn't let my guard down, not when there was one more fighter to defeat. And he also happened to be a Dragon, almost like me, but built much more stout than me. I went into a battle stance, blades out and ready to win.
“OK, pipsqueak,” the Dragon said. “I’ll make your defeat as painless as possible.”
“Bring it on, steroids,” I said roughly.
“Oh! Looks like Strato’s last hurdle is Xerxes!” the announcer said, his tone changing to one of sympathy. “He’s the most feared among our competitors, since he’s held the title for 3 judgings and never let it go! Can Strato pull off a win?”
“You’re damn right I can!” I shouted, rushing Xerxes immediately. We clashed swords harshly, and the real battle began.
One by one, we traded blows at lightning speed, almost so fast that no one could see us. We clashed swords so fast that it was practically a blur of yellow and silver, and the crowd was loving every moment of it.
“Look at them go! Strato is giving the current Elemental a run for his money!” the announcer boomed, his voice excited. “I don’t think Xerxes has ever had a challenge quite like this!”
I could already feel Xerxes loosening up, and that meant he was getting tired. Eventually, he jumped back and fired a Shock Wave at me, which I managed to dodge just barely. Like Xerxes, I was exhausted.
“You’re pretty strong, but I’m not done yet!” Xerxes said, charging up a beam of electricity in his mouth. I knew that I had to do something fast, or I was going to lose.
Right then, out of pure instinct, I cupped my hands behind my back and charged up a beam of my own, but unlike Xerxes’, mine was much bigger and with a higher voltage level.
“What is this…?” the announcer said, stupefied.
“Bolt Blast!!” I shouted before launching the massive electric attack at my unsuspecting opponent. A sharp “Ooooh!!” erupted from the crowd, and I took notice of where my attack had connected: right up Xerxes’ jewels. The Dragon screamed and fell to the ground, jolting and writhing violently before returning to his human form, defeated.
“Ouch!! That one had to hurt! Strato just launched an Avatar Awakening up Xerxes’ nads!” the announcer shouted. “He’s not getting up after that one!!”
Ethan stood up, an impressed look on his face, and he shouted, “Winner: Strato!!”
The crowd cheered as I retracted my hands and took a bow before exiting the field, a smile on my face. It was soon after, while the battle between the Poison elements was going on that I got a visitor. The door opened, and I was left looking at the king of Ascension City himself. Frantically, I stood up and kneeled down, showing my respect.
“Oh, Genesis, there’s no need for that,” Ethan said. “Stand up, kid.”
I looked up at Ethan, who had cocked an eyebrow. I quickly stood up and nodded.
“If I may ask, sir,” I said shakily. “What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be watching the matches?”
“Nah, I've got the announcer doing the decisions now,” Ethan said. “Much easier, if you ask me.”
“I see…” I said, calming down.
“That, and I decided to come and see how you were doing,” Ethan continued. “You took quite a few hits during that last battle. I was beginning to think that you weren't going to make it.”
“Nah, it’s cool,” I said. “I’ll be OK.”
“That being said, you were quite impressive,” Ethan said, cracking a smile. “You defeated our Electric Elemental for 30 years running with nearly no problem at all. He’s never been defeated, not even in the other judgings. Not bad, considering you haven’t had any kind of combat training.”
“Thanks…I think,” I said, not knowing how to take that.
"I just want you to know that our first meeting will be held on the day of the next full moon, like all of our meetings," Ethan said. "I expect you to be there."
"Yes, sir," I said.
Ethan nodded and exited the room. After he’d left, I plopped down onto the chair, taking a deep breath and looking at the screen to watch the rest of the matches.
After about an hour, the matches were over, and the winners were called out to the stadium. As soon as Max saw me, he made his way over to me and said, “Dude! I don’t care who you are, you don’t send an attack up a man’s pills! That’s not cool!”
“Hey, I didn't exactly plan that out,” I said in my defense. “Besides, would you have a better idea if you were in my shoes?”
Max opened his mouth like he was about to counter, then he shut it.
“And now, here are your new Elementals!!” the announcer shouted, somehow turning the whole arena dark and shining a spotlight on the individual winners, announcing their elements first, then their names. The ceremony ended with all of us getting to know each other. Surprisingly enough, 7 of the 13 Elementals of the last decade kept their titles. One of them happened to be Steele, which I half expected.
“So…you’re the Dragon everyone’s talking about,” Claire said, walking up to me. “Strato, right?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said. Then I perked up. “Wait, people are talking about me?”
“Haha, I can tell you've never done anything like this before,” Claire laughed. She gave me a warm smile and held out a hand, saying, “I look forward to working beside you.”
“Same here,” I said, taking her hand and shaking it.
Claire walked off to talk with the rest of the veterans. I was left with the other Half-bloods who had just gained their titles.
“Hey, there’s the man of the hour,” Max said. “I was just telling them about you!”
“Yeah, that was pretty impressive how you took down Xerxes,” the Fire Elemental said. “I’m Rayna, by the way. Glad to meet you.”
“Good to meet you too. I’m Strato,” I said. Then I cracked a smile. “But, then again, you already knew that, didn't you?”
“Well, well, Strato,” said a black Werewolf as he stepped up to me. “Didn't know you were one of us. Who’da thought it?”
“Wait, Michael?!” I said in surprise, recognizing him as one of my friends from Earth. “Wow, how’s that for a shock?”
“Not like the one you gave Xerxes, that’s for sure,” Max said, laughing. “But yeah, what gives? Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't think you’d think highly of me for being a Dark-element, so I kept my mouth shut,” Michael explained. “Anyway, I gotta go. I told my mom I was at the bowling alley, and she’s going to pick me up soon.”
Michael dropped through the Colosseum floor, exiting the city and leaving me with a shocked look on my face.
“Yeah, we oughta get going, too,” Max said. The rest of the Elementals were clearing out as well, and before Rayna left, she gave me a wink and a smile, saying, “I’ll see you around.”
“See you around,” I replied, nodding and smiling. Rayna exited the city, and Max gave me a quick run-through on how to go back to the ground before we, too, exited the city.
Once we touched ground, Max and I went our separate ways, back to our own homes, me to the hospital, of course. I didn't exit my Avatar form until I was near my room, for it gave me a sense of freedom. Once I got to my window, I climbed inside and crawled back into the bed, exiting my Avatar and closing my eyes. But I couldn't sleep. For I knew that a new adventure was about to take place.
And I was ready.