Outer Rim Home
Pietro watched Polo walk off the arena floor. His expression was distant. Haunted.
Mary noticed immediately. "Pietro? Are you alright?"
He was quiet for a moment. Then smiled. That same charismatic smile. But it didn't reach his eyes. "Haha, I'll live."
But Mary knew him too well. She placed her hand on his. "What is it?"
"I have... regrets. With my younger brother." Pietro's smile faded. "I was always busy. Always saving someone else. Always being the HERO." The word came out bitter. "But I couldn't save the people in my own house. Couldn't be there when he needed me most."
He looked at his hands. "Our relationship might be fractured beyond repair. I don't know if he'll ever forgive me for not being there."
Mary squeezed his hand. Her warm smile radiated pure kindness. "But he's still your baby brother, right?"
Pietro looked at her.
"It's never too late to mend fences, darling. Never."
Pietro stared at her for a long moment. Then smiled. Genuine this time. "How did I get so lucky?"
"Destiny," Mary said simply. "Or maybe I just have good taste."
Juno looked between them, confused. "What are we talking about?"
"Nothing, little star." Pietro pulled both of them close. "Nothing at all."
The Arena
Jango leaned into his mic. "That Polo versus Javar match was INTENSE. Both fighters showed masterful Resonance control. Polo's calculated precision versus Javar's desperate ferocity. In the end, experience and cold efficiency won out. But Javar? Kid showed HEART. Kept fightin' even when his body was broken. Both warriors earned respect today."
Larry nodded, wiping his eyes. "Beautiful words, Jango. Just beautiful."
Raider Outpost
The crowd applauded respectfully.
Then immediately went back to complaining.
"That was great but WHERE'S JULI?!"
"When does he fight?!"
"I can't TAKE this waiting!"
"My heart can't handle this!"
One raider was literally on his knees. Hands clasped. "Please. PLEASE. I need to see the blonde boy fight. I'm DYING here!"
The veteran raider just shook his head. "We're all addicts. Every single one of us."
Ragnar remained focused. Patient. But even he felt the anticipation building.
The Arena
"NEXT MATCH!" Larry stood, his voice somehow finding new levels of excitement. "STONE JACKSON VERSUS LYRIELLE XISTRITH!"
The crowd ROARED.
Two technical fighters. Two masters of their craft. This was going to be GOOD.
VIP Box
Seraphina sat perfectly still. Her serene mask in place. But her hands were clasped tight.
Show them, niece. Show them the strength of House Xistrith.
The Arena
Stone walked out first. His cybernetic enhancements gleaming. Blue circuits running along his mechanical arm. His natural eye focused. His cybernetic eye already scanning. Calculating. Processing.
He dropped into a boxing stance. Orthodox. Solid. Ready.
Lyrielle emerged like a ghost. Silent. Graceful. Her silver hair flowing. Blue tribal markings glowing faintly on her skin. Her bow in hand. An arrow already nocked.
The contrast was stark. Machine versus nature. Calculation versus instinct. Power versus grace.
The horn rang.
MATCH BEGIN.
Lyrielle MOVED first. An arrow flew before the echo of the horn faded.
Stone's cybernetic eye tracked it. He sidestepped. The arrow missed by inches.
Another arrow. Then another. RAPID fire.
Stone bobbed. Weaved. His boxing defense translating to arrow dodging. Head movement. Footwork. Each arrow missing by smaller and smaller margins.
His arm transformed. The cannon charged.
BOOM.
The energy beam screamed toward Lyrielle.
She ROLLED. The beam hit where she'd been standing. Sand exploded.
She came up firing. Three arrows in quick succession. Different angles. Creating a triangle of death.
Stone couldn't dodge all three. His cybernetic arm came up. BLOCKED one arrow. The impact sent sparks flying. His natural arm deflected another.
The third hit his shoulder. Stuck there. Not deep enough to disable but PAINFUL.
"FIRST BLOOD TO LYRIELLE!" Larry screamed.
Stone ripped the arrow out. Didn't even flinch. Just CHARGED.
His enhanced legs propelled him forward. FAST. Closing the twenty-meter gap in seconds.
Lyrielle switched tactics. Drew a different arrow. Smoke.
She fired at the ground between them.
White mist EXPLODED. Vision gone.
But Stone's cybernetic eye had thermal imaging. Infrared. She was RIGHT THERE.
He burst through the smoke. Fist already swinging.
But Lyrielle had EXPECTED that. She wasn't where his eye showed her to be.
She'd left a heat signature. A trick. A decoy using residual warmth from her body.
Her REAL position was three feet left.
Her leg came around. Caught Stone's temple. He stumbled.
She pressed. Palm strike to his chest. He blocked. Her knee came up. Hit his ribs.
Stone grabbed her leg. YANKED. She fell.
But she used the momentum. Rolled backward. Kicked both feet into his face as she went.
Stone's head snapped back. Blood from his nose. He wiped it. Grinned.
"Not bad."
"Thou hast merely witnessed the beginning."
They circled. Both breathing hard already. Both bleeding. Both ALIVE with the fight.
Stone feinted left. Went right. His fist came in a HOOK.
Lyrielle ducked. Her bow came up horizontally. BLOCKED his follow-up straight.
The impact sent vibrations through her arms. He was STRONG. Cybernetically enhanced strength that could shatter bone.
She created distance. Drew another arrow. Fired.
Stone's arm cannon charged. Fired at the arrow mid-flight.
The EXPLOSION lit up the arena. Arrow and beam colliding in a burst of energy.
Through the smoke, Lyrielle was already moving. Firing. One arrow. Two. Three. FOUR.
Stone's enhanced reflexes kicked in. He MOVED. But couldn't dodge them all.
One arrow hit his leg. Another his side. He kept advancing.
His cannon charged again. BIGGER charge this time. More power.
Lyrielle's eyes widened. She RAN.
BOOM.
The beam carved a trench in the sand where she'd been. The heat was INTENSE. The power devastating.
But it left Stone vulnerable. The recharge time. Two seconds. Maybe three.
Lyrielle's Resonance aura FLARED. Light blue energy coating her entire body.
She CLOSED the distance. Full speed. Her bow abandoned. Pure hand-to-hand now.
A flurry of strikes. Palm. Elbow. Knee. Kick. Each one enhanced by Resonance. Each one PRECISE.
Stone blocked what he could. His boxing defense solid. But she was FAST. RELENTLESS.
A palm strike got through. Hit his jaw. His head turned.
She spun. Her leg came around in a devastating roundhouse.
Stone's cybernetic arm came up. CAUGHT her leg. His grip was IRON.
He PULLED her toward him. His other fist came up in an UPPERCUT.
Lyrielle twisted mid-air. Barely avoided it. Used his grip on her leg to spin. Her other leg came around. Hit his face.
He let go. She landed. Distance created again.
Both were GASPING now. This was taking everything.
VIP Box
"MERCIFUL STARS!" Seraphina was on her feet. Her composure completely shattered. "THIS IS INCREDIBLE!"
Goldberg was SCREAMING. All three arms pumping. "THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! PASSION! TECHNIQUE! EVERYTHING!"
Bianca was leaning so far forward she nearly fell out of her seat. "The technical execution... it's PERFECT from both!"
Olivier had taken off his goggles. Just staring. "Mon dieu..."
Sparta was standing. Silent. But his golden eyes were WIDE.
The Arena
Stone and Lyrielle stood across from each other. Both bloodied. Both exhausted. Both refusing to quit.
"You're good," Stone admitted. Breathing hard.
"As art thou," Lyrielle replied. Her chest heaving.
Stone's cybernetic systems were SCREAMING warnings. Overheating. Damage accumulating. Energy reserves depleting.
But he didn't care.
His cannon charged one more time. MAXIMUM power. Everything he had left.
Lyrielle saw it. Knew what was coming. This was it. THE shot. The one that would end it.
She drew her last arrow. Regular. No tricks. No smoke. Just a single, perfect arrow.
Her light blue Resonance concentrated entirely in her hands. In her eyes. In that arrow.
They both moved simultaneously.
Stone FIRED.
Lyrielle RELEASED.
The energy beam screamed across the arena. MASSIVE. DEVASTATING. A column of pure destruction.
The arrow flew. Small. Precise. Enhanced beyond its physical limits.
They were on a collision course.
The arena held its breath.
The beam and arrow met.
For a fraction of a second, they HELD. Energy versus matter. Power versus precision.
Then the arrow PIERCED through. Split the beam. The energy dispersed around it.
The arrow kept going.
Hit Stone square in the chest. Not deep. But enough.
His cybernetic systems SPARKED. Critical hit. The arrow had damaged something vital.
His legs gave out. He fell to one knee.
Tried to stand. His body wouldn't respond. Systems failing. Energy depleted.
Lyrielle was barely standing herself. That last arrow had taken EVERYTHING. Her Resonance reserves completely drained.
But she was STANDING.
Stone looked up at her. Smiled. Then fell forward.
Unconscious.
WINNER: LYRIELLE XISTRITH.
The arena EXPLODED.
"WHAT A MATCH!"
"BOTH OF THEM NEARLY DIED!"
"THAT WAS INSANE!"
"THE ARROW SPLIT THE BEAM!"
Larry was SOBBING. "THAT! THAT WAS THE GREATEST QUARTERFINAL MATCH I'VE EVER WITNESSED! BOTH WARRIORS! BOTH GIVING EVERYTHING! BUT IN THE END! BY THE SKIN OF HER TEETH! LYRIELLE XISTRITH ADVANCES!"
VIP Box
Seraphina was CRYING. Actually crying. Tears streaming down her face. All composure gone.
She stood. Clapped. "YES! YES! MINE NIECE! MINE WARRIOR!"
Goldberg was beside himself. Hugging her. "YOUR GIRL DID IT! SHE ACTUALLY DID IT!"
Even the stoic captains were applauding. Standing. Recognizing greatness.
Louis Vors Kiel's empty eyes were WIDE. Actually showing emotion.
That had been SPECIAL.
The Arena
Medical personnel rushed to both fighters. Stone was unconscious but stable. His cybernetics would need repair but he'd live.
Lyrielle stood there. Barely. Her body swaying. Her Resonance completely depleted. Her muscles screaming.
But she was SMILING.
She looked up at the VIP box. At her aunt. At Seraphina.
And mouthed two words.
For you.
Seraphina's tears fell harder.
Raider Outpost
The crowd was on their feet. Applauding. Cheering.
Then one raider remembered.
"WAIT! THERE'S ONE MORE MATCH!"
Silence.
Then CHAOS.
"JULI! IT'S JULI'S TURN!"
"FINALLY!"
"I'VE BEEN WAITING ALL DAY!"
"THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHAT WE CAME FOR!"
The energy shifted. Amplified. Everyone suddenly awake. Alert. READY.
Ragnar leaned forward. His golden eyes intense.
Now. Show me, boy. Show me everything you've become.
The Arena
Larry took a breath. Tried to compose himself. Failed.
"AND NOW! THE FINAL MATCH OF THE QUARTERFINALS! THE MOMENT THE GALAXY HAS BEEN WAITING FOR!"
The crowd was DEAFENING.
"THE NUMBER ONE SEED! THE BLONDE BRAWLER! JULIAN WEIPER!"
Pause for effect.
"VERSUS! THE BLIND WARRIOR! PAMELA VORS KIEL!"
The arena shook with noise.
Three matches down.
One to go.
And THIS was the one everyone wanted to see.