Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4)
Page 56
Going up against Dan had never been something that bothered Anaar, but he realized that was because he never intended to be serious against him. By beating Maggie, he had proven he would do what it took to secure victory. Though a part of him wanted to let him have it, he thought about his partner and how much doing well in the School Rankings meant to him.
After the awkward exchange in their last match, Anaar decided to dig into Holden’s life to understand more about him. With his enhanced connection, he could directly access confidential information without Hobb’s permission. Despite that, he typically asked first just to be respectful.
He found out Holden’s personality was all a façade. He came from a background similar to Dan’s. However unlike Dan, he knew from an early age he would do anything to attend Sophangence, so he lived his life to make his dream a reality. Footage of him when in the company of those closest to him showed a very different person than the arrogant brat he had seen. He was full of insecurities and found his persona somewhat tiring, but necessary. When he thought about what throwing the match would do to him, he decided to simply take a backseat approach instead.
Where he was the first to be brought to the field before, he was last this instance, because he did not realize their room placement changed. After the match he had simply returned to where he had been held before, which caused a mix up when they went to fetch him. Once he had finally arrived, he saw Dan had already prepared with the extensive time he spent waiting.
Everyone’s eyes trailed Anaar as he walked to a large rock not far away and sat cross-legged atop it. When they realized he had no intention of moving, Dan was the first to speak, more familiar with his antics than anyone else.
“What yo ass up to?!”
Anaar lazily shrugs and rests his head upon his hand. “I’m letting him take care of it.”
It took a moment for Holden to realize he was the ‘him’ in question. “Are you crazy?! Get up here!”
“I don’t want to steal your spotlight. I truly didn’t mean it before. Here is your time to shine.”
Dan’s partner looks at him with confusion written on his face. “Is… he always like that?”
“Yea. Basically he sayin’ he ain’t even need to get his hands dirty. I mean, don’t look no gift horse in da mouf. If nothin’ else, we might at least get some points for taking out da other one.”
The match had officially begun one minute prior. Spectators all over campus were growing weary of the four of them doing nothing, with larger gatherings becoming quite rowdy in their anticipation. It was when Dan’s partner saw him reach into his pocket, he suddenly became frantic.
“Quick! Put up a shield! He is about to attack! In fact, put up like eight of them!”
Dan threw up one of his sturdiest shields as a reflex to the panic, but immediately realized he had nothing to be worried about. He had seen what the Freshman class was capable of and there was no way one of them was capable of breaking his shield without water or fire. If they could withstand Anaar’s explosions, they could withstand whatever was going to be thrown at him. Feeling cocky, he decided to taunt Holden.
“Jest cause you got carry here by Anaar don’t mean shit! I’ll let ya have one fo free! Try me!”
As Dan snickered behind his wall, his partner became increasingly agitated. Because he knew Holden, they should have been taking the initiative and ending him quickly. Even though Dan refused to take the situation seriously, he knew better. With his vision obscured however, it was difficult for him to make a move. Holden raised his hand, a small shiny pebble nestled between his index and middle fingers. It was difficult to see at a distance, but a wavy energy began to form, and with a resounding boom of the sound barrier breaking, the pebble pierced directly through Dan’s shield and left a hole through his chest, just below his collarbone.
Dan’s eyes bulged, tears streaming down his face, blood beginning to soak his shirt. For just a flash he blacked out from the pain, long enough for his shield to flutter into sheets on the ground as he fell forward on his face. Anaar shook his head with a sigh as Dan’s partner tried to help him the best he could.
His win over Maggie was more to his detriment than his benefit. Sadly, Dan operates better when he thinks less of himself. His partner even warned him, but his head was too big. Even though he could not have known, he was up against a Railgun user. It is exceedingly rare, so I doubt he would know what it is, but if I were at the same level as Holden, it could be potentially more powerful over a small area than my explosions.
Though the vigorous shaking he was receiving from his partner did nothing to rouse him as he was already conscious again, it did aggravate the gaping wound he had received, which triggered one of Dan’s episodes. Holden was preparing another shot when Anaar noticed the disturbance. His head snapped left and right as he realized what was about to happen.
Oh shit.
Paper came to life, seemingly sentient and seeking the blood of anyone nearby. This would have first posed a problem for Dan’s partner if it had not been for the traps Dan planted. From the dirt sprung numerous sheets just behind Holden. Though he was powerful, Holden was about as nimble as a brick. He would have been sliced to ribbons if it were not for the various barriers Anaar placed to protect him. Anaar was unable to place an enclosed dome to protect Holden since the sheets and cards were practically glued to him in their assault.
Dan staggered to his knees as Holden realized it was only due to Anaar’s intervention that he was not in critical condition or worse. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he retrieved a number of metal pellets and began firing them off rapidly. Though they were severely lacking in power and accuracy, his hope was that he would be able to finish Dan and stop the onslaught.
Even though he had fallen victim to some Dan’s indiscriminate assault, his partner did his best to block the shots from Holden, the buffeting winds enough to blow the weak projectiles off course. Holden knew Anaar was protecting him, even going so far as to block each attack individually so that he could attack freely. In this way he was not fighting alone, but his increasing panic made him feel as if he had no other option but to lose if things continued as they were.
It was then that he recognized how much of an idiot he had been. If Anaar was blocking any damage that might come his way, why was he panicking and using his quickest shots? He had free rein to take as much time as he needed with impunity. When he was truthful with himself, he knew that deep down, what he truly wanted was Anaar to end things in an instant, simply because he could. Instead, he was giving Holden the opportunity to win the match on his own terms.
He stopped firing recklessly and chose the two largest pieces of ammunition he had left. One in each hand he charged his shots enough that neither wind nor paper would stop them, but a human could survive it. Because of the precision such a small round gave, it would pass through them with enough harm to finish them but not enough to kill them. With his targets locked, he prepared to fire. In his complete focus, he failed to notice Anaar was even protecting him from the hail of wind blades attacking him. Both shots fired, and with Dan immobile, his partner chose to save him at the cost of his own safety.
With this action, the match was decided, because the speed of the projection was so fast, he only managed to throw himself in front of it rather than push Dan away, which caused the round to pierce through both of them, stopping the wrath of the paper and gales. Anaar stood from his rock, sauntering over to Holden who was panting and drenched in sweat.
“Does this make up for the first round?”
“Why did you go through all that hassle to protect me rather than just ending it from the start?”
“You were the one who seemed to think I was trying to hog the attention. I wanted to show you I was more than happy to let you take all the credit.”
Holden’s brow furrowed as he contemplated Anaar’s response. It was true the average person would only see everything he had done and shower him with accolades. Those who had tr
ue battle sense however, would immediately dismiss his efforts as it was obvious he would have been defeated many times over if not for Anaar’s intervention.
“I apologize how I acted before. I just assumed…”
“You assumed I was a complete asshole that lived for the applause of the crowd? Sorry, that’s my boyfriend. I will admit my actions were not completely altruistic.”
“Why is that?”
“Now I don’t have to hear Dan mope forever about me going easy on him. I can just say I left it all to you! This is great!”
Holden’s eye twitched with slight annoyance as the grinning giant reveled in his personal victory. From what they understood, the match that had completed the fastest was seeded directly into the finals, which meant they had to win the semifinal round before they were at the end. All personnel arrived to handle the injured and bring them to their new holding areas. For the semifinal teams, they would be allowed to wait together this time. With no ability to spectate, Anaar and Holden engaged one another in conversation as they wondered who their next opponent would be.
Codi was still resting, her body full of aches and pains from her previous match, when she was informed it was time for the next round. She ground her teeth in anger at how long she waited for her first match, only to be thrown right back in with barely ten minutes of rest. It dawned on her that if they won the next match, she would be thrown directly into yet another match. Based on the standings, that would pit her against Anaar. She felt her chances of winning against him were slimmer than if she were going against Phavian, but she wanted to believe in herself until the very end.
On paper, the situation was not much different from the Mid-Year Melee, where you continued even after hard fought victories. The difference was that if you were careful enough, you could avoid confrontation until you were ready. In this instance, she had no choice but to answer the summons.
Codi stepped through the portal into their arena. She could tell they were not in the same place as before since it was devoid of scorched earth. She knew the Freshman in front of her was friends with Peter, but unlike Anaar, Codi rarely interacted with Freshmen, Peter included. Their relationship might have improved, but that did not encourage her to spend more time with him.
Shonte watched Codi’s partner exit through her portal, her muscles beginning to tingle with excitement. There was an unusual bond forged between herself and Hunter in their previous match, enough that she could tell he had not properly recovered. Given his state, she knew it would be up to her to bring them victory. Just before they received their signal to begin, she took his hand with a light squeeze.
“Get me behind them, I’ll finish this quick.”
With no need to acknowledge her request, Hunter managed to time his blink so perfectly that they arrived behind their opponents just as the match started. Though Codi’s reaction time was better than most due to practice of keeping her distance, she was still too slow to evade Shonte’s blow. If it were not for her partner pushing her away, she would have been down in an instant.
With equally quick reflexes, she produced a massive gout of flame that Shonte only narrowly dodged with the help of Hunter’s teleportation. Both teams had one member that was fighting through fatigue, which made the scales balance out. Once Hunter decided to keep them in a constant state of motion however, they began to tip in Shonte’s favor.
They changed positions too often and too quickly for the bursts of flame to keep up. So long as the Pyrokinetic’s attacks originated from her, Hunter could evade them with ease. Codi’s electrical attacks were practically instantaneous, but she was finding it difficult to target them since their presence was completely erased every time they blinked. She was also not certain paralyzing Hunter would prevent him from utilizing his abilities.
Codi understood how dangerous it was to keep extending the fight, so she decided to release a nova of electricity all around her since she could not properly target her opponents. In an unfortunate turn, her own partner had just entered the range of her attack since she was trying to follow their movements as well. The moment of weakness was all Hunter needed to take the offensive, blinking behind her to fire off three shots, only two scoring hits, to her leg and lower back.
Before she fell, the Pyrokinetic managed throw a lighter at Shonte, it erupting and drenching her in flame. Shonte fell to the ground, screaming in agony as her skin began to sizzle and her clothing and hair began to burn. As a reflex she dropped to the ground and began rolling about, the ample dirt helping put out the fire quickly, though massive damage had been done.
Hunter’s risk to take out the Pyrokinetic had paid off by taking her out of the fight, but it was at the sacrifice of himself. Though he caught his target off her guard, Codi had been waiting for an opportunity to stop the nuisance that was his teleporting. As his finger squeezed the trigger for the last time, he was electrified so severely, that for the first time, there was an emergency transport to pull him from the match.
Codi knew that she may have overdone it, but after her last experience with the number 2 student in her class, she felt bigger was better in the tournament. She turned to Shonte to finish the match, hoping they would allow her partner to be healed enough to continue before their run. This would also give her enough time to rest since she had not expended nearly the energy as before, and had not been injured.
Before she could officially finish a prone, seemingly helpless Shonte, she became awash with a feeling that her insides were tearing apart. The feeling started as a queasiness that made her vomit, but quickly ramped up at an exponential level. Shonte was barely competent at using her powers at a close range in concentrated bursts, which made utilizing them remotely out of the question. As most people can attest, when placed in dire situations, people become capable of surprising themselves with the most amazing of feats.
The pain was so excruciating that Codi fell to her knees, doing everything in her power to just remain conscious. Her vision went black, her hearing became a cacophonous distortion of sounds from within and without her body. She desperately grabbed at the biggest electrical source nearby and tore at it.
The pain immediately stopped growing, but the effects were still ravaging her body. She slumped sideways to the ground, shaking as her mouth leaked saliva onto the dusty ground. The match was quickly called, a flood of Medics rushing to the scene. As everyone watching held their breaths as to the result of the match, one thing was clear to everyone watching: The damage done to Shonte might have been irreparable.
Anaar and Holden were getting to know one another better, anticipating their match would begin soon. The two of them had differing opinions on which team they would be facing. While it would seem natural for Holden to support Shonte as a fellow Freshman, and Anaar support Codi, the inverse was true. Holden did not put much stock into Shonte’s ability, believing she only received her number spot due to luck. Anaar felt Shonte had a mass of potential that would only be complimented by her partner’s Teleportation.
Despite their differing thoughts, they both agreed neither team was ideal for Holden. As they began working out strategies to balance his weakness that did not rely on Anaar protecting him throughout the entire fight, Anaar felt a wave of feedback wash over him. Holden was confused when he stopped mid-sentence, cocking his head toward the wall in silence.
Hobb, what is going on out there?!
“The preliminaries have concluded. Your opponent for the semifinal round is yet unknown.”
How could that be the case?
“Both teams have successfully eliminated one another. All members are in critical condition. It is unknown if either team will be hale enough to participate. Currently the recommended course is to allow whichever team that makes enough of a recovery to participate proceed to the next round. Six hours is being allotted. During this time, you will be free to do as you please. If no one recovers enough, you will proceed directly to the final round. An announcement will be made public shortly.”
“Hey! Are you listening to me?!”
Anaar nods though his mind is still elsewhere. “I heard you, but I don’t think that is important right now.”
“What? Why not? We have been discussing this the whole time. Why is it now so unimportant?”
A portal opens bearing a woman to answer Holden’s question. “Gentlemen, I want to apologize for the delays, but due to a technicality, activities will be postponed for six hours. Please feel free to spend this time any way you choose. I am happy to drop you off wherever you like.” She looks at Anaar for a moment then snaps her head to Holden. “I am happy to drop you off wherever you like.”
Anaar took that as his cue to take his leave. “Holden, I’ll see you when things resume.”
Disappearing before Holden could stop him, Anaar immediately went to the Hospital. Since he obtained his Life attuned abilities and learned how to better harness them, he no longer required the assistance of the staff or Hobb to navigate to his destination. He could feel both Shonte and Codi within the hospital. Though his intention was to make his way directly to them, he could sense multiple Medics nearby, which meant they were still actively undergoing treatment.
While he waited, he decided to meet up with Peter and his friends, all of whom were in a waiting room nearby Shonte. When he arrived, he found Peter rubbing the back of beet red, weeping Genny. Though Leo appeared aloof as ever, there was a flame burning in Wu’s eyes. Before he had the opportunity to make his presence known, Wu jumped up from his seat, his anger directed at Peter.