Chapter 30: Fighting Stars

A lot of time passed since those adventurous days--possibly months, possibly weeks, who could say? In the time that did go by, the people of the worlds matured and grew, and learned new things, and prepared themselves for more tests, and waited for the day when the fruits of their labor could be harvested. Children turned into young adults, and adults matured further; the wise were made foolish, the proud were put to shame, the rich became poor, and those who were still considered honest in the world kept the respect and the admiration that they deserved. Time passed, revolutions became quiet again, and suns sank and rose like they had been since their creation.

It was time for the Galactic Maximus Tournament of Champions.

A hundred-thousand different spectators, coloring the streets and boulevards like a living rainbow, crowded around the blessed planet that was host for the games. Up until the terrorists had attacked it, Benda Wel Seuxx had been indicated as the next world that would have the Tournament, and had it not been for the efforts of the White Doves, another world might have held the responsibility. But now, the people were freed once again, freed to revel and celebrate and have games and host tournaments, so they exercised this newfound luxury.

Though many people, spectator and participant alike, had grown slightly jaded to the Tournaments, and many more felt they were getting less and less exciting, or else more and more predictable, it seemed that hope had risen up again for this year. Perhaps 500,000 people flocked to the planet to watch or take part in the grand display of skill and power, many of them foreign to the planet and even foreign to that very galaxy. About six trillion others would be watching, reading, or hearing about the event from their homes, but when it all came down to the bare bones, sixteen lucky individuals would be turned into stars.

To Melena Fara’dellyn, this was to be her very first appearance in the grand tournament. She had fought in others, obviously, and had won several bouts in smaller arenas. But this one encompassed half of the galaxy; the greatest fighters around would be there, testing their mettle against each other until there was only one left standing. Personally, the allurement of the tournament was ten times stronger than the most affective siren. The beautiful woman loved fighting more than anything else, perhaps even life itself. To her, battles were life: a chance to test her skills, and to push herself to new limits, and to show off a little, and to have the time of her life beating the guts out of some other unfortunate soul.

So of course, she was now working as a representative of the tournament, but she also planned to fight in the actual bouts. Winning the championship title was probably going to be a guarantee; after all, despite what others thought, Melena rarely boasted about her abilities at all. What she claimed were facts, cold and hard and simple, perhaps even an understatement of what she could truly do. Many disbelieved that the gorgeous woman could truly match up to her claims, but she let them doubt. That only made things more interesting when she revealed her claims to be true!

Melena was among the first visitors to the Tournament arena, considering she was working for them for the time being. A few other representatives were there as well, setting things up and looking very carefully over the whole place. The arena was so enormous that those in the higher seats would have to have television monitors broadcasted to them so they could see the action; the building itself was immense. It took up one of the larger islands of Benda Wel Seuxx, with little more remaining other than a few hotels, restaurants, and the like. Up to 500,000 people could be seated in the stadium; the ring was large, but not quite so big that it could be seen from the top rows.

“Hey guys! I’m here!” shouted Melena as she entered the stadium. The few dozen people scattered about waved at her, giving her compliments here and there. She smiled and thanked them all, and asked if there was anything she could do.

“No, that’s okay,” said the nearest manager. “Just relax for the time being. You’re gonna need your strength for the fights if you’re participating.”

“Natch. So, who all have registered?”

“We’ve been able to narrow the list down to about 256 people. The preliminary matches are going to start soon, so you might want to get down there fast. It’s in the next building over; there’s going to be somebody there to direct you.”

“Okay,” she replied, nodding her head. Melena thanked him again and left for the preliminary rounds. Out of the 256 who hoped to make it to the actual fighting, there could be only 16 survivors--exactly one-sixteenth (1/16) that amount. In other words, every living creature in the preliminaries had a one in sixteen chance of making it to the actual match, but Melena considered her odds better.

Gregory came with a small entourage of people as he entered into the building designed to hold the prelims. He had his on-and-off buddy Sahn with him, who was going to compete as well, and there was also Jerwon, Cattia, Tania, Zet, and Diana. Marshal Withers still had not recovered just yet from her injuries, so Dana would not be able to make it. That was okay; Greg definitely needed the holiday away from his partner. He admitted that she was handy from time to time, but sometimes she caused more trouble than she prevented. The same could be said about himself, or Sahn, so maybe...

... Nah. Whatever. His mother was there with him too, so that made things a little easier. For the time being, Greg and Sahn were setting up and stretching their muscles, squeezing in some last-minute exercise before their fights. Over two-hundred others were in the building as well, some serving no other purpose than as a few annoyances. Sahn looked over the crowd from his high viewpoint and clicked his tongue (since he couldn’t whistle).

“Oyna...” he grumbled. “There’n’a be a lotta people round’ here, eh? More’n I expected to find. Eet wasn’t like thees the last time I was here.”

“These tournaments can turn very violent,” observed Diana as she crossed her arms. “I’d fight myself, but ... well, I’ve been busy.”

“Busy going out with your buddy?” teased Cattia with a smile. Diana gave the blonde a bland look before answering.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have been enjoying several romantic moments with Zatore. Why, is there a problem?”

“No, not a problem at all,” grinned Cattia. “You two are just so cute together...”

“Whatever.”

“Do not be like that, Lady Diana,” chuckled Zet. “We are both here to cheer our friend on. Note that I said friend, as in, only one of them.”

“I heard you!” blasted Sahn angrily. “No need to geet speceefic! Egghh ... stoopid elves...”

“Don’t you dare call him stupid, you flying football!” snarled Diana as she grabbed Sahn’s head. “If you say one more thing about Zatore, I’m gonna tear your wings off and force you to eat them!!”

“Okay, okay, I sorry, I sorry!!!” Diana growled at Sahn, poor critter, and slowly released him from her grip. With a snort, she returned to Zet, and gave him a smoldering but apologetic look.

“ ... Sorry.”

“There is no need to apologize, Diana. I would have done precisely the same if he insulted you.” She sighed, and for the sake of her temper, decided to distance herself from Sahn. Gregory, at least, was received with more warmth.

“Don’t go in there thinking you can win,” advised Jerwon. “I haven’t been around this galaxy for very long, but I can already tell you that you’ll probably never win these tournaments, no offense.”

“I know, I know ... I’m just gonna test myself, that’s all. Besides, everyone loves an underdog.” He smiled, and clenched his fist victoriously, as if he had already been declared the champ. “Anyway, I better go start. I’m gonna have to plow through a lot of people, so all of you better wish me luck!”

“Luck whill not hassist you hat hall, hhuman!!” Greg nearly jumped out of his clothes when a voice came up from behind him and startled him, but when he turned to see who it was, his surprise increased and he practically squealed with delight.

“Klarana!!! You’re alive!!!!”

“Hof course,” purred the creature with a slithery smile. “What, dhid hyou doubt my habilities? Dhih hyou think I hhad hactually died hin that explosion?”

“I ... I...” Smiling warmly, Greg lurched forth and wrapped the Sepren in his arms. This being known as Klarana belonged to a species called Sepren, which was galactically-renowned as one of the fiercest and most dangerous species ever to exist. Klarana was no exception, though her friendship towards Greg made her seem docile. Being a crossbred of dragon and hydra, she certainly wasn’t a pretty thing to look at for most humanoid species, but a friend was a friend nevertheless. Greg’s happiness was brought out because he thought she had perished in the destruction of Pandora Base, which had happened so long ago that it almost escaped his memory. Finding Klarana alive and well was indeed a blessing.

“Holy cow!” he exclaimed as he smiled at her. “I still can’t believe it! You shifty Sepren, how did you survive that explosion? And where have you been all this time?”

“Hai hhave just been around,” she explained with a windy voice. “Hand has for the explosion ... hai was disappointed. Hit was but a pop, a firecracker, nothing to worrhy about.”

“Well I was worried!” he replied. “But I guess there was no reason for it. So why are you here? Will you be fighting too?”

“Bhut hof course!” she exclaimed. “Remember, hyour father hand hai met hin an arena much similar to this hone. Today, hai ham hhere to honor hhis friendship, hand to test my hown skills.”

“Same with me, I guess,” he shrugged with a smile. “Well, Klarana, I guess you know my mother already ... Oh, say, has anyone seen her? Where is she?” Everyone else, who were all absorbed with looking at the settings around them, suddenly noticed that Joellen was missing, and began to look for her. They found her conversing with another contestant, one who seemed to defy most logical descriptions.

At first, it seemed to closely resemble a humanoid male. He was exceptionally tall, nearly two meters at best, and had a small silvery aura that radiated out just faintly from his body. He had long silvery hair that reached to his shoulders, a gray dress shirt that covered quite a developed body, and dark-gray khaki pants for his legs. There did not seem to be anything peculiar about him at first, if one overlooked the six wings sprouting out of his back...

“Huh? What the?” stammered Greg as he caught sight of the man. “Why’s that guy have wings? Is he an angel?”

“Wings? Where?” Jerwon poked his fuzzy green hair through the mess of people to get a better look at the person, and he nearly broke a blood vessel as he screamed out towards the man. “ ... STONE!!! STONE!!!!! Stone, Stone! Seraph Stone, it’s you, it’s you!!”

BOOM!!!

Jerwon tackled the winged man fiercely, putting his arms around his body and squeezing him fiercely. Everyone else, who had no idea what was going on, looked at the scene with awe on their faces. Jerwon looked like he had just reunited with his older brother; the man with wings, who was probably “Stone”, smiled warmly as he caught his breath.

“S-sir J-Jerwon!” he coughed. “W-why, w-what a p-pleasant surprise! (cough, cough!) My, my, Jerwon, it seems as if you have done some growing since last we parted!”

“Stone, Stone, you CANNOT believe how much I missed you!” squealed the Leduadian. “You won’t believe what happened to me! IhadsomanycrazyandwildadventuresthatIstillcan’tbelievethatanyofiteverhappenedtomeandyouwon’tbelievewhathappenedthisonetimeseemyshipcrashedonthisplanetcalledEarthbutIwasokayandeveryoneelsewastoobutIendedupwanderingintothisforestandmeetingthisreallyprettyandwonderfulladynamedSayrahandIspentalotoftimethereandIfoundanewfriendnamedDianaandthenIfoundGregandTaniaandeveryoneelseandIhadallthesewildadventureswiththemand ... Accckk, I missed you!!”

“Slow down, sir Jerwon!” chuckled Stone. “It seems you have more adventures than you do the breath to tell them all in!” Poor Jerwon, who had tried to stuff his entire experience into a single breath, was nearly white with exhaustion. There was no erasing the smile he had on, nor the excitement he felt.

“I’m sorry!” he grinned. “It’s just ... oh! I never thought I’d meet you in a place like this! Seraph Stone, what are you doing here?! I mean ... wow! It’s such a wild coincidence to see you here, of all places!”

“It may very well be,” he smiled. “But to answer your question best, well...”

“Oh, I almost forgot!” he interrupted. “Seraph Jewel! Did you ever find her? Huh, did you? Gosh, I hope you did!!” Stone sighed, and sadly hug his head, giving all the indication he needed away. Jerwon became silent, and understood what his friend meant. “ ... Oh. I’m sorry, Stone.”

“I came to this Tournament in hopes of finding clues to her whereabouts,” replied Stone in a slower voice. “I assumed that, in such a massive gathering of intelligent species, I would surely find somebody who knew of her. So far, though, I haven’t found anybody who even knows what a Seraph is, let alone who Seraph Jewel is.”

“ ... I see.” Stone’s mood changed a little, and he grew a smile as he added one more thing.

“Erm ... I have ... also come to test my mettle against other opponents. As a Seraph, I must always be toning up my skills, awaiting my next opponent. I figured that I could, as the humans say, ‘hit two birds with one stone’.”

“Well that’s nice!” smiled Jerwon. “Here, lemme introduce you to my friends! I found a whole lot of nice people since we parted ways, though some of them can be annoying. I still like most of them.” Jerwon guided Stone over to where his friends were, who had patiently watched the scene with awe and wonder.

“First, this is Greg,” he pointed. “I have no idea why anyone calls him Shift. Greg, this is my good friend Seraph Stone, or just Stone if you like. He and I traveled together after I left the circus.” Greg nodded his head, and shook the taller man’s hand.

“ ... Sir.”

“A pleasure,” replied Stone. “Oh, and this Kobrian?”

“Sahn Runharee, at your service!” grinned Sahn as he clasped Stone’s gargantuan hand (Sahn was miniscule compared to Stone). “So, you ees a Seraph, eh? I have heard many theengs about youse in my time...”

“And I have heard many things about the Kobrians as well,” said Stone with a tiny trace of bitterness in his voice. “Not many of them were particularly good.”

“Nasty rumors, I assure you,” grinned Sahn slickly. Jerwon darted his head between the two mismatched ones, confused.

“ ... Sahn, do you know what a Seraph is?”

“Eh, you could’a say that,” grumbled Sahn. “I haven’t seen many in’a my lifetime, but ... ehh, that’s a geeven. You Leddies are more numerous than they are, I theenk.”

“It’s not Leddies!” snarled Jerwon. “Leduadians! Leduadians!! Get is right, Koby!”

“Whatever,” shrugged Sahn. “Anyway, Seraph whatever-your-name-was, you’n’a come to me if’n you got any problems, eh? Course, if you’n’a fighteeng, you’n not gona get very far, I assure you!”

“And why would you say that?”

“Because I am fighteeng, that is why!! No offense, my beeg friend, but you’n’a don’t stand a chance! We Kobrians are very powerful!”

“Yes, I know,” muttered Stone. “If we do fight, I shall have to be on my guard.”

“That you will, eh,” pointed Sahn with a smile. “I guess, that’s the best you can do, eh? Well, I’ll be a-seein’ you. I’m gonna go practice a leetle. You all go’n have fun, eh!” Sahn smiled and waved at the crew before flapping away. When he departed, things suddenly became much more bearable.

“Ugh,” grunted Jerwon. “Is it me, or did things just get more pleasant around here? See, Stone, that guy’s a jerk. He struts around all the time like a thief or something--like ... uhh, some kind of criminal from a story. I don’t like him.”

“I would not question your opinion,” agreed the Seraph. “But anyway, let us not dwell on him. Prithee, introduce me to more of your friends!”

“Heehee, I forgot!” chuckled Jerwon with a big grin. “All right. Well, this here is Cattia and her sister Tania. Cattia’s a nuisance but she’s still okay, but I like Tania more.”

“Hey!”

“Ha ha!”

“It is a pleasure to meet you both,” said Stone with a bow. He kissed Tania’s hand and she giggled, but Cattia blushed when he extended the same courtesy to her. Slyly, the woman gave him a flirty wink, but Stone froze for only a second before meeting everyone else. Zet and Stone seemed to hit things off instantly, since they more or less had the same type of sophisticated speech, and even though Diana was thoroughly taken (by Zet), she couldn’t help but blush a little as Stone kissed her hand. Zet, ever-kind, reckoned the act to be quite gentlemanly, and made it a note to befriend Stone further.

“Usually Greg has a woman named Dana hanging around him,” explained Jerwon after he introduced Zet and Diana. “She’s not here right now, on account of her mother’s injuries. She can be annoying too--Greg will agree with me on this--but she’s got a good heart at times.”

“It is good to take care of one’s family when they are injured,” noted Stone. “And it is also good to reunite with good friends, and to meet with new ones! Sir Jerwon, my new acquaintances, consider myself a part of your entourage whilst you partake in these events!”

More and more participants filled the preliminary arenas, stuffing the smaller building and making the room quite hot with their combined body heat. Many fighters took their shirts off, or stripped to lighter gowns. Cattia teased Stone about removing his own shirt, but the Seraph kindly declined, somewhat unaware of her lewd intentions. Even with the crowds and the heat, the matches seemed to be just as exciting and entertaining to watch. Both Sahn and Stone trudged through their competition with relative ease, though there were a few out there that challenged even the Kobrian; Gregory, on the other hand, was putting his training to use and eliminating everyone that stood in his way.

While the three fighters rested, they could watch or hear several other battles going on. A few extremely nasty ones came from the quadrant where Klarana was held, and even Sahn expressed his nervousness over the possibility of fighting such a creature. Greg didn’t mind; Stone, for the most part, was being smothered by more and more females. Several other fighters looked at him with envy and jealousy; others just looked at him in confusion.

Simultaneously, several people were knocked flat out of the rings, resulting in three more people advancing onward. Greg craned his head over to see who won, and smiled mildly as he recognized a familiar face.

“Dustin? I didn’t expect to see you here! I guess you plan on fighting too.” Dustin Harper, an off-again on-again ally of Sahn’s and Greg’s, gave the younger man a thin and devilish smile as he leaped out of the ring.

“I have been in tournaments for many years now,” he said. “The master who taught me was one of the greatest champions this life has ever seen. Perchance you recall the name of Rygar the Red?”

“Whoa, you learned under Rygar the Red?!” exclaimed Greg. “No way! That guy was a legend!” Dustin curled his lip up in a snarl and sniffed with a bit of indignation.

“Is a legend, young sir. The man still lives. Though I doubt I’d find any other students of his, at least not in an arena such as this.”

“The same thought has passed through my mind!” exclaimed a strong female voice from behind. Dustin visibly growled, and spun around to see who had called out to him. There behind him was a female, beautiful and strong and around Dustin’s age. She had hair long and dark, dark as death, and piercing eyes that resembled a stormy sea. She dressed very similar to him, except her clothes were in blue whereas his were mostly brown, and from her stance, she seemed to know a bit about the lost art of sword-fighting as well.

“ ... Minerva,” snarled Dustin bitterly. The woman returned his lion’s growl.

“And Dustin ... I believe there is more to this meeting than coincidence.”

“Fate has brought us here, I believe,” replied Dustin. “Fate has seen to it that the two of us are to be placed here, to do battle one more time. I believe, Minerva, that our score shall finally be settled here.”

“That it may,” she replied huskily. “But we shall have to wait until the actual fights to quell our differences. You and I would not meet until then.”

“A pity,” he spat, “but one I should like to suffer, to have the honor of finishing our business.”