Ash got to Slateport City first. He knew that the Hoenn Grand Festival was supposed to be here in Slateport. Even though this town was the one that got hit pretty badly during the disasters, it looked like they were recovering.
And plus, the Hoenn Grand Festival was gonna be used to boost morale for the city and Hoenn, and show people that even after everything, they can all still rise up and create something beautiful.
When Ash got there, he sat down on a bench and pulled out his phone to check if this was the spot they agreed on. He found the group chat and yep, they weren't here yet. Ash decided to lean back and think about things.
Pikachu and Vee were out of their Poké Balls, obviously. They were out and enjoying the sun now that it was spring.
While he sat down in the park, suddenly in front of him a very concerned Brock appeared, holding onto his Lunatone after he fell into the fountain.
His Lunatone flew after him and picked him up with a [Psychic] and put him on his feet. Brock spit out some water, then looked around seeing, oh hey, he was here. And oh no, Ash was sitting right there and saw all of it.
Ash gave a smirk, "Yo, having teleportation troubles?"
Brock sighed, seeing there was no way he was gonna save this, "Yeah, still getting used to it."
"Well, suffer like the rest of us. You think when I was teaching Abby to teleport long ranges it was easy? Nah, B."
"Well, is anyone else here? It should be almost time for registration to be open," Brock said, looking at his phone.
"Nah, I got here first," Ash shrugged, "But they said they'd get here, so I dunno. I might go pick them up if they take too long."
Just as he said that, Wally ended up teleporting right next to him with his Gallade. He let go and thanked Gallade before looking over and smiling, "Hey guys!"
"Good to see ya, Wally. I see you're doing much better," Ash said, winking and pointing at his own neck.
Wally rubbed it and smiled, "Yeah, it feels amazing. I still can't believe I got this far."
Then before either Brock or Ash could give Wally some words, they heard a familiar scream in the air. When they looked up, they saw a bird with a familiar boy with a white cap flying directly towards them.
As the Swellow flew down and landed in front of them, immediately stopping, Brendan, who was holding on, lost his grip and fell forward. But Gallade was still out and he quickly moved and caught Brendan before he got himself hurt.
Brendan blinked, then looked up at the Pokémon that caught him, then at everyone, and he scratched the back of his head, "Hehe...looks like I still gotta work on my entrance, huh?"
When Gallade put him down, Brendan stood up, brushing himself off and stood proudly, "Okay Ash, Brock, and Wally too, great to see you guys! It's been like, what, 3 months since we got to hang out!"
"You know we are here to watch May compete, right?" Brock asked.
Brendan waved his hand, "Details. Besides, no reason we can't do both." Then he looked around, "By the way, where is she?"
"Not here yet," Ash said as he showed his phone, "I already texted that I was at the park, so unless I gotta go pick her up, that's all I got."
"I hope she does get here. She worked so hard for this," Brock said thoughtfully.
Ash nodded, leaning back again on the bench.
Brendan stretched his arms up, "Well, either way, this is gonna be awesome. The Grand Festival is a super big event here in Hoenn, and after everything it's gonna be even better."
Wally smiled lightly, "I'm just glad I made it in time. I still feel like I'm catching up on everything I missed…"
Brock put a hand on his shoulder, "You're doing more than catching up. You're already competing at this level. Don't undersell yourself."
Wally blinked, then smiled a little more confidently, "Thanks I'll try my best."
But then in the air, two figures flew above the sky of Slateport. Then when they locked onto the park, they began flying directly down.
When they got to the ground, they pulled up at the last moment, stopping, and then they saw who it was: on a Swellow was Norman and Caroline, and on an Altaria was May and a very sick-looking Max.
And everyone except Max were laughing, "Ha, told you I could beat you, Dad!" May said proudly.
"Only because I was going easy on you. Next time, how about I actually try," Norman laughed as he got off his bird and helped Caroline down.
Caroline steadied herself and smiled warmly, "That was quite the entrance, dear."
Max, meanwhile, slowly slid off Altaria and immediately looked like his soul had left his body, "I hate flying…"
Ash glanced over at him, "You look like you lost a fight with gravity."
Max weakly pointed at May, "She said it was 'just a friendly race'...that was a lie…"
May crossed her arms smugly, "It was friendly. You just can't handle speed."
Ash snorted, "Well, it's one way to make an entrance. I'm just happy to see you all made it."
May smiled back, "Thanks, it really mea—" but before she could finish, Caroline cut in.
"Ash, you're here!" Caroline said, going up and giving Ash a hug.
Then Norman appeared behind him and joined it, ruffling Ash's hair, "I never had any doubts you'd show up."
May watched her parents basically start smothering Ash and she sighed tiredly, then Wally slowly got up and cleared his throat, "Congratulations, May."
"Yeah, I already know you're gonna win, so do your best!" Brendan added, giving a thumbs up.
Brock cut in after that, "You'll do great. Just don't forget, no matter what happens, we're still here."
May gave a genuine smile and nodded, "Thanks, guys. And like I was saying, it means a lot that you're all here!"
Meanwhile in the background, Caroline was still holding onto Ash like she had no intention of letting go anytime soon. Norman, on the other hand, had upgraded from ruffling his hair to a full-on arm lock.
May watched them both with a flat stare, "You two are actively preventing him from breathing."
"Oh, nonsense," Caroline said sweetly.
Ash gave a small wave over her shoulder, "I'm fine...I think."
Max, still pale from the flight, pointed weakly, "Let him go...he's suffering."
Norman sighed dramatically and released him, "Fine, fine. But don't think this is over. We still have dinner later."
Ash finally got a good puff of air, "Why does that sound like a threat?" Ash said, stepping back and fixing his jacket.
"It's not," Caroline smiled, "It's a promise."
May rubbed her temple, "Okay, can we go before my parents kidnap my friend again?"
Brock nodded, "Agreed."
Brendan stretched, "Yeah, I vote we move before this turns into an emotional hostage situation."
"They're usually worse when I'm not here," May said flatly.
That earned a collective silence.
"Anyway!" Ash clapped his hands once, "We should head to the festival grounds before registration starts."
They all started walking through Slateport together, the city already buzzing with trainers, coordinators, vendors, and banners set up along the streets. You know, despite everything that happened, they were recovering pretty nicely.
Ash felt his phone buzz again, but he ignored it. He'd been getting spammed a lot recently, but not by who you may think.
But as he tried to ignore it and keep talking to everyone, Ash saw someone up ahead and immediately sighed heavily in annoyance.
Up in front of them, leaning casually against a railing like he'd been waiting for hours, was Alain with his Charizard out nearby.
Alain pushed himself off the rail the moment he saw Ash, "I knew you'd come," he said simply.
Ash sighed, "…Yeah. I figured you would."
May slowed down behind Ash, noticing the shift immediately, "Uh...Ash?"
Ash pointed behind him, "So that's Alain, guys."
"Who?" Brendan asked, since he didn't remember, and actually most people here didn't. I mean, May and Brock kinda remembered his face, they never got his name, actually.
"Really? You don't remember? He was part of the team when we were fighting you-know-who," he said, gesturing with his finger, since saying they fought Groudon and Kyogre in public would not be good.
Especially after all the work Ash did to make sure the Chairman didn't put them on the news.
Meanwhile Alain walked forward a few steps, stopping just out of arm's reach, "You ignored my messages," Alain said.
"I was busy," Ash replied.
"I didn't stop sending them."
"Yeah...I noticed. I don't even know how you got my number." Yep, the person that texted Ash over and over again was Alain, who was itching to have that battle.
Over the few months he'd been here, and once everyone had time, he tried to go out and challenge the Gym Leaders with their Mega Pokémon, but he kinda got mollywhopped. You need to remember this is still technically early pre-series Alain, he is not strong yet.
But that doesn't stop him from wanting the smoke anyway, and the one he wanted right now was Ash.
"Let me guess," Ash said, "Battle."
Alain didn't hesitate, "Battle."
May blinked, "Wait, right now?"
Ash rubbed the back of his neck, already tired, "I just got here," he said.
Alain continued, unfazed, "I said it before. When two Trainers' eyes meet, battle is the only conclusion."
Ash sighed into his hands and rubbed his temples. He really did not want to do this, but he also knew Alain was probably not gonna leave him alone until he said yes.
Then Ash looked over his shoulder at the group.
May immediately crossed her arms, "Don't you dare say you're skipping the festival," she said a little too fast.
Ash raised a hand, "No, I'm not. Just...I'll take care of this. You guys go ahead and save me a seat, and May, go register. I'll still be there to cheer you on, okay?"
May hesitated for a second, then pointed at him, "You better show up. If you miss my performance, I'm dragging you into it myself."
"I'd like to see you try," Ash muttered, but there was no real bite to it. He still smiled, "I wouldn't miss it for the world. I didn't stick with you this long just to miss it."
She finally nodded, and everyone got together to start moving and get everything ready.
But before they left, Caroline waved warmly, "Be careful, Ash dear!" And Norman waved behind him like he wasn't even concerned with the chance Ash would either miss the contest or lose.
Ash turned and, as he started walking to Alain, he muttered under his breath, "Don't worry, this won't take long…"
Alain didn't hear him, and as they moved to a clearer spot, Alain pointed at his Charizard, "Use your Charizard. I want to see who is better, and you're gonna want to Mega Evolve right now."
Ash raised an eyebrow, but hey, if he wants to dig his own grave, Ash isn't gonna stop him, "Fine," he said as he threw out Charizard, who got out and stretched his wings, looking entirely unserious about this.
"Mega Evolve. You'll need it, because I won't hold back," Alain reminded Ash, pulling out his Keystone ready to Mega Evolve his Charizard.
Ash put his hands behind his head, "Hmm, really? You want me to use it?" he said casually, before he dropped the smile and frowned, making his voice go deep and he dropped his friendly tone, "Make me use it."
—
May and the group got up to the contest hall, and they separated since May's parents wanted to buy the best seats in the house. And of course, since Norman was famous, he had to cover his face with a face mask, but Caroline quickly got a red marker and wrote on it
"Go May!" in red marker, and Norman gave a double thumbs up, making May giggle slightly.
So May went in on her own and walked along happily. When she entered, she saw lots of people around talking and practicing, some even already sharing strategies in exchange for others.
May would have liked to go and talk and meet someone new, or even find someone she already knew, but first thing was first: she had to verify her identity and register for the soon-to-happen Grand Festival.
After all, she couldn't just let all of her hard work and dedication go to waste, could she?
She walked up and got in line for a bit. When it was her turn, she quickly stepped up and told the receptionist her name.
The receptionist nodded and pulled up her information, "Thanks for your patience. I've checked your information. You are May from Petalburg City, right?" May's information appeared on the system page.
Then she quickly scanned all 5 of May's Ribbons, confirming she was qualified, and with that she was finally registered.
When she got everything, she held it all excitedly in her hands and could barely control herself from jumping in joy.
While she was celebrating, she heard a voice she hadn't heard in a long while, "Hm, May, is that you?"
May looked up and saw Robert walking up to her with a smile, "Ah, it is you! I'm so glad to see you made it!"
May immediately smiled, "Oh, Robert, I haven't seen you since my first contest! How have you been?"
"I've been wonderful, and I see you've done well. I imagine now, even if I didn't choose to let you win, you would have gotten your 5th Ribbon anyway. I'm so happy to see how much you've grown," Robert said in a very elegant tone.
May scratched the back of her head, "Haha, well, it wasn't always smooth sailing, but I learned a lot. But even still, I owe my first ribbon to you!"
"I'm glad to hear it. How about you repay me by giving it your all in the Grand Festival," Robert said with a smile, "After all, after I saw your performance, I pushed myself to train even harder. I'd like to see what new level I've reached compared to you."
May could tell it was part encouraging and part challenging, so she smirked back, "Alright then, get ready, because I'm not the same May I was the first time we met!"
As they were talking, a certain purple-haired coordinator watched from the distance, seeing May. And of course, he didn't learn his lesson the first time, he was still too angry that May had the audacity to outshine her.
But Harley first made sure Ash wasn't secretly around anywhere. Not that he was scared or anything, but after he made sure that Ash was nowhere around, he made his move.
He ran up, making himself look as pathetic as possible and breathing hard, "Oh dear Mayle-I mean May, I'm so glad to see you!"
May looked and saw Harley. She immediately grimaced, "Oh, it's you, H-" but she didn't get to finish.
Harley put his hands together, "Listen, I thought long and hard and I wanted to apologise for everything I did. I learned from what I did, and I wanted to know if we could still be friends."
May blinked. Robert was also watching, looking confused as he looked down at May, "Is he a...friend of yours?"
"Ehhh...that's not the way I would say it…" May muttered.
Unsurprisingly, while Ash didn't tell her that he threatened to break Harley's legs, after they left that town he did talk to her and tell her to stay away from him, and if he ever tried annoying her, tell him and he'd go have a 'talk' with him.
I mean, what do you expect? Ash and May to just never talk about what Harley did and move on, then forgive Harley like two weeks later? No, Ash isn't that forgiving.
But before she could try to tell Harley that maybe some other time, just to be nice, but she really didn't want to talk to him, they heard yet another voice.
"You, Harley, you have some nerve."
When they looked, it was Drew, who seemed heated when he saw Harley. Harley, upon seeing Drew, got worried. After all, they had been in another contest before this one, one where May wasn't involved. He tried doing what he was trying to do to May, and it didn't work, and Drew was still not over it.
"Ah, now now Drew, we are all friends here. Can't we just say it's water under the bridge, right May?" Harley said, looking over to May, hoping his words convinced her.
Spoiler: it didn't. But May wasn't saying anything, because now, oh boy, the two people she liked the least were both here: Harley and Drew. Goodie. This is gonna be one of those days.
And seeing as May wasn't taking his side, Harley looked offended but decided to make a getaway. In his mind, he thought if it was gaslighting one of them, he could do it, but with both of them here, it was a problem.
So Harley ran off, waving at May, "Okay, I'll see you out there, May. Best of luck~"
May sighed a bit, seeing that one of the problems was gone. But now there was the other, Drew, who, after Harley ran away, took a breath to try and calm down.
"The nerve...I can't believe he's even allowed to participate," Drew muttered, fixing his hair. Then he looked over at May and Robert.
"Hm, I see you made it, May. I have to admit I had my doubts, but I can give credit where credit is due," Drew said.
May deadpanned, "Ahh, right. Yep. Because I really needed your opinion." She said, already thinking how much it would hurt if she jumped out of the nearest window. She thought, hey, last time she saw Drew he was upset he got humiliated, and maybe after that he would change, but nope, he's still acting like an a-hole.
She wasn't even looking at him, so when Drew did his usual move and pulled out a rose dramatically toward her, May wasn't even paying attention. It took a good 3 seconds before she glanced back and finally saw the rose in Drew's hand.
"Oh...thanks, I guess," but she didn't take the rose. She really wanted to get out of this conversation, she had no reason to even want to talk to Drew after the way he acts and treated her.
Drew meanwhile flipped his hair, "I'll give you one piece of advice: don't trust that Harley. He's only out for himself," he said.
May had to stop herself from sarcastically telling him, 'you don't say.' In fact, Robert learned more about that than May did, and he was still confused.
"So, is there any reason you're talking to me? You clearly aren't here to apologize, and I really don't care what you have to say about me. I'm here, I know I deserve to be here, and I don't need your opinion to tell me anything," May said, crossing her arms.
Drew pretended not to hear that and continued, "I just wanted to say I respect your enthusiasm. However, enthusiasm can only go so far, it can't replace real talent."
May's eyes twitched at that, but she took a breath. She really did consider giving Drew a slap to the face for that one. I mean, literally she was right here about to compete and he was still talking all that hot air. But she didn't, she didn't want to make a scene before the contest even began.
But Robert noticed one thing: hey, that's not very nice to say, and it's not good sportsmanship. And two, seeing May clench her hand, he was gonna say something to break the tension, but then a new voice came in.
"Oh May, oh and you're Robert. I've seen some of your contests, you are very efficient," it was Solidad, who immediately came in from behind Drew and put her hand on Drew's head, ruffling it and pushing him down slightly.
May blinked, "Oh, uh, hi Solidad. I'm happy to see you made it too."
Robert nodded as well, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well. I have also seen some of your contests. I hope we can teach each other."
"I'd love to share some pointers," Solidad said with a smile. Then she looked down at Drew, who was saying nothing about Solidad using his head as a small desk, "Has Drew been troubling you again, May?"
May blinked at Solidad's question, then glanced down at Drew, who was still being casually pressed into the floor by Solidad's hand like this was completely normal.
May sighed, "No...he's just being Drew." she said. Sure she didn't like him, but she would not say she hated him either.
Drew immediately straightened up a little, brushing himself off, "I'm not 'being Drew.' I'm simply—"
Solidad's hand pressed down again without even looking, "You're simply quiet right now."
"…" Drew stopped talking.
May watched that, then looked away with a flat expression, "Yeah, that. Thank you."
Robert leaned slightly toward May and whispered, "Is he always like this?"
May whispered back, "Unfortunately."
Solidad chose to move past that and smiled still, "You've improved a lot, May. I'm glad you made it here again."
May looked back up and relaxed a little, "Thanks. I worked hard for it." Then she side-eyed Drew, "Even if some people try to annoy me into giving up, I don't have to talk to get what I want."
"I don't—" Drew was going to say, but then Solidad ruffled his hair again.
"Come on, Drew. You know what we talked about," she said.
Drew looked down, "May...I'm sorry."
May blinked a few times and looked at Robert like she was trying to confirm with him, "What did you say?"
"I said I'm sorry," Drew said a little louder this time, "I shouldn't have said the things I said."
May blinked and narrowed her eyes, and slowly looked towards Solidad, but she continued speaking, "Which one? The one where when we first met you tried to get me to give up, or the time you said my points were pity points, or tried saying you were better because you had more experience or—" May could have gone on listing each and every one.
Since, remember this was the first time Drew actually even tried to apologise, and she wasn't even 100% sure that he even said it because he wanted to. She wondered if he was only saying it because Solidad was telling him to do it.
And if it is, then this apology is a lot less sincere. If you have to tell someone to make them apologise, then they aren't actually apologizing; they are just saying it because they have to. As soon as you look away, they'll go right back.
And considering the fact that Drew was insulting her not even a minute ago, yeah she isn't exactly too keen on saying that she forgives him.
Robert, sensing the tension, quietly took a half-step back, "I...think I'll just observe," he muttered.
May crossed her arms, "So what is this, exactly? A forced apology?"
"It's not forced," Drew tried defending himself
Solidad immediately tilted her head, "Drew."
"…It's not forced," he repeated, but quieter
May exhaled through her nose, "Right."
Solidad stepped forward slightly, still resting a hand lightly on Drew's shoulder, less to pin him now, more like she was making sure he didn't try to escape the conversation.
"I'll admit it did take some persuading, but I didn't tell him exactly to apologise," Solidad said gently to May, "But I did ask him to reflect on how he's been acting toward you."
May looked at her, then back at Drew, "And he just...agreed to that?"
Drew clicked his tongue, "I didn't 'just agree.' I—"
Solidad gave him a look.
Drew stopped again.
May stared at him for a long moment, then sighed, "This is exactly what I mean. And what, you want me to just accept it and say it's all cool?"
"No, but I do hope maybe you both can learn and move forward. I do think friendly rivalry is good for young trainers."
May looked up at Solidad and raised her eyebrow, "Learn? Hey Solidad, I like you and all, but I feel like you are only seeing this from Drew's side, and I'm not exactly keen on being friends with the guy who's done nothing but be a jerk to me since I met him."
"And I understand that," Solidad nodded, "If I'm being honest, I'm not entirely sure why Drew chose to act that way."
"Yeah, especially because every time we are in a contest together I beat him, but then he still says all that stuff about luck and how I should give up," May huffed.
Solidad raised an eyebrow and looked down at Drew, "Hm, interesting. This is new information to me." Then she looked back at May, "But my point still stands. I ask that maybe you give Drew a fair chance to prove he really is sorry, and if you believe he isn't that's ok. I'll even do my best to help you avoid him in future contests," she said with a cheerful smile.
"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" Drew said, but Solidad ruffled his hair some more.
And hey, May had to admit, that is a pretty good deal for her, so she sighed, "Fine, I'll try. But if he even says one mean thing, or tries to make fun of me or my friends, I can't promise I won't slap him."
Solidad lightly tapped his head, "Drew."
"…I'll behave," he muttered.
Robert, now fully leaning back, nodded slowly, "I think I understand why people avoid group conversations before competitions."
May gave him a look, "You have no idea."
Before anyone could add anything else, the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
A loud voice echoed from down the hallway, "Mayyyy!"
A blur of motion came charging in at full speed.
"Eh-?" May barely had time to turn before Lisia crashed into her with a full-force hug.
May stumbled backward, "Wah—!"
Lisia squeezed her tightly, spinning her once in place, "You made it! You actually made it! I'm so glad you're here!"
May blinked, caught off guard, then slowly patted her back, "Lisia, yeah, I made it…I can't breathe—"
Lisia immediately released her but kept both hands on May's shoulders, beaming, "You know, I've scouted a lot of Trainers for contests. Of course, they've all been great! But...May! You're really something special!"
May scratched her cheek, a little flustered, "Uh...thanks?"
"It's not just 'cause you're the 100th person I scouted, either!" Lisia continued, completely ignoring her reaction, "It's like...it's like you've got something no one else has! I really want to know what that something is!"
"Idol versus Star! A Serious, Spectacular Battle!" she suddenly stepped back, striking a confident pose, "That's right, May! This time I'm also going to compete! We're going to be rivals today!"
From behind her, a second voice followed, slightly out of breath, "L-Lisia...you ran off again…"
It was Chaz, and he finally caught up, hands on his knees, trying to recover, "The great Chaz does not approve of unnecessary sprinting…"
He lifted his head slowly, then pointed vaguely in May's direction, "But...if there is a stage...then the great Chaz shall endure…"
Lisia turned and smiled brightly, "Oh! And Chaz is here too!"
Chaz immediately straightened, "I am always here."
Lisia ignored that and turned back to May, eyes sparkling, "We, and Ali too, will take part! We won't lose to you!"
"Hey, don't forget about me, Chaz the a-a-a-a-awesome!" Chaz fixed himself, "If anyone is gonna be Lisia's best rival in this, it's gonna be me, so you'll have to beat me to get to her."
Everyone collectively blinked, seeing the scene. They really did not know how to react to this situation with both Lisia and Chaz entering. This was going to be much harder than they thought.
"Um, I look forward to it," May said nervously for a second, but then she shook herself and stood up straight, "I'm not just gonna impress you, I will win, Lisia!"
Lisia immediately got excited, "Eeeee! May, you've got me all excited! You're already Master Class to me!" she said, giving a big thumbs up.
Chaz meanwhile looked around, "Hey, where is your mysterious friend? I was looking forward to going against him," Chaz said, rubbing his chin, "He's one of the few people I may consider my rival other than Lisia, of course."
"Ohh, yeah, good one Chaz," Lisia said, looking at May excitedly, "Come on May, please tell me that he's here. I want to meet him so bad! I've been dying to see him again," she said fangirling.
"Exactly, someone with that talent is guaranteed to have 5 ribbons. It would be an insult to contests if he didn't."
May immediately started sweating and looking away, because that so-called mysterious person was Ash, and she knew that. She also knew the only reason Ash did that was because she begged him to help her, but there was no way she could even get Ash to consider putting on that suit.
And even if she did, Ash doesn't have 5 ribbons. But she couldn't tell them it was Ash.
"Err, well you see, he, um...oh, after the incident that happened—" May said, and no one here needed to be reminded of what it was. They all knew it.
"He had to go back to his home region to make sure his friends and family were safe there. He went to uhhh...Sinnoh, yep," May immediately made something up.
"Ah, of course. Someone so noble, sacrificing his chance to compete to make sure others are safe...he puts me to shame," Chaz said, putting a hand on his face.
"Ahh, that just makes him sound more mysterious and even cooler!" Lisia shook with excitement, "May, please you have to introduce us to him, please!"
"He's really busy and I don't know, but hey maybe I'll pass the message along and if he says yes I'll let you know," May said, giving a shaky thumbs up.
But meanwhile in the background, someone else walked in, but she stayed low. She walked up to the receptionist and showed her ribbons, then she spoke softly, "Um, I'm Jessilina,"
The receptionist scanned everything and smiled, "Congratulations, Jessilina. You made it just in time. You're the last contestant."
Yes, this was Jessilina, or in reality Jessie. Remember she did go out to do the contests around Hoenn. She managed to get 5 ribbons since she was actually pretty good at contests when she doesn't try to cheat. But even still, with her being nervous she might get caught, she chose to use her fake identity Jessilina to participate.
But now that she was here, and heard she just made it, Jessie was extremely happy and almost jumped for joy. She quickly grabbed the receptionist's hands and shook them excitedly. This was it for her.
Meanwhile, as the new group was talking in the corner, the screens turned on, indicating that all contestants were here now and they could start.
This was it. All of what they did led up to this very moment. Right now it was time to give it their all.