I appear in a forest, it seems to be the one that used to be around Valors main citadel. I look around to see my cohort.
"You all ready?"
They nod i wave them to follow.
"Well? Let's get moving already"
The 4 follow me closely with their weapons up. Healer leans towards me
"So what are our chances?"
I look forwards
"I'd say its pretty good. Our team is well balanced and well trained after all"
She nods
"Thats makes sense but.... this will bring in some real strong people"
Shielder pipes up
"Like lord mongrel!"
I am so glad they can't see my face, as I'm trying not to giggle really really hard at that little comment.
We come across a group of 3, I dash forward ducking under the firsts sword and i cut his head in half. A wind blade cuts the neck of another and a arrow hits the other in the eye between the gap of his visor. The bodies turn into a rain of white sparks. I look back at my group they all seem fine, maybe even a little shocked.
"I didn't think it would be that easy"
Shielder walks forward looking over where the group was. Mage scoffs
"We're from the forgotten shores most awakened don't have even half the experience we do."
Healer scoffs
"Says the castle dweller"
I look back
"Don't cause problems knowingly, this is about teamwork"
Ranger pipes up
"Yeah, so many of the other cohorts have worked together longer so we have to try our best to work together"
I wave them forwards.
I throw a dagger into the hand of one of them as I'm hit with a fireball, I run right through it and I stab them in the eye. I keep swinging my arm, it goes right through their skull and I use the momentum to slit the throat of another.
Shielder slams into another he shield bashes them and healer stabs another on a curved sword. I walk over to them
"Are you injured?"
I shake my head mage lifts his arm
"I have some burns"
Healer walks over to him, starts healing him and soon the burns disappear.
"Essence levels?"
They look over healer puts her hands in her pockets
"About ¾th full. Nobody has gotten too injured yet."
Mage smoothes out his clothes
"Mine is halfway"
Shielder lifts his shield
"Almost completely full! Nobody we've come across has been able to do much!"
Rangers eyes dark around
"Mine is mostly full too"
I nod
"Let's go. Mine is also pretty full."
A thing pops up showing how many kills every team has we are in the top place!
"Would you look at this"
Shielder leans on my shoulder something by about it is familiar, odd.
"It seems we in in first place"
Mage looks around carefully.
"We will have many eyes on us, not just of spectators. Its likely we're going to be jumped soon."
Healer scoffs
"then they don't know a damn thing about heat seeker"
They all look at healer, archer seems a bit sheepish
"We don't really know anything about heat seeker"
I look away in embarrassment trying not to meet eyes with healer
"Is that so...."
We walk together into a clearing. I put my hand up as about 4 cohorts come out of the forest. The leader looks at my group
"Hey heat seeker, sorry about this, you really are a hero and all but we all want to win"
I tilt my head
"Good work on those 2 gates. No hard feelings right?"
I wave him off
"No i get it. My cohort might not be so happy and we also want to win."
I make a ice wall around us as the cohorts fire off their aspects everyone gets under shielders shield. It won't last, i throw my daggers up gaining their attention and I summon my shield throwing it taking out the most dangerous one.
I start throwing ice daggers as the ice walls break taking out major threats. I catch the daggers and I rush forward as arrows and wind cuts down some of the enemies.
We sit together as healer uses her aspect to heal us
"Those idiots! Really, they just had to jump us!"
She keeps ranting on about the jumping that happened. I flip my daggers in my hand bored in cut her off
"We will have to start moving soon the walls are closing in"
There's another collective groan of annoyance.
"But we're so tired"
I look away
"Our enemies don't care, if anything they will use it against us"
They slowly get up. I wave them forward to continue to the lake.
Soon there's only about 1 more cohort left as we get to the base of the lake. The forest is turning into that titan the valor guys killed however many years ago.
The last other cohort is also 5, they seem to also have a healer, I think their the number 3 placement, after number 2 had also been jumped but didn't survive. I lift my daggers and I rush towards them being met in the middle by what I think is their leader.
I move back, I duck under a stab and I grab their sword using it to stab at their face. They're sword heats up in a vain attempt to get me to let go but I don't, they duck to the side only taking a deep cut on their face. They elbow me making me let go and slide back.
The two cohorts are already deep in combat. I block another attack, I the duck under another getting a shallow cut on their side but taking a hit on the shoulder. The fight is cut short by healer stabbing the leader in the back, I glace at her then I go to aid mage.
I grab the edge of the dreamscape pod dragging myself out. Healer gets up as well
"You can stay until this is over if you want. I have extra pods."
"Bath"
She looks at me
"What?"
"I want a bath."
She waves me off
"Then go take a bath."
I walk away, we won and will be moving on. God damn it am tired. I take a long hot shower, i don't warm up once again. I get out put on a outfit from my satchel and I go into a sleeping pod, I quickly go to my room and i fall asleep.
The next morning I slowly get up, I wish I could stay in bed but I can't so I slowly get up. I walk out of my room as I'm going to the gateway I see sunny.
"Sun! Hey"
He looks over
"Ih hey, you didn't come home last night" I shrug
"I'm at a friend's house. So how you doing in the tournament?"
He sighs heavily and dramatically
"They jumped me, I barely survived!"
"HA! Same. So why do you only lie with the mask, does it do that?"
He nods
"Yeah."
I do finger guns
"Well hope to see you winning"
"You too"
We both touch the gateway.
"Okay so I've looked into what teams will be our biggest problems. It will be a group of 2 and a group of three."
I point the dagger at images of the two cohorts. Shielder has the look of someone trying to be polite but who really wants to speak.
"What?"
He jumps up showing his communicator.
"Lord Mongrel got jumped in the tournament yesterday! He beat 12 awakened single handedly!"
Pfft.
"Well glad you're having fun but Mongrel is doing the single player version we are doing the cohort tournament."
He nods, his hype having not gone down
"Maybe we will see him today before the fights start!"
Healer scoffs
"And if we do? Do you want his autograph?"
He nods.
"Of course I do, Lord Mongrel is my idol!"
Healer seems a bit shocked that her jab didn't do a damn thing.
"Okay back on topic, these two cohorts are likely to be our biggest problem so we will have to have a strategy to deal with them."
We appear in the dreamscape a few people look at us with shock, the forgotten shore kids are famous after all. Wait I'm a bit famous, more then a bit I'd anything. Soon sunny appears close by in his Mongrel getup. I nod to him
"Nice work on that gate."
He nods to me as well. Shielder moves past me and he seems star struck
"Lord mongrel! I'm a big fan! A really big fan!"
I grab the back of his armor and I drag shielder off.
"Stop that shielder let's go you all"
Mage glances at mongrel then quickly looks away. Archer quickly follows after and healer seems not even slightly in awe.
The fights starts soon after. It seems we won't have to deal with the two main problem cohorts. Well not until tomorrow at the final fight. The first fight soon also ends with a few throwing daggers. I tap my foot waiting for the next to start.
"Wow that was fast right boss?"
Shielder leans on me, I move him off.
"Yes. I suppose it was quite fast."
Healer scoffs
"Yeah no thanks to us"
archer rubs the back of her head
"Well if everything goes this smoothly then we will probably win at least"
I adjust my grip on my daggers waiting for the next one to start.
No fight is easy, but we don't loose any members. 5 fights, we've won 3 so far and we are onto our 4th. I dash towards our new opponents a group of 4. I almost slit the throat of one but a attack of another causes me to miss as it hits my side.
I keep sliding forward, I make ice under their feet to throw off their balance. I make a set of ice skates and I rush forward yet again. A arrow cuts into the knee of one and a strong wind throws another off their feet.
I slide around dodging and blocking finally cut the head off one while dodging their attack. Shielder slams into another and he shield bashes them into a puddle. Healer stabs her sword into the head of another and the last dies to a mix of arrows and wind blades. None of us died but we could have, we always could have and I should remember that.
The last fight is pretty easy as the main attacker had a fire aspect. After some yapping we leave the dreamscape. I put on some new clothes and I come back.
"I'm hungry"
Healer does a go away gesture "then go make something for yourself" I stare at her.
"Fuck! Fine I'll go make something to eat. I'd rather you not burn down my house"
I sit down and I look on my communicator. I look up my name, I seem more popular and all that. I'm apparently also becoming more popular, still out of the ones who got a true name in the forgotten shores.
Also people are saying me and sunny are siblings? And now their coming up with insane theories over and over. Its really funny.
Soon the fights start again. I don't care to remember, I'm a little sick of this. Fighting and fighting its a little too boring. Finally the final fight is here. Its the group of 2. There's petals everywhere, the main valor representative watching us.
Oh and the saint who made the dreamscape, I like their makeup, its very fun. I nod to my cohort and the fight starts. I dash forward clashing with one the other goes to attack but is rammed by shielder. So I'll take on one while they jump the other.
I slide back, he dashes forward our blades clash. I block a overhead attack, their blade sides off of mine and it rockets right for the neck, I lean back taking another shallow wound on the neck, I keep the momentum to kick them in the side of the head.
They block most of the attack with their arm but their still pushed back. Their aspect seems to be able to add thrust to things. Like how they used it to make the sword go to my neck. I rush forward our blades clash. In this clash I take a few more shallow cuts and so does he. I freeze the ground, I use skates to move faster on the ice.
They rocket up, countless petals follow him. Wait if I can.... I use snow storm to make the rest of the petals fly up and to make what ill do next harder to see.
I jump up activating the stained glass wings and I make ice platforms to speed up. My daggers hit pushing him up faster. I'm flung away but I use ice platforms to jump forward our blades meet once again. He moves away but I follow in the massive storm of snow and frozen petals.
He can't see correctly, neither can I but I have heat sense and he doesn't. I speed up catching him unexpectedly, he blocks one dagger but getting the other in the neck. He fades in a rain of white sparks.
I dash in the air right into the other, mage and shielder where already taken out but they definitely got some real good hits in. I slam into them pinning them down, healer and ranger stop for a millisecond in shock before moving again.
I'm thrown off but it let healer finally stab them. I slowly sit up as shielder and mage reappear. The saint starts talking on and on about something or the other, I don't care how cool their makeup is, they need to shut up!
The master M starts talking after but I'm so so very sick of this tournament. They ask for their things, i slowly get up as they do
"I would like.... a set of daggers."
She tilts her head
"Is that so?"
I lift the ones I already have
"Its what I'm best at. Also i like their makeup..."
As soon as I can i leave the dreamscape. I sit up and I get out. Soon healer gets out as well
"Hot tired?"
I nod
"Could you take me home?"
She nods
"Just back to that coffee shop?"
I nod again. She helps me up. The others get up
"I'm going home"
They wave and we leave. I quickly get home, sunny was doing something weird again, the shadows were acting weird, but I'm too tired to care. I go to the citadel, I walk in the citadel not looking around. I go into my room flopping on my bed, I'm just very tired.