The Sky Climbers

10- Backup needed

Word count- 7032

With one fell swoop, the marionette disappeared from view into a pile of broken ice. The dolls froze in place, Sun's scythe inches away from my throat, and Moon's hat was still tightly wrapped around my legs.

A few seconds passed by, and the arena had gone completely silent. Fox wasn't even commentating. Everyone was on the edge of their seats.

Figuring it would probably be in my best interests, I kicked the wooden dolls away from me. I quickly stood back up, untangling myself from their grasp.

I froze the dolls over, just for extra measure, and jogged over to Eclipse. She was completely unconscious. She had slipped on the half-melted ice and knocked herself out.

Ouch. Got your pride and head hurt all in one go. Sorry lady, but luck is favoring me today... for once. But does this really count as a win? I wondered, looking up towards Fox.

The barrier fell. A masked man came running in. He knelt to check out the champion. Once he was satisfied he gave a nod to Fox.

The gong was sounded off. I guess it did count. Victory! I had successfully accomplished what I had sought out for. I lifted a fist to the sky. I could barely hear Fox's voice over the crazed cheers from the crowd or the party poppers being fired. I scanned the people for my partner in crime. There was too much going on for me to tell where she was at.

"Ladies and Gentlemen- We have a winner! Someone has finally conquered our 12-time champion! Give a round of applause for Torrent folks!" Fox shouted, barely overtaking the crowd.

An extra flying hoverboard was brought out, stopping just in front of me. I stepped on, two latches clamped on my feet and whisked me away. I couldn't tell if I was frozen from my fear of heights or if I was just frozen stiff from my core.

The hologram feed cut to the sponsors who were advertising their products, not that I could see very well, my view was spinning.

The board stopped abruptly and released me on the marble floor. I nearly tripped as I got down from it. I grabbed hold of the railing, trying to balance myself. Regretting the instant I looked down past the railing, the ground floor was far down below, too far down. My stomach turned.

A cough interrupted my panic. "Torrent, let us stay away from the railing. I'd rather not have my guests down below covered in stomach acid" A charming voice suggested. I turned to see the clan's leader.

"Oh, yes. Sorry about that," I replied, shaking off nausea. Trotting over to where Apollo had pointed to. His mask shimmered in the light as he turned to walk to the golden prize chest.

The cane methodically thumped against the marble with every step. I walked a few steps behind the man. There was no telling what he would do, after all, he did try to kidnap that homeless-looking guy before Brennen stepped in.

"I wasn't expecting you to win this time around. I thought that Gideon had given up on you, considering the amount of money you owed him. The cost of Angel Class Healers isn't cheap, you know. Especially when you aren't even the one being healed" he laughed, and his members laughed with him too. He beckoned something lurking in the corner.

What I assumed to be his own personal healer, a teen girl dressed in white flowing robes, came out of hiding on command. She sprinkled some golden dust on me. Just before she snuck back into the shadows, I could see the familiar angelic wings branded across her back along with the BlackGold Clans logo dead center of it. I instantly felt better physically, but mentally I was hurting for the poor girl.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, but Gideons is an eccentric you know. What can you do?" I replied, trying to redirect the conversation. Apollo chuckled again.

"That fine gentleman is definitely an eccentric. No doubt about it" He agreed with me. "Let us get on with this. I'd hate to part with my collection, but I made an agreement" He added, pulling a key from his pocket.