"Are you okay?" Sai replied hugging Luke.
It was obvious the fight had taking a toll on him regardless of the façade he put on. Sai came over offering aid as he gently pushed her away in protest. It was clear he was trying to hide his obvious fatigue as he stared across at Thomas.
"I'll be fine," he replied. "We just got one more. I'll tell you after we've put a nail in that coffin."
"Easier said than done," Sean responded.
"C'mon, three against one," Sam shot. "I don't care what you say. As good as we are this should be a snap."
Eve chuckled throwing her arm around Sam's neck.
"Sam can be a little pie in the sky but, even I'll have to agree with him on this one," Pete cut in.
Sean smiled shaking his head in a semi relenting manner. Even he seemed convince that for once it looked as if we clearly had the advantage. But only an advantage. I could tell by his demeanor that he had immense faith in this guy's ability.
"So, this guy must be tough," I replied picking up on his demeanor.
He smiled with a nod.
"I won't kid you, if anybody can explain the extent of his power, it's me. He's my best friend," Sean replied in a relenting. "We've trained together since I arrived. He's no joke. As impressive as you guys are, he has the heart of lion and the power of one too boot. He may be in over his head but we've been in worse. He's pulled me out of the fire more times than you can imagine. To completely honest, he reminds me a lot of you."
His eyebrow raised as he pointed at me in matter of fact type tone. I looked over at Luke as he and Jacob expressed embraces. Jacob wore a look of supreme pride as he patted Luke on the shoulder as they made their way toward the rest of the legion. He looked confident as ever. I shook my head reflecting on Sean's words as the rest of the legion celebrated.
"Yes, we're about to win?!" Eve replied.
She rejoiced grabbing a hold of my arm and pulling me over for a hug with her, Sai, and Beth.
"Man, can you believe it?" Sam added. "We're so close."
As they celebrated Thomas walked to the center of the arena catching everyone's attention. He looked indifferent. He wore the customary white pearly armor with orange streaks and an orange hoody that peaked out of the back of his chest plate. He had his hair cut into a fauxhawk and wore large diamond earrings that looked like they were two stars attached to the ends of his ears.
"What's this about?" I replied as the proctor walked to the center of the arena.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Sam seconded.
Our attention turned to the center as a hush fell on the crowd. They seemed to be as confused as we were by the situation.
"Jade?" Eve replied turning to Jade in an asking manner.
Jade motioned for her to wait as the proctor lowered his head dropping to Thomas's level as they continued. He nodded as he spoke to Thomas as the two went back and forth keeping everyone else in suspension. Thomas and the proctor exchanged a final nod as the proctor turned and signaled something to the council that caused the crowd to erupt in a mix of cheers and groans.
"That's unfortunate," Jade replied shaking his head.
He wore a look that fell between annoyed and disappointed. Everyone crowded around him waiting for an explanation for what had just occurred.
"What is it?" I asked confused.
He took a deep breath and continued with his hands on his waist. It didn't look, at all, like something that I was going to be happy to hear. I lowered my head annoyed at what could possibly be thrown in our way now.
"Although I was proud to see Luke win it was actually more detrimental to our winning cause then the opposite," He answered.
Eve joined my non-verbal stance placing her head in her hand as Sai stared nervously biting her bottom lip.
"Why?" Eve pressed.
Staring at Sai with a let's hear it type of manner.
"There's always something, isn't it?" Sai backed.
Jade gave an apologetic shrug as he gestured to continue before Max spoke before he could.
"Well, in the final duel it is slanted in the favor of fairness," he explained.
He gave an agreeing annoyed stance sympathizing with our protests as Pete pressed he and Jade to continue.
"Meaning?" he asked annoyed.
I could sense the tension in the air. I don't know for sure that they shared my feelings but I was tense at the thought that things may be a lot different than I perceived them to be. We were riding hide now and it seemed we were going to be thrown back into the fire. Fair, I thought angrily. What about this entire trial has been fair for us? Now that we have the advantage these people want to talk about fair. I was getting more agitated by the second. Jade placed his hand on my shoulder sensing my annoyance. His hand was a calming presence as he smiled and continued.
"Meaning, it's not going to end with all three of these guys going against Thomas," Jade continued.
It was Luke's time to be annoyed as he threw his hands in the air in an annoyed manner crossing his arms defiantly.
"Seriously, fair? What about that is fair to us?" Sai asserted taking the words out of my mouth speaking for the entire legion as she continued. "I mean, we earned our advantage. Not to mention, they came into this with a clear advantage. An advantage that put us in a 3-1 hole. Where was the fairness then?"
"Exactly," Luke seconded.
We all nodded becoming less patience with the trials process as Sai spelled out are grievances almost perfectly.
"That's not entirely true," Max responded. "Yes, you guys were put in disadvantageous situations but it was at a time where you were in the normal trial evaluation dynamic. That is no longer the case. This is a duel. Both legions have equaled out. There are no longer pre-trial evaluations or post trial evaluations. You guys have shown the power you both wield and proving yourselves to be exceptional legions. Now it's no longer about proving the merit of the two legions, it's now about proving which legion is the most powerful. This is purely entertainment based."
We all stood taking his words yet still holding on to slight feelings of injustice.
"Still doesn't make it fair," Pete added.
Jade nodded agreeing with his words.
"Yeah, well, regardless," Jade continued. "You guys are seen as S-Class prospects. It wouldn't be fair to have three S-Class prospects take on one. That's just not how things are done in this realm."
"Still doesn't make it fair," Pete shot sarcastically repeating himself.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance. He could say what he liked but it was the truth. They gave us all we could handle but we won fair and square. It's not fair to punish us for being superior. We fought hard for those victories and to say that they are basically meaningless was a slap in the face. I became more agitated with every word. Everyone showed a look of extreme defiance outside of Jacob who stared at the sky almost in a trance as we continued to belly ache.
"So what, all those duels meant nothing?" Eve shot.
Jade shook his head in a pleading tone.
"Listen, once one squad is down to their final prospect they have the option to stand and fight those that remain or they can call for what is refered to as Dikeos which instantly turns the battle into a sudden death," he shrugged in an apologetic tone. "That just is what it is."
He paused in a consolation based manner as a smirk appered on his face.
"But there is still some advantage given to the opposing legion," he expressed leveling with us. "For one, there is a reason to celebrate this."
We all stood awaiting his words as he stood up tall motivated by what he was about to say.
"Okay?" Luke shot. "Well, what is it?"
Jade continued to smile in a baiting manner until we became more impatient and anxious.
"C'mon, Jade," I pressed. "What is it?"
He took a deep breath finally ready to spill the beans after a couple of baiting seconds of pulling our legs.
"Alright, well, the remaining prospects on the opposing legion are automatically accepted into the academy!" he exploded. "So, you guys did it. You're all accepted into the academy!"
Our eyes lit up at the sound of his words. It felt like a huge boulder had been dropped off my shoulders. I couldn't ever imagine myself being so happy.
"Are you serious?!" Eve and Sai let out simultaneously.
We finally joined the ruckus of celebration being shared around the stadium. We hugged each other happily.
"That's awesome!" Sam seconded.
We stared each other in the eyes smiling like we had just won the lottery.
"Whew," Pete added. "So, we're all in."
He asked staring at Jade and Max in an exasperated manner as if they would tell us they were playing huge joke on us at any minute.
"Dani, Zech, Jo," I shot via BAU. "Did you guys hear that? We're in, we actually made it."
A stagnant second passed before Danielle responded.
"Yeah, we heard," Dani shot. "The sound of screaming down the hall is probably a dead giveaway that the twins may be privy to that knowledge as well."
I chuckled to myself taking a long second to enjoy what we had just accomplished against all odds. I hadn't allowed myself to imagine what it would be like to actually pull it off which I think made the feeling all the more gratifying. I was beside myself.
Jade nodded proud of the sudden exuberance. He wore what fell between a smile and a heroes pose before clearing his throat awkwardly as we all continued to hug and celebrate our newly found achievement.
"Hold on," Jade replied. "While I couldn't be more proud that you all made it in. There is a second part. We came here to win, didn't we?"
His words slowed our emotions as we all honed in on his demeanor. Maxwell stepped beside him right on cue to send home the sentiment that this was emotion they both shared as he continued. They both looked at us with such admiration and pride. We all came together waiting with baited breath as Jade continued his speech.
"I watched you guys grow in a span of a month," Jade continued with more emotion than I had ever witnessed in him before. "From afraid children...to exceptional young Remnants. Things were shaky for a while but this has probably been one the most fulfilling assignments of my existence. I listened and endure the talk about you guys for months and watch you guys turn all these snobby downnosers into believers. I don't want them to be right about anything. They said you would never make it, you did. They said there was no way a bunch of snot nosed barely trained Earthborns could win, guess what we will. There has never been an Earthborn legion to get accepted on the first try, ever! You guys did that against one of the most decorated trial legions ever. Now I'm greedy. This means more than you guys. You guys in your small amount of time here are changing the way these people think, the way they act, and the way they believe. You see that section."
He pointed to the Earthborn sections which was going crazy at the sound that Thomas had submitted his Dikeos plea. I remember how they passionately cheered us on the entire time. I hadn't known the significance of our victory. A part of me believed Jade and Max purposefully kept it from us but I'm glad they did. It felt good as the barrier slowly dissipated so that we could hear the roar of the crowd around us.
THETA DELTA! THETA DELTA! THETA DELTA! They chanted loudly.
It was no longer just the Earthborn section chanting for us it was now the entire arena. It invigorated me. The feeling was mutual as I stared at my teammates blown away at the spectacle of the ear splitting cheers.
"They needed this as much as you guys did," Max added. "Show them what they are capable of."
We all nodded pumped by their words. We all nodded waving our hands in a show of appreciation as Jade continued to explain via BAU because of the volume of the crowd's cheers.
"Now, by submitting himself to Dikeos he is forfeiting his ability to fight the fighters that lay ahead of him. The plea is accepted on the condition that omitting one prospect of the pleading parties choosing the opposing legion will have the opportunity to choose the opponent from the entire pool of their legion."
I would love to say that his words were inspiring but they weren't they were bothersome. His words were daggers because with me being one of the more powerful players in our legion, I was definitely in play and just thinking about it made my stomach uneasy.
"In English," Sam pressed.
Pete sighed impatiently.
"In short, anyone outside of Jacob will be able to fight him," Pete added frustrated.
He pointed at Jacob as he spoke. Jacob never even looked back he just continued staring out a the crowd as if this was something that he had already anticipated.
"Wait, what?" I shot. "Jacob's our strongest fighter. Why isn't he allowed to be picked, I mean, with him it's a lock."
Sean nodded agreeing as he continued.
"Yeah, you're right but he said Thomas got to exclude one of us from consideration, that's more than likely going to be Jacob, that's just common sense. My guess is it was going to be either Jacob or Uriah. Uriah, being the unknown, Jacob is an obvious choice," Sean explained.
"Uriah, wait, why Uriah instead of you, Luke, Sam or Tim?" Eve pressed. "I mean, yeah, Uriah powerful but Jacob is on another level."
"You guys never got to see Uriah before the battle of New Angeles," Sean replied. "Uriah's been a Remnant long before that. Trust me, if you saw how powerful he was before he anointment, you would have little trouble believing that he at the very least would be on Par with Jacob's evolution. You guys are tainted because during the Battle of New Angeles you could didn't understand all the power that went into him keeping you guys safe. It severely handicapped him at the time so you guys never got a chance to see his actual power but we did and we saw him as just as much a threat as we did Jacob if not more so before Jacob's display. That's just the truth."
I stared at Uriah who sat stoically sitting as cool as he'd always been. He wore earphones over his ears as he stared out into the sea of people. I could believe everything Uriah saying. Uriah showed a calm coolness and intelligence that gave me no reservation about his ability. He paid us no attention as Sean continued.
"And yes, Luke is powerful, and so are Tim and Sam but they are also newly trained, thus more likely to make a mistake that an experience prospect could exploit," he explained.
I nodded agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Well, then Uriah it is then," I continued.
"Or me," Sam added with a smile.
"Are you kidding, no," I replied. "You're powerful but you're like a toddler walking a Pitbull right now. You still don't have control yet."
They all stared at me like they had something on their minds that they did not want to share. I turned waiting for meaningful feedback totally oblivious to the obvious signs that were being expressed toward me. I could tell by their demeanors something was transpiring without my knowledge. There were having another BAU conversation absent of me. It was obvious.
"C"mon guys," I replied trying to encourage their participation.
They continued to stare at me which began to agitate me because a part of me knew why and I thought it was a terrible idea.
"Who, Uriah, or Sean?" I continued covertly pleading as they continued to stare at me unmoved by my words.
Jacob shook his head with a smile as it slowly started to dawn on me what they weren't budging on how they felt no matter how I felt about it. I stood my hands on my hips angrily protesting their obvious consensus.
"Who?" I shot knowingly what they were all thinking.
They stared at each other as if they were rethinking things in lure of my protesting demeanor.
"You!" Jacob shot from behind me.
My eyes closed at the sound of their words and agitation soon followed as I stared at them dumbfounded by the idiocy of the plans. You have Sean who knows the guy's fighting style inside out and the newly revealed super recruit Uriah. Why me?!
"Me?!" I shot with an already planned outburst.
"Yes!" they all shot simultaneously.
They all looked at me returning my rebellious protest with ones of their own.
CRACK! I threw my arms in the air before slapping the table behind me in protest splitting it in half on contact.
"Haven't I done enough," I shot staring them down. "Haven't I shown enough."
My mind was going a mile a minute as an anger built in me. It was never enough. They felt I needed to prove more. Why me? Why did always have to be me? I was tired of fighting. I wanted this whole thing to be over and the last thing I wanted to do was engage in a another fight.
"Yeah, you have," Jade replied with a smirk.
I stared at him angrily oblivious to what the intent of his statement was and blown away at the prospect of him taking my protest lightly.
"Then why?" I shot. "Why not Sean, why not Uriah, or even Luke?"
No one wanted to look me in the eye it was obvious they sympathized with my situation. So much so that it looked like it annoyed them to have to ask me to do more than I already had but at the time I didn't get the position I was in, I was just angry and tapped out. To stressed out to get the message they were trying to convey.
"Because they aren't you!" Sam cut in before lowering his head bashfully.
"Exactly," I shot.
"No, they're not you," Sam continued. "Who was the one pulling us all out of the fire each and every time?"
"The one reason why we all are here, new admittance into the most prestigious academy in existence," Pete added
"Let's just skip the middle man," Sai shot. "You're just going to end up saving us once again so why even go through it besides..."
Their words stopped me in my tracks. The meaning of what they were saying slowly seeped in. I stared at them as they all converged on me patting me on the head and shoulder giving me encourage me.
"Tim, this isn't about who can or should take this fight," Eve continued.
"Yeah, it's about who we trust to win this fight," Sai shot.
"Yeah, our faith is in you," Uriah added.
Everyone aside from Sean bashfully refused to stare at me directly. I thought it was them pawning something off on me or maybe they were intimidated by this guy themselves but now I saw the true meaning behind the words and it was more honorable than that. It was possibility the most rewarding feeling I had ever felt. I started the trials fighting for the trust of my legionmates I went to insane lengths to gain it, now, I had earned it.
"It's unanimous," Jade shot with a smile.
I nodded trying to hold back a smile as my whole demeanor changed.
"So listen idiot," Jacob cut in. "The most powerful thing in this realm is faith. The power we have to believe in Father Yahweh's love and power gifted to us. Now imagine the power you wield when a legion is behind you propelling you on with faith of our own, in you."
"Our?" I replied bashfully turning away. "Don't tell me you trust me too."
"Ha, ha, ha," he shot fake laughing. "No, you're still irresponsible, lazy, and immature but you also are the heart flow of this team and I have faith that Father Yahweh's anointment and will through the Savior Emanuel flows through you and in that regard, yeah, I trust you. Just know this, regardless, whether I was eligible or not, you were going to take this fight because the more not just we but everyone believes in the anointment Father Yahweh has given you, the more powerful you will become and we need that. Faith works like that, so suck it up one more time and less end this on a high note...you crybaby."
I smiled as he playfully ruffled my hair. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. They all stared at me. It was unavoidable and, to be honest, I wouldn't want to if I could. This was the validation of my hard work everything I had put into those trials and I wasn't going to let any of them down when they were relying on me the most. I was ready. It was time. It was time to end this once and for all and it was only fitting that the person who started us on this journey to the Light Guard Trials would be in charge of ending that very same journey.