Dre's eyes flashed open. He was back in the transfer room, where he saw Nightblaze with a giddy smile on his face, displaying a top row of golden teeth. He thought that he were getting used to the simulation, seeing as though he wasn't as tired as usual. The rest of the teams were leaving their pods. "Splendid. Absolutely blooming splendid. Can I get a word with you guys for the magazine?"
He strode over to Megumi and pulled out his notepad from his jacket. "What was going through your mind while you were fighting Katherine?"
Megumi looked taken off-guard by Nightblaze's direct approach. "I just wanted to prove that I was the better one in the relationship. I would've done it, if Ian didn't get in the way," she added, glaring at Ian.
"Now, you're the youngest daughter of the interim King of Elements, Toney Gladestone, correct? How did he react when he learned that you were dating Katherine?"
"Oh, um..." she began, hesitant. "You know, he was pretty okay with it. He didn't really say too much about it." She looked over to Katherine, who frowned before she turned away from them and walked out of the room.
Megumi tried to follow, until Nightblaze stopped her. "Oh, one more quick question. Did you let your relationship with Katherine get in your way with Katherine?"
Annoyed, Megumi retorted. "No. Now if you'd excuse me." She hurried out of the room before Nightblaze could pester her again.
"Huh. Oh, Ke'Undre. Do you have enough time for an interview? You too, Kamatsu. Come, come."
Dre sighed as he and Kamatsu walked over to Nightblaze. "How did you feel whenever you saw that you weren't fighting against Kamatsu, but Jacob instead?"
"I was a bit bummed, you know? I mean, I wanted to beat him down pretty bad, but I couldn't this time. Rest assured, though. When I get to the real tournament, he's going down."
Kamatsu chuckled as he folded his arms. "Oh. Did you have something to say about that, Kamatsu?" Nightblaze asked.
"I find it hilarious that Basura actually thinks he can beat me. We had a little fight back in the first day of training, and I completely mopped the floor with him. And I have no doubt in my mind that I'll not only defeat him, I'll make him never want to pick up a sword again."
"Take that back, you jerk," Dre said, turning to him.
"I'd love to see you make me."
Snarling, Dre through a punch. In an instant, a wall of darkness blocked off the two of them, catching Dre's arm in a dark embrace. His eyes widened as he tried to withdraw his fist; his hand seemed to move at half the speed. "Guys. Let's keep this professional, can we?" Nightblaze said, his voice much darker than before. The wall of darkness fell. Both Dre and Kamatsu looked at him with the same dumbfounded expression.
~~~~~
"Katherine," Megumi called as Katherine sped walked down the halls. She ran towards her. "Baby, wait."
Katherine turned around, furious. "You didn't tell your parents about us, did you?"
Megumi flinched at the sudden turn. She'd never seen Katherine so angry, especially at her. "I... I was going to, but-" Katherine scoffed as she turned away.
Pain tore at Megumi's heart as Katherine walked away. "Baby, hold on. Look, I'm sorry, okay? It's hard telling your parents these kinds of things. I don't think I could live with myself if my parents were disappointed in me."
"Do you know how much that hurts me, Megumi? I told Kamatsu about it, and he's my only living relative. It was hell, but I did it for you. I'd hoped that you would, too."
"And I will-"
"When?" Katherine interrupted, her voice full of malice.
Megumi lowered her head at the coldness in her voice. "T-tonight, I promise. I want you to come, too."
Katherine inclined a brow. "Are you sure that your parents won't mind? I don't want you to get into trouble."
"I don't care about that right now. Katherine," Megumi grabbed Katherine's hands, "I care about you more than getting in trouble with my parents." Tears began to well in her eyes; she tried to blink them away, looking at her worn out sneakers. "I'm sorry, alright? I really am. I should've told them the moment that we started dating. I just..." Her voice trailed off.
Katherine exhaled. Gingerly cupping Megumi's chin, she lifted her head up, looking just as guilty as she. "I should be the one apologizing. I completely overreacted. There was something that happened to me last year, a few days before we came to the academy. I guess it affected me more than I thought."
"So, am I forgiven?"
"As long as you keep your promise," Katherine smiled before kissing Megumi.
~~~~~
"I think you guys may have overdone it with the promo, guys," Rose sighed as both groups walked down the street, heading back to the campus to eat supper before they go home. They walked down the side walk as one large group, catting among themselves.
"Don't blame me. I was being convincing," Kamatsu accused. "That was Dre trying to throw a punch in the middle of an interview. Who even does that?"
"Oh, bite me, dude," Dre argued. "If people heard that two rivals hated each other enough to try to fight after the match, the tickets would be sold out before they even started selling."
"That... That doesn't even make logical sense," Ayeka said.
"You'll have to excuse Dre," Megumi said, arm in arm with Katherine. "He's a special kind of stupid."
"Okay. When you get home tonight, Megumi, I want you to look in the mirror, look deep in your eyes, and ask yourself if that was necessary."
"That reminds me," Ian said with his hands behind his head, turning towards Laisha, "what the hell was that stuff that you used on me when I was fighting you?"
"What do you mean?" she asked in her low, calm voice.
"All that shit you made me see. Do you know what it's like to be unbirthed? I couldn't even fathom how crazy that was."
"Whoa. Wait, what did I miss while I was dead?" Dre asked aghast.
"Oh, that. It's something that I learned when I was younger. I used to be bulled a lot when I was younger because of the way that I dressed. People didn't really think that a girl wearing black all the time was feminine. Then one day, I guess I was just sick of it. I confronted one of the girls, looked her in the eye, and told her that I wasn't afraid of her. As soon as I said that, it was like I saw in to her mind. I saw everything she feared, and it sped by like a movie in fast forward. I figured she must have saw the same thing, or at least she was hallucinating what she feared, because she started trying to shake off invisible insects. It wasn't until I told my mother about it that I found I was an Amian."
"Huh. Sounds like you'd be a match made in heaven for my main man over here," Dre said, inclining his head to Michael.
"Two things, Dre. One: Don't call me your main man. Two: I don't need you to try to introduce me to anyone."
"Geez," Dre complained, rustling his head with his left hand, his right hand clasped with Kim, "so much for trying to be a good friend."
"Oh, yeah. Are you two going to the prom?" Keiko asked over her shoulder to Katherine and Megumi.
"Prom is happening pretty soon, huh?" Katherine said. She turned to Megumi, grinning. "So, what colors should we wear?"
"No, dude. No. I hate proms."
"Aw, come on baby. It'll be fun."
"Fun for who exactly?"
"For both of us," Katherine smirked after she kissed the top of her head. "Just think of it as a practice wedding."
Blushing, Megumi looked away.
"So, do you want to wear the tux, or dress?"
"Tux," Megumi groaned.
~~~~~~
Everything was going along smoothly, excluding the minor hiccup that the Amians knew about Samantha using the Edge Walkers on their planet to see the extent of her newly found, ever growing power. She walked through the dimly lit Southern Amity forest; her followers that she passed gave a low bow, treating her like the Queen she was destined to be. It was almost hers. The Golden Flower Crown, which was currently being sullied on "Queen" Sonata's head, was one step closer to being hers.
She smirked as she walked passed the glowing pond beside her throne made of twisted tree bark and vines. Immediately, she frowned once she looked at the throne. Aggaron sat in place of her, grinning inhumanly as he rested his hind on his hand. "And here I was thinking that you were glad to see me."
"What are you doing here, Aggaron? Shouldn't you be on Earth recruiting more people?"
"In due time, my dear. In due time. Right now, I have a few announcements to say. Have you noticed anything different about me? I can assure you, something much more than a trivial haircut."
That much was noticeable, seeing that his hair was still splayed over the top of his head. She was surprised that Aggaron could see, considering his hair was covering his eyes. Aggaron went on. "I'm growing stronger. Look. My arm has grown back." The dark cloak slid up to Aggaron's shoulder, displaying a pale, blood-red tattoo-ridden arm. He smiled, displaying his sharp, jagged teeth.
Samantha folded her arms. "Where are you going with this?"
"Simple, my dear. The moment to make ourselves known is drawing ever closer. Soon, you will be the queen you've always wanted, but the one that no one needed." Samantha's scowl deepened at such a back-handed insult. "Oh? The look on your face says differently. Fair enough. I shall give you an example." He snapped his fingers; as if ordered, three Sirens walked out of the thicket of trees. Samantha felt fury boil through her, until she saw that their eyes were all black, as if they were being controlled by Aggaron himself. "In case you're wondering, these three women were seen in your home town. You'll never guess what they did. They decided to display their powers a little early, on school grounds no less. Not only that, but they've used one of your peoples forbidden techniques to devour the life essence of innocent boys to make themselves more powerful. Right now, they would be able to conjure and control an army of Edge Walkers, far more than you can. Of course, you know the repercussions of such a technique, right? The power would only last for a few days before it recoils, rotting its captor from the inside out. Oh, that reminds me." He raised a hand enveloped in a dark mass. One of the Sirens, a darker skinned woman with black, curly hair, began to step forward and place her forehead in the palm of his hand. "One of your cohorts stole something that would prove to be very important to me in the future. And I intend to take it back." He pressed his hand forward by an inch, sending an arrow of darkness through the back of her head. She toppled over, lifeless, with no sign of a wound.
In place of the Siren's head was a blue, almost white, orb. Aggaron chuckled before a black mass covered the orb, shrinking it down until nothing remained. "Now, tell me something, Samantha. Were you aware of this?"
Horror filled Samantha's eyes as she looked at the body of one of her followers. He'd always called himself powerful, but she'd never thought she could witness such a display. With one hand, he'd effortlessly killed one of her followers with a smile on his face, without even getting up from her throne. She looked over to the other two captives, both of which had disobeyed her and attacked a school on Earth. "What say you now, 'queen.' Make an example out of them, or let a revolt happen before you can even touch the crown.
She knew what she had to do, though she'd never killed before. Nevertheless, if they'd disobeyed her, they had to suffer the consequence. "Hand me a blade."
"With pleasure," Aggaron said with a demonic grin.