The Gauntlet was in full swing now and as the days unfolded Battlecast Academy's heavy hitters found their warpath. After Codi and Gareth crashed through their opening paired bracket the others seemed to take it as a challenge, and the Battlecast stampede took hold.
It began with them; next came Jaxo Samas and his partner laying down their intent in no uncertain terms, dispatching an unseeded pair from the East Spiral Gauntlet Academy with frightening efficiency.
Not to be outdone, the veteran pairing of Joshua Bayden and Cardle North joined forces to blast the twenty-first seeded team from Orion Academy into oblivion. In the first day of the paired matches all three competing Battlecast teams marched comfortably into the second round.
But the onslaught was far from over.
The next day saw Cassandra Riven and Prissa Alder carve a path into the second round at the expense of an unfortunate pair from Cobalt Storm. Hot on their heels came one of the most daunting displays that Codi had ever seen when the top seeds took to the Arena.
Chris O'Leary and Ripple Thawborn's opening match was far from a walkover on paper. Pitted against a highly regarded pairing from the Atlantic Academy, seeded twelfth, many expected this first foray to be a violent back and forth encounter. Instead, Battlecast's most effective double-act set to work and saw off the challenge in record time. Watching it unfold, Codi felt conflicting emotions fill her. On the one hand Battlecast's bid to take home another first place at the pairs looked secure. On the other, it didn't look like she would be the one doing it.
But if it wasn't enough to see the big names from Battlecast taking care of business as expected, things got even better for the top academy in colonial space. One of the last opening matches featured a pairing nobody had really given any thought to, but when Leela and her partner – a boy named Mica Samper – overcame a duo from Holdfast to send yet another Battlecast pair into the second round, suddenly the other teams had even more to worry about.
While a handful of the least experienced fighters in the group were eliminated at the hands of highly seeded opposition, the first two days showed one thing: Battlecast didn't have soft targets.
Though she noticed that Dustin Morto's massive bulk was conspicuously absent – presumably they couldn't find anyone to match up with him – Codi did spot some other familiar faces in her bracket. Max and his partner powered through their opening bracket for Knossos City; so too did Darien Fallow's pair from Olympus Mons. Then another group caught her attention one half of which she knew all too well from last year.
Arvin Lee was back and this time he'd found a friend. He and his female team mate emerged victorious from a long, drawn out slugging match to send Zazana Lake Academy's first pair into the next stage of the bracket. Codi hoped they would make it one more round – she and Gareth would be waiting for them.
Finally, she saw Lucas and Lazlo in action for the first time and the highly touted twins didn't disappoint the crowds. She realised just how they'd scored their impressive fourth place, higher than her and Gareth. They moved almost as a single unit, so in sync that it seemed impossible. Despite both of them being short, sturdily built individuals their combat choreography was like a dance. Every twist, jump, turn and strike flowed into the next. They'd spent their whole lives together and it looked like that proximity would pay dividends in the Gauntlet.
It made for grim viewing and she remembered Thradd's prediction that the twins would be their opponents if they reached the semi-finals. So far that looked like one of the safest bets going. She watched the fight end and looked at Gareth expectantly. He simply nodded. Both of them knew that if they wanted to reach the final it would be a long hard slog.
However, it would take more than that to derail the Battlecast train that had been gathering steam for the past forty-eight hours. The ferocious energy that had propelled the majority of their fighters through the opening rounds spilled out into halls, onto the airwaves and across a galaxy-wide network as the press fell hungrily on the display. There was even a collective photo of the Battlecast pairs that had advanced, captioned: 'The Round One Wrecking Crew.'
Codi liked it. A lot.
She and Gareth also survived a joint interview at the hands of Elias Sonnengrad, despite the man's best efforts to create some kind of tension between them, presumably in retaliation for Codi's dismissal of him on live air. Deciding that honesty would be the best tactic in this case, she cheerfully admitted that upon her arrival to Battlecast she and her current partner had not seen 'eye-to-eye'. Thankfully Gareth was on the same wavelength and together they managed to get through the exchange without any catastrophic gaffes.
The media scions started keying on her team-mates now too, Ripple and Chris's performance earning them no small amount of screen-time as the rumour mill started its inexorable march, touting them to take the paired crown back to Battlecast for a second year running. She watched with no small amount of amusement as the interviewers tried and inevitably failed to drag any kind of emotional response out of Ripple.
The final session of light drills had a jovial air to it as even the unsuccessful competitors from the Mayhems and pairs were caught up in the infectious atmosphere. They moved through their stretches exchanging jokes and jibes under the watchful eyes of the instructors. Fighters from other academies steered well clear of them. If there had been any doubts, Battlecast's new contingent reaffirmed that they were still the team to beat.
Towelling sweat from her face as the workout came to an end Codi looked around at her team mates and couldn't suppress a satisfied grin. Playing to win, for a winning team; she had to admit that it felt good.
Her mind flashed back to the first day walking into Battlecast Academy as a competitor, the nerves and the resentment all swirling together into a stomach turning vortex. She remembered that first incident, threatening to knock Gareth's teeth out because of a behind-the-back sneer. How far away that confrontation in the corridor seemed now. He could still be stubborn, still be belligerent, but in the Arena as a team the two volatile fighters had found their rhythm.
She joined the buzzing group as they followed the instructors out of the gym, but something made her look back over her shoulder. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled when she saw Keefer Darkwood at the far end of the room among his team mates. The towering boy stood like a statue, staring grim-faced at the Battlecast competitors as they left.
"Big, tough and creepy," Leela muttered. "C'mon."
Codi nodded absently not taking her eyes off him. Then she waved.
Keefer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the action and with that Codi rounded and followed her team out of the room. Let the mind games begin, she thought, smiling thinly to herself.
To end the day the Battlecast fighters assembled, trooping into one of the spacious meeting rooms that littered the Arena's upper floors in a buoyant mood. Bronagh Llewellyn was waiting for them, lounging idly as her young charges found their seats. The low burble of conversation trickled away as the fighters found seats. Codi settled into a spot between Leela and Gareth, slinging her feet up onto a spare seat.
"Well done," Bronagh declared without preamble. "All of you. This has been a very good beginning to our tournament."
Codi noticed the handful of fighters who hadn't made it through the opening rounds turning their eyes to the floor, expressions shamed. The head instructor seemed to see it too.
"Those of you who didn't progress, you still have a valuable roll to play. The Mayhems are and always have been somewhat of a lottery – I do not regret including any of you. Don't dwell on what's passed. Carry it and use it."
Faces softened and eyes turned back up. Codi smiled. Bronagh Llewellyn could be a hard taskmaster when she had to be, but she understood not to kick her fighters when they were down.
"Tomorrow at noon the flag events begin so those of you competing, I expect all of you in the gym at nine am sharp for warm up drills," she said, unleashing a rumble of groans. A smirk crawled across her face. "Success has its demands. The rest of you will be required at ten a.m. to take part in drills. After the first capture the flag matches there is a scheduled press conference – I've not been told who they want to include as of yet, but anyone who has progressed thus far, be aware that you might be called for at short notice."
Then a full smile filled her normally stoic features. "That's all I have to say right now. You've all performed admirably. Keep up this high standard and we can accomplish great things this year." She cast her eyes over them. "So if no-one has any questions-,"
Ripple raised a hand.
"Yes?"
"Why is our old instructor at Black Horizon?" she asked flatly.
Codi glanced sharply across the room at the other girl, alarmed by her directness, but Ripple's face didn't even flicker. Other heads turned; a few muted mumbles of agreement passed through the group. She looked back at Gareth. He shrugged and his eyes turned to their coach.
Bronagh Llewellyn held Ripple's glassy stare for a long moment. Then let out a long sigh of resignation. "I suppose it's been long enough. You all have a right to know." Straightening up she began pacing slowly back and forth. "Colm Harrow parted ways with the academy three months after last year's competition ended. I'm aware that the returning competitors among you have been wanting to know why for quite some time."
The woman's eyes turned skywards and Codi frowned. What could be so terrible that they'd kept it from the competitors for so long? Personally, she didn't much care where the old instructor was, or why, but she could see the suspicion in the faces of her team mates; feel the tension in the room.
"I did not know he had found a place at Black Horizon any sooner than you did," she continued, but Codi could hear that she was choosing her words carefully. She spoke just a little slower – the normal confident sweep of her voice curtailed for the time-being. "At the time I was finishing my contract with Thor's Wake, looking for open positions at an Earth Academy. I initially applied to be his assistant instructor – a downgrade in pay but an upgrade in status as far as I saw it. However, when I arrived for my interview Harrow was storming out of the building. I didn't see him again until we arrived here."
Llewellyn shrugged. "I went in anyway, and they offered me the Head Instructor's position on a plate. Obviously I accepted." Her eyes narrowed as she looked over her audience. "What I'm going to say next does not leave this room. Is that clear?"
A concerted chorus of assent came back in response.
"Very well. While I was thrilled to get the position of Head Instructor, I had some questions about my predecessor's abrupt departure. I refused to sign until they had given me at least some information as to what had happened.
"They told me enough. Harrow had been arguing with the academy administrators for months before he left. He thought that the money, the media, the sponsorships – they were destroying what the Gauntlet was supposed to be. I suppose you could call him a purist. He wanted them to stop hurling money at the competition, to stop sweeping up the best competitors from any academy that dared to present a challenge. When they signed you, Codi, that sent him over the edge."
Codi felt a judder in her heart at that and her eyes widened. She didn't need to look; she could feel eyes locking onto her as Bronagh continued.
"He accused them of buying the Gauntlet, not winning it. He said he wouldn't be a part of it anymore and that was the end of it. He didn't give notice – didn't even pick up his final credit transfer. He simply left and never looked back."
The assembled fighters exchanged disbelieving looks. Codi swallowed down the lump in her throat.
"I hope what has happened in the last few days has proved to you that he is wrong," she continued. "None of you have progressed in the competition because of money. You progressed because you are skilled fighters, and you want to win."
"Whether it was as simple as a fall out with the administrators and this was the only job he could find, or if he is now on some kind of grand crusade to topple Battlecast, it is irrelevant." Bronagh Llewellyn stopped pacing and turned her iron-hard stare on them.
"He will not succeed. The best fighters in the Gauntlet are sitting in this room, not because we bought them, but because they fought for it. Each and every one of you has grafted day in, day out, for months to get to where you are today. So we are going to win this tournament, and we will make Colm Harrow rue the day he ever walked out on this academy."
With that declaration the whole atmosphere in the room changed, crackling with energy and anticipation. The surprise Codi had felt only moments ago faded away, and she let her face crack into a wolfish grin. She stared at the Head Instructor and a tremendous sense of belonging surged through her. This woman believed in them. Almost without thought she curled her fingers into a fist and thumped down on the table beside her. Once. Twice. Three times.
Then other hands joined her. Gareth and Leela on either side added their own drumbeats to hers and slowly but surely the motion spread through the room until the thunder of fists filled the air. Even Ripple, face impassive as ever had her slender hand banging as hard as the rest. Louder and louder the roll rose in a crescendo and then voices joined in. Whoops and roars and stamping feet flooded the small room and Codi felt an electricity in her veins, adrenaline coursing through her.
Eventually the storm receded, leaving Bronagh Llewellyn with a happy, if slightly baffled look on her face. Codi stood up, sucking in a deep, steadying breath before she spoke.
"I think, for once, I can speak for everyone," she began, gesturing to the other fighters with a sweep of her arm, "when I say that we're with you one hundred percent. I don't know what this guy thinks he's going to accomplish, but I can guarantee, one of us is going to knock that oversized punching bag of his into a black hole before this tournament's finished. Battlecast wins: this year we take it all home."
The scrape of chairs against the metal floor sounded and she saw out of the corners of her eyes that the others had stood up, all of them nodding their agreement. In a matter of seconds all twenty-five Battlecast fighters had risen, eyes turning to their instructor.
Bronagh flashed them a vicious smile. "Good, then get some rest. Then we'll show Colm Harrow what a Gauntlet champion is really made of."