Augments are the only performance-increasing substances legal to Neoclash due to its permanent nature. Using any other, temporary stimulants is strictly forbidden. A Champion who is caught taking such stimulants or is caught giving performance-decreasing substances to their opponents will be immediately suspended from the tournamment and banned for three months from taking part in official Neoclash tournamments. The time of the ban is doubled each time this violation is commited.
Official Neoclash rulebook
The fastest route from England to DIANA is using a ship. And it's not just any kind of ship.
We wait for our ship in the Newcastle harbour. The states of DIANA are wealthy enough to make them accessible from almost anywhere in Europe either by their own direct trains, airplanes or ships. The direct ship from Newcastle to Bergen, Norway makes its cruise twice a day, at nine in the morning and nine in the evening.
We decided to catch the morning one. The sun is rising over the water and the fresh wind with a salty aftertaste is playing with my hair. There are already numerous ships waiting by their wharfs and countless people who probably also want to visit the demilitarized miracle of northern Europe.
Ryan checks the digital tickets for the cruise on his pentop - for a hundredth time already. "I thought the tickets straight to DIANA will cost us a fortune," he says. "But even though they are wealthy, they keep their prices low, at least for transportation. They want as much people as possible to visit them."
"They are now the most densely populated area in Europe, right?" I remark.
My partner nods. "And for a good reason. After their demilitarization, the best brains of the whole Europe started to seek their fate there. There were so much of them the states had to build bigger and better cities to provide them homes and workplaces."
"The city where the tournament is taking place, Bifröst, is one of them, right?"
"Once again correct, Zoya. The city of Bifröst was built between the years 64 and 70 after Impact. While Oslo remained the capital of Norway, Bifröst became even more important in its own way. It's the capital of Norse science and technology, it has been compared to American Silicon Valley. It's basically a synonym for progress. I've visited Bifröst only once during my internship and... I can't wait to return there!"
The thrill and zeal in Ryan's voice is contagious. I wonder if DIANA is really as impressive as Ryan describes it, or it's just a haven of nerds unfriendly to common people with IQ under 130.
The partial answer to my questions arrives several minutes later, exactly at nine. It's a giant, several floors tall cruise ship using the color pattern of white, black, blue and dark gray. I can already read the huge letters on its side: HEIMDALL: The DIANA travel company.
There is a flag on the top of the ship. It follows the standard patterns of nordic states: a sideways cross is dividing the flag into several parts. The upper half os black, lower part is white, the cross itself is dark blue. Additionally, there is a light blue cogwheel symbol which shares its centre with the cross.
The largest wharf in the harbour, apparently reserved for this sea king, now comes alive. Several hidden limelights start to shine, creating a magnificent, holographic gate above the wharf. It reads: Board the HEIMDALL ship right now and experience the future in Demilitarized Industrial Alliance of Northern Areas! The regular cruise Newcastle - Bergen, 9:00, is arriving at the wharf. Current delay: 0 minutes.
"Wow, the DIANA guys like to have things fancy, right?" I stare at the transparent gate made of light.
"And this is only the beginning," Ryan smirks.
The ship arrives at the wharf and the passengers start to board it using several escalators leading to the main deck. There are probably much more people than usual because of the tournament in Norway. Even though the lines are long, they advance surprisingly quickly.
At the end of each staircase, a robot awaits us. I'm already used to robotic clerks and assistants, but it's still a bit unsettling sight - the robots still aren't perfect enough to overcome the "" effect, but they're pleasing enough to interact with.
The robots at the end of the staircase are here to check our tickets. They are sitting on a floating chair fueled by a Counter-gravity engine which resembles a white seashell with cushions inside. The robots themselves are made to look like Diana, the fictional girl which serves as an embodiment of the northern alliance. She has pale skin, tomboy smile, shoulder-long black hair and blue eyes, one of them covered with an augmented reality visor. She's wearing a black top revealing a few centimeters of her midriff, black hot pants with blue stripes and a white jacket with the DIANA flag pattern on the both sides of its chest area.
The robot starts its scripted sequence. She playfully crosses her legs and smiles at us. "Greetings, welcome on board of HEIMDALL! May I, please, see your tickets?"
The artificial girl's voice is perfect enough to not sound distorted. Ryan shows her the tickets on his pentop. Diana just looks at it - her eyes probably contain a scanner. Then she smiles again. "All clear! You may procceed. Have a great trip and enjoy your stay in DIANA!"
The whole proccess lasts for about thirty seconds. After we leave, another passenger approaches the robotic girl and she starts her sequence over again. I have to admit, it's an effective way to dispatch passengers. Before half past nine, the escalators disappear in the ship's hull and the vessel leaves the wharf.
"Okay, I have to get inside," Ryan says. "The larger ship, the better I feel. But I have to stay inside."
I laugh. I almost forgot about Ryan's seasickness.
...
The cruise is nice and peaceful, even though the weather gets colder the further we travel to the north. I taste some of the amusements the ship has to offer (for example a virtual reality gaming zone), eat in its restaurant whose glass-filled walls offer a great outlook on the sea and make some new friends among the Champions and my fans who recognize me.
"You almost kicked the soul off Nightingale!" one of the fans praises me. "You got this one. Ya better since I placed a bet on your victory in the Bifröst Challenge."
"I'd hate to disappoint you," I smirk. "I'll try my best."
I'd love to just shout out the truth about Nightingale. That she's a fraud who uses her beauty and sex-appeal to seduce her opponents and inject a toxine inside them. But since we don't have enough evidence yet, all I can do is remain silent and hope we'll gather enough evidence to be able to say it out loud without being accused of spreading defamations.
I don't see Ryan until we're about to land in Bergen. His skin is pale, but he doesn't look too devastated. But I still guess socializing with other Champions and giving away autographs was way more fun than the things Ryan had to go through.
"My list of reasons I hate ships has only one item, but it's really compelling," he rasps.
"Don't worry, we're almost there," I smile at him. We can already see land from the fore; a dominant on the horizon is a giant white dome surrounded by magnificent mountainscape. The other passengers gather around us to see our destination.
After a short time, we arrive to the dome. We see giant holographic letters, BERGEN: Main harbor, accompanied by smaller text: Welcome to Norway, a part of Demilitarized Industrial Alliance of Northern Areas. Enjoy the progress we achieved through peace.
Our ship sails inside the dome. It lets through enough sunshine to create a somewhat pleasant half-light. The inside wall of the dome is covered in holographic advertisements; it almost makes one feel queasy. They offer us the top-notch prostheses, quality Augments and also "mundane" electronics, computers, technology and other miracles developed here. The fictional Diana often appears as a promoter.
Majority of the dome's bottom is filled with wharves, many of them being taken by other HEIMDALL ships. Bergen is probably one of the important harbors of DIANA. Our ship stops by one of the wharves and opens the stairs once again so we can leave.
"Solid ground. Solid ground again," Ryan exhales in relief as we step on a metal walkway. We walk towards the exit from the dome, walking past numerous food stands. While sheer majority of stands I've seen so far uses neon signs, these have holographic ones which change the stand's name from English to Norvegian or contain moving figures inviting us to have a meal.
"This is outstanding," I say. "Even more like science fiction than what I saw earlier."
"And we're not even in Bifröst yet," Ryan smiles.
The train station is directly connected to the wharf dome. This time, there are glass pannels on the roof, so we can enjoy the full daylight. The station is vast, yet surprisingly humble. Ryan uses the word minimalist. There are no extensive shopping districts; that leaves more room for numerous platforms, connected by numerous escalators, footbridges and elevators. Everything is white, clean and beautiful.
The holographic signs above the platforms indicate where is each train going. There are several trains with Bifröst written as its destination; they just have different stops on its way. Ryan picks one of them and buys a ticket. The train arrives about five minutes later and I gasp again. The train is made of glass.
Well, I know it's not actual glass, but its walls and ceiling are transparent to offer the best possible outlook on the surroundings. It feels strange when we board it, but when we leave the station, I quickly start to appreciate it. Through the transparent walls, we can admire the beautiful nature surrounding us. Mountains, forests, valleys, rivers and lakes. Those who ride for the first time gasp in awe.
Well, except one person.
"This makes me feel nauseous," Ryan utters, his face pallid again. "These people who designed this nonsense had no idea about the kinetosis and what causes it."
...
The wonderful journey continues through several towns and cities. Some of them are old-fashioned and homely, like they were from a fairytale or a legend. Then, there are some which transfer us years into the future with tall white skyscrapers, buildings with outlandish architecture, beautiful parks, amusement centres and luxurious housing estates. Counter-gravity cars rapidly hover above the highways with holographic guideposts and billboards with advertisements.
Finally, we arrive to Bifröst, the most beautiful and majestic city I saw in DIANA so far. Even though it's almost solely white and clean, it doesn't seem cold. There are large batches of trees and flower beds. Holographic ads are present both on billboards and on buildings, accompanied by flashy signs of local stores and shopping centres. Aircarriers fly above our heads, transporting goods and technology into all corners of Europe.
"In Norse mythology, Bifröst is a bridge which connects Midgard, the world of humans, and Asgard, the world of gods," Ryan lectures as we leave the train at the Bifröst main station. "I have to admit, they picked a fitting name. When you look at all this beauty, you can easily think it was created by gods."
I've never heard Ryan talking about something with such respect. "I agree, it's beautiful," I say as we walk under yet another welcoming holographic gate. Near the station's exit, we encounter several Diana robots who hand us electronic readers containing a complete guide to Bifröst.
I'm starting to like these sassy artificial girls in slightly too revealing shorts. They are the most perfect robotic clerks I've encountered so far, with realistic facial expression and natural voice. Creating a personification of the whole union was a good idea. Much like the alliance, Diana is young, fresh, modern and open to the outside world.
We walk the clean streets of Bifröst and we both can't get enough of sights the city has to offer. The city centre is mostly defined by large stores with electronics or supplies for Castaways, often enclosed in large, eccentrically shaped shopping malls.
However, we also enjoy the beauty of local parks which, besides the trees and flower beds which seem to bloom all year long, offer sights like a singing fountain sprinkling water to the tune of a song we play, holographic memorials of the most important Dianian people or fully automatized food stands, often with a robotic seller. Truly a miraculous place.
Even if Ryan didn't have a map, the Neoclash arena could be easily found by just following the large crowds of bypassers. Both Champions and their partners look excited and aim towards the very middle of the city. I try to find one of my friends, but I can't see them right now.
When we come closer to the centre, we already see the giant hologram amidst the skyscrapers. BIFRÖST CHALLENGE starts today in the Bifröst Arena. Champion registration open now. There are currently 0 free tickets for standard terraces and 236 free tickets to the VIP terraces. Watch the preliminary rounds LIVE on TV Neoclash International today from 14:00.
We go towards the hologram. When the buildings finally allow us to see the arena, we gasp in awe. This is a whole different level than all the arenas I've fought in so far. Big, clean, white stadium with numerous entrances and giant letters BIFRÖST ARENA on a billboard sign made to look like a flickering rainbow bridge. Both flags of DIANA and Norway are present.
The whole stadium is surrounded by an extensive park where the temporary Champion houses are standing in a regular pattern, like the stadium was the sun and the houses built in lines were its rays. The houses are modern, clean bungalows with solar panels on their roofs.
We walk towards the stadium's main entrance on the main promenade paved with stone resembling marble. It's so big an entire army would be able to walk there. Numerous smaller lanes emerge from the main parade, leading to the park, gazebos or the houses. Of course, there are numerous stands on both edges of the street.
The place is already crowded, but thanks to the size of the whole compound, it still appears half empty. The giant stadium towers above us. All the tickets are already sold out. My head spins when I consider how many people will be watching my performance this time.
Well, I'll give them something to look at.
...
"Hey, check this out!" I hear a cheerful voice behind me. I turn around to see Svetlana. First of all, I ntice her attire. A black T-shirt with stylized wings symbol on the chest. She turns around, letting me see the hurricane on its back. But this... this is just like my Champion costume!
"Where did you get this?" I burst out.
Svetlana waves her hand towards one of the stands. "They sell it everywhere now. And also mugs, keychains and pentop sleeves. It's not much, but it's a start."
"But... don't you need to, like, sign something to sell your own merchandise?" I ask.
"You do," Ryan smirks. "Fortunately, I did it for you." He unbuttons his shirt and opens it. Beneath it, he wears the same T-shirt as Svetlana. However, this one has TEMPEST written in stylized font above the symbol. "In fact, several companies wanted to sell your merch already. I picked the best one and signed a contract. We receive a share from every sold piece! They made about a thousand royals so far."
I laugh. "You never say no to money, right?"
Ryan shrugs. "It's an opportunity for both you and me."
We walk the promenade in trio now - Svetlana explained Jensen and Sajid sent her to register alone as they went on a Bifröst sightseeing tour. Strangely, it seems Ryan is less annoyed by Svetlana's presence than usual. Well, this girl just can't be disliked, at least for too long.
Fortunately, Svetlana regained her cheerful attitude. Her affair with Nightingale happened three weeks ago, so she had time to sort it out and deal with it. However, her eyes seem different now. More mature, serious than they used to be. It's clear the incident still haunts her.
Well, we're going to take revenge soon... at least I hope.
We meet some people who want a photo or an autograph. I notice three people with pentop sleeves with my hurricane symbol on it. Some more people have this symbol on a button pin they wear on their jackets or backpacks, showing off who are their favorite Champions.
Yes, I'm flattered.
When we finally finish the Champion registration after a long wait in the line, we finally reunite with Katerina and Sotiris, completing our gang. This time, Helena is not with them. Her parents had to take them for another stage of her therapy.
"Ready to fire it up here?" Katerina smiles. "I have a feeling one of us will win this one!"
"Well, it's clearly not gonna be you or me," Ryan utters and we laugh at his remark.
We look around the crowd of Champions, trying to see more familiar faces. After a while, I finally see one, but it's not a nice sight for me. My throat goes dry when I see Isaiah standing aside. He's not wearing his mask and wears a black hoodie. As always, his head is covered by a gray knit cap.
"Uh-oh," Svetlana notices my insecurity. "Maverick is here."
My mood rapidly drops. I secretly hoped Isaiah will give up Neoclash after our encounter, but he apparently didn't, just took a break. It's no use. I have to let go of the past and think of him as another opponent I have to beat on my journey to the top.
A while later, we have a complete list of attendants to the party.
Nightingale arrives in a long, white fur coat like a queen, ignoring requests for photos and autographs. Célia Thibault accompanies her like a bodyguard, fading next to her Champion's majestic, arrogant beauty. I can hear Svetlana's gasp. All the memories came back to her.
"Calm down," I tell her. "We got her this time. We'll convict her and you'll get your justice."
"Uhm... right," Svetlana nods.
Valentina continues towards the registration office, her gaze fixed in front of her. However, there's someone she looks at. Isaiah. They exchange a short look and then continue like nothing happened. What was that supposed to mean? Even though I'm probably overreacting, my hate towards Nightingale now burns even brighter. Who do you think you are?