59 A Second Chance for Glory

Jayce and Micu got into the hovercar and waved goodbye to Anna. She stood on the beach waving to them until the car had disappeared behind the Royal Coliseum. She turned and started heading towards the rest of her former team Pure group. She realized walking up the hill that she didn't really ask Jayce any of the questions she had planned in her head. Laughing at herself she kept climbing. Stopping at the crest of the hill she looked over the ocean again. She still didn't see any turtle or anything else for that matter. She paused as she wondered why Micu and Jayce could see this turtle so clearly. Quickening her pace she started going over in her head who would be the best one to ask about Micu's problem. As she started into the lush walking path she briefly wondered how much more to the simulation there was that they had no idea about. A fiery curiosity took hold of her heart and she zoomed forward looking for answers.

...

Jayce looked out the window as they zoomed through the city. "Ahti's base actually looks pretty cool," Micu muttered as they dodged through construction areas. "I know, turtle island with tree forts is definitely a place I would like to explore." Jayce leaned against the window. "Too bad you and I will probably never come close to seeing it." Micu laughed. "There's always drone video?" Jayce sighed, "It's not the same." Micu understood and let him continue to gaze out the window.

The two sat in silence the rest of the way to their meeting with Tara. Once they stepped inside they noticed that this was a far more professional office. Where her production studio had her obvious flair written into its very walls her office was corporate controlled. Slick white walls with black furniture decorated the room. A simple desk with two chairs in front of it sat unattended. Micu and Jayce sat in the chairs while they waited for her to arrive. A large mural of a pink planet hung behind her desk. The only splash of color in the clean office. Micu gazed at the planet and tried to determine if he could identify it. Jayce leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes. The door opened and Tara's voice shook him from being about to fall asleep. "There's been an interesting development."

...

Jenira yawned deeply as she felt for the space Jayce usually took up in their bed. Finding nothing she blinked away the sleep. She glanced around the room dejected. Climbing out of bed she crawled into the shower and let the hot water wash the grogginess out of her mind. She heard a fumbling and then a shout of frustration. Quickly exiting the shower and dashing into her room she got dressed. Coming down the stairs she had to stop herself from laughing at Ralnas. He was in the kitchen and covered in the remains of a smoothie he had been trying to make. He looked up at her and offered an embarrassed smile. "I was trying to make breakfast smoothies."

Jenira finished descending the stairs and scooped some of the smoothie off the counter and tasted it. She started laughing as Ralnas sighed dejectedly. He had the chef robot activate its cleaning protocol. "It was pretty good before it ended up all over the kitchen." She nodded and helped him clean the smoothie off his face and clothes. "Where's Jayce?" She asked once he was mostly free from purple blobs of fruit. He shrugged and started piling fruit back in the blender. "I don't know where Micu is either. I meant to apologize to him..." Jenira raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What did you do?"

Ralnas groaned, "You know how innocent he is when it comes to love and stuff like that?" Jenira nodded slowly. She already was fearing her brother had said something awful. "I told him that people are just using him and me to get to Jayce. He didn't like that." Jenira curled her eyebrows together. "That doesn't sound like that big of a deal?" Ralnas ground his teeth together. "I may have said Isabel was the one who was using us." Jenira gasped. "You didn't?" Ralnas nodded glumly. "I just got so annoyed with how he idolizes her. I didn't mean to explode like I did though." Jenira patted her brother on the back. "It's okay. He'll forgive you." Ralnas smiled. "I know he will. It's myself that I need to forgive."

She smiled and hugged him. "It's okay Ral. Everyone gets upset. Don't be too hard on yourself." Ralnas hugged her back. "Thanks, Jen. I'll try not to be." She knew that was him saying he was still going to beat himself up about it. She rolled her eyes and then sat at the kitchen table. "Well master chef, I'm waiting." Ralnas turned the blender on again and held down tightly on the lid. "This time for sure." She laughed as the two of them shared a quiet breakfast together.

...

Tara zoomed into the room and Jayce almost didn't recognize her. Instead of the vibrant blues and pinks, he was used to she wore a tan suit and little makeup. The only mark it was Tara was a pink butterfly clip holding her bright blue hair in place. She sat behind the desk with authority and looked at the two boys sitting before her. "You two got sunburned?" Both of them felt the tension evaporate from the room. Jayce laughed out loud. "We went to the beach." Tara beamed, "I am going to do a story there for this weeks episode. Was the water cold?" Micu and Jayce paused as they tried to recall. "Not really?" Jayce admitted. Micu nodded in agreement. Tara leaned back in her chair and swiveled it in a circle.

"I'm glad you two got some relaxation. Because there's been an interesting proposal from one of the other TV networks. I think you'll like it." She stood on the seat of the chair to make herself look taller. Jayce raised an expectant eyebrow. Micu pursed his lips together. They were both rapt in their attention to Tara's every movement. "They want to finish the exam. But the other Overwatcher's can enter teams. Kind of free PR for every team." Jayce nearly jumped in the air. "They want to fight us in the 4v4 exam? Hell yes! We're in." Micu sighed and pulled his friend back into the chair. "Tara, what exactly are the rules of this exam?" Tara managed not to laugh when Jayce had exploded with competitive joy.

"They want a single elimination tournament. Any team can enter if they want. Haven't decided what the winner would get yet. 5v5 rounds. Pretty much what you were about to do but plus one member." Jayce was nodding along with every word. Micu did his best not to give away anything on his face but he was excited about the prospect as well. "We'd hold it on the day before the deadline so that everyone would get a chance to see the four options in action. If you're in I'll let my boss know." Jayce glanced at Micu. He smiled widely and Micu groaned teasingly. "I don't think we were ever going to say no to this were we?" Jayce shook his head. Micu rolled his eyes but he grinned with excitement. Tara had figured Jayce would be enthusiastic about the opportunity. His reactions had been a little over the top and she laughed at his exaggerated movements to indicate his interest. "Then we'll let them know we're in. I'll send you a schedule when I have one."

The two boys shook her dainty hands and turned to leave the office. "Oh and boys, don't go getting totally sunburned before the competition. It's not a good look." The two scowled at her as she laughed delighted. Climbing back into Steve's car the two could hardly control their excitement. "We're going to get to crush them live!" Jayce punched the air as he shouted. Micu smiled and nodded, "I can't think of a better PR move than this. Don't get killed in one second like last time." Jayce's face darkened. Micu burst out laughing and teased him the rest of the ride back to their apartment.

Bursting into the apartment they startled both Jenira and Ralnas. "Guys! Big news!" Jayce shouted as he sprinted in front of the TV that they had been watching. Ralnas made an annoyed grunt as he paused the show they were watching. Micu followed behind him at a much slower pace. Jayce turned the TV off completely and cupped his hands around his mouth. "We're going to be competing against the other Overwatchers!" Ralnas glanced at Micu and then back to Jayce. "I know?" Micu started laughing again and Jayce scowled. "Don't encourage him. He teased me the whole way back here." Ralnas was completely lost. Jenira gently prodded Jayce to tell them what he was so excited about.

"The TV networks want to host a 5v5 competition with all the Overwatchers and we are invited to participate!" He shouted with excitement. Micu coughed, "Actually everyone is invited. But specifically, all four Overwatchers have been asked to send representatives." Ralnas took a moment to process. "So we're going to be fighting them in the Coliseum?" Jayce nodded enthusiastically. "Who's the fifth member?" Jayce paused his nodding. Micu also was struck speechless. Neither had even considered this point on the way home. Jenira started laughing at the dumbstruck look that was plastered on Jayce's face.

Ralnas said hesitantly, "Isabel?" He saw Micu tense slightly. Jayce's swagger returned. "Great idea Ral! I'll go call her right now!" Jenira grabbed his arm, "Hold on you. I think if anyone is going to ask her it should be Ralnas and Micu." Jayce raised an eyebrow. A meaningful look from Jenira told him to shut up. He sat down slowly on the couch and watched his two friends. Ralnas stood and faced Micu. "Look Micu I'm sorry about what I said last night. I didn't mean to... I mean what I'm trying to say is... I don't think Isabel is using us." Micu let a long sigh escape his lips. "It's okay Ral. I'm not mad. I actually don't think we should ask Isabel."

All three of his friends stared at him wide-eyed. "You what?" Ralnas finally uttered. Micu smiled, "She's got her own team. It's likely she'll want to compete against us. I think we should ask Anna." All three were floored and it took a long minute before anyone said anything. "Anna? From Pure?" Jenira asked finally. Micu nodded, "She's currently not part of any team. She was an elite team member. Also, Jayce and I spent time with her at the beach today and I think she would do well with us." Jenira gave Jayce a look. He held up his hands innocently. "She wanted to know more about the Overwatchers." Ralnas made a snapping sound, "He's already whipped." Jenira started laughing. Jayce blushed deeply. Micu waited for the room to calm down before speaking. "I'll go ask her later today. Any objections?"

The other three shook their heads. He smiled, "Good. See you all later." He crisply walked out the door and closed it behind him. Jenira turned her gaze to Jayce. "You went to the beach without me?" Jayce shrugged, "I didn't mean to. It was supposed to be a walk. You should have seen Micu this morning. He looked like he had just seen a ghost." Ralnas sighed glumly. Jayce patted him on the back. "It's okay buddy. He's already forgiven you." Ralnas managed to smile before turning the TV back on. Jayce smacked the remote from his hands. "What are you doing? We've got to start practicing for the competition!" Jenira and Ralnas groaned loudly.