37 Arm Yourself

The Coliseum had a different atmosphere this afternoon compared to what had been present the last two exams. The lights of the Royal Coliseum were turned on and they illuminated entire blocks of major hub one. In the large streets that had been mostly clear for visitors and fans, there were now huge tents flying the flags of the elite teams. Scattered amongst the tents were smaller booths that had all manner of clothing, trinkets, and goods that could be bought. Dozens of alien races hawked their wares with translation mics affixed to their mouths. Journalists of all types lounged around the area interviewing fans for extra segments and shot b-roll for their stories later.

Jane Good and Chiron wandered through the newly established fan zone wide-eyed. They knew that all of these booths and tents had only been set up this morning. Most casual fans didn't tune in until the elimination rounds began. It was the curse of too much of a good thing and the advertisers had bemoaned their luck for years. With the announcement that elimination rounds were starting early, the advertising partners had felt like they had won the lottery and dozens of companies had rushed to get their areas set up to sell as much product as possible. Jane had rarely ventured beyond the human safe zone and she spent long amounts of time looking at all the various items that were for sale.

Chiron had happily accepted her request that she join him in the major hub. He had been only a few times himself and definitely agreed that it could be overwhelming for first-time visitors. He also wanted to watch his students live if possible. Both Isabel's and Jayce's teams were in the late time slot and he was eager to get inside to watch the matches. He managed to restrain himself as Jane continued to explore merchant booths and ask about their wares.

The loudspeakers positioned around the grounds blared to life and a feminine voice that now haunted Jayce's nightmares announced that the last slot of matches was about to commence. Chiron gently tugged on Jane's sleeve, "that's our cue." Jane put down the fish-shaped carving she had been admiring before smiling to the merchant. "Can I come back later?" The merchant, a short feline with three eyes gave her a toothy grin. "Of courssseee. I will be here all night." Jane smiled and then turned to follow Chiron into the Royal Coliseum.

She wasn't afraid of the city. She had grown up in Los Angeles. If she couldn't handle seeing weird stuff she would have never escaped the city to meet Jayce's father. She was instead worried about Jayce and wanted someone around who could reassure her. She hadn't made many friends outside of her work circle and most of those were single moms like herself. Out of options, she had requested Chiron to join her with the excuse that she was nervous about going to the city alone. Now as they approached the gates to the arena she felt her heart quickening and a queasy feeling in her stomach. "Chiron how do you think Jayce is going to do?"

Chiron scratched his chin as they followed the stream of fans inside. "I think they'll do well. Those four have never been traditional in any aspect of their training. Groups like them always perform above expectation due to their newness." Chiron smiled reassuringly at her. In truth, he had no idea. Their four potentials had shaken him to the core and he was still unsure how he had misjudged them so badly. He had spent quite a few long nights examining any information he could get about potential scores and still felt he knew next to nothing. But he couldn't voice these doubts to anyone but his wife and so he tried to encourage Ms. Good.

Jane seemed satisfied and had a thin smile on her face as they finally arrived at their seats. They were high above the arena and the people below looked like ants. A monstrous floating screen hovered in the middle of the cheering fans and displayed the battles going on below in crystal clear quality. "Why do people pay so many credits for seats so far from the battlefield?" She wondered aloud as she looked up to the thousands of seats built above them. Chiron shrugged, "Live events are more fun maybe?" He was busy adjusting his binoculars so he could watch the battle with his own eyes. Jane frowned and proceded to try and learn as much as she could from watching the crowd.

...

The competitor's area had also changed drastically. A large white tent was taking up most of the back corner where Jayce and Micu had gone to watch the exams before. Medical professionals lounged around the area. The relaxed and casual atmosphere was gone replaced by tension and nerves. Fighting before cameras felt far more comfortable to most than fighting before millions of screaming fans. Many had contemplated dropping out. Something was strange about this year's exam had been the consensus among the competitors and trying again next year was not a shameful thing to do. However, the number who actually did was quite low. Everyone harbored hopes of being the next big thing and this was the surest way to push yourself into the eyes of the elite teams.

Thus the area was packed with teams making final preparations, battle plans, and providing emotional support for each other. The four surveyed the area and found a small open space next to the white tent. Inside they heard moans of pain and doctors working quickly to heal the wounded. Ralnas raised a worried eyebrow, "They must have the safety settings turned way down. I can't remember the last time I was injured so badly I had to have an actual doctor look at me..." Jayce grasped his shoulder firmly, "or those people don't know what they're doing and got hurt doing something stupid. We'll be okay." Ralnas nodded but his concerns remained.

Jenira was watching the other teams with interest."Look, guys, they moved all the groups we've seen on highlight videos to this time slot." She pointed out the Ogrium team from the first round, then the colorfully colored Yuhru team, the Minotaur team and finally Isabel's team. Micu glanced away from Isabel quickly and managed to maintain his composure. "Most people work early and watch games late. This is so that the audience gets a show that they will want to turn on for the next round." Micu wasn't surprised to see the top tier talent all gathered in one group. "It also makes it far easier to scout us out as one group instead of having to invest a whole day into it." Jenira nodded with understanding and continued to watch the various teams prepare for the Coliseum round.

The feminine voice then spoke through the area. "Competitors please report to your prebattle assigned area. It will appear in your watch at the conclusion of this message. As a reminder, this is an elimination round. If your team fails to defeat all three rounds then you will be deemed unfit to continue in the exam." The voice repeated its message once more before shutting off. Their four watches buzzed in unison and a single number appeared on each. One. Jenira looked up quickly and almost laughed at the different reactions that were before her. Jayce had that confident smile on his face that was present before the last exam. Ralnas looked slightly shell-shocked and Micu was a mixture of suspicious and eager. "You three ready?" She asked casually as she walked towards the room with a gleaming white number one emblazoned on it.

Her friends hurried to catch up and they entered together. The door behind them closed with a thud. There were no windows inside and four simple chairs were positioned against the furthest wall. The small room had numerous warnings about the danger of taking part in this competition but they had all seen dozens of these posters before and paid them no mind. After a few minutes, the room started to move upwards and Ralnas gripped his chair intensely. "Ral, we've got this relax," Jayce said with a carefree smile. Ralnas glared at him, "Jay we've got to keep going. I can't wait another year for this." Determination seeped through Jayce's calm exterior. "We will." Ralnas nodded with an intense look in his eyes.

The room slowed to a stop and the same door they had entered through opened. In the hallway before them lay dozens of weapons. Jayce recognized most but some were so foreign he wasn't even sure how you would hold it. A boxy robot rolled towards them. "Hello, team "Chiron's Chosen" I am your friendly helper bot. All these weapons are available for your use and you may take as many as you can carry." It then rolled towards to the back of the room.

Ralnas quickly picked out a thick shield and a short sword from the racks. He opened up a tab on his watch and their school's crest appeared on his shield. He smirked and then looked at Jenira, "Chiron is going to so owe us." She laughed softly and then began picking through the short blade weapons. She eventually chose six thin daggers. Tucking four of them into her belt she tossed the other two in the air before catching them. "I'm good," she said.

Micu had an abundance of bows to choose from and he eventually found a thin black one that he felt had the power and size to be the most optimal choice for him. He then walked over to the robot. "How do arrows work in the Coliseum?" He asked while glancing at the quivers arranged below the bows. The robot processed his question for a moment before answering, "You will have unlimited arrows but your quiver can only hold fifteen arrows at a time. After firing all arrows there will be a 15-second cooldown and then they will be replaced. Have I answered your question?" Micu nodded before realizing the robot might not know what that meant. "I do, thank you helper bot."

He picked up the lightest quiver he could find and then fiddled with the straps until he felt it was comfortable. Jayce was stuck and staring at a gorgeously shaped spear, a destructive greatsword and a battleax he swore was from a video game. He was debating in his head endlessly until Jenira cozied up beside him. "You're going to pick the sword right?" She said sweetly. Jayce looked at her with a raised eyebrow before he bent down to pick up the greatsword. "I am now," he said with a glint in his eyes that Jenira couldn't read.

The helper bot then spoke up again, "Are you content with your decisions?" Micu replied yes for the group. The bot then rolled over to the wall it was leaned against and pressed a button. The far wall slowly descended and a thunderous roar started to filter into where they stood. Bright lights crept through the opening doorway and a stadium announcer system sprung to life. "Races of all shapes and sizes we welcome you to the first elimination round! To begin the night we have two time first placed team Chiron's Chosen!"

The roar created by this announcement felt like an earthquake and the stadium trembled slightly. Jayce looked to his friends one last time before they walked into the light. "It's only three rounds, don't hold anything back." His three friends nodded and they stepped confidently into the blinding light and deafening roars.

...

Jane was looking at the brightly colored executive suites that lined the inside of the Royal Coliseum. "Chiron who owns those?" She pointed a finger to where she was looking. Chiron glanced up from his binoculars. "Oh, those are the elite team's clubhouses. I read they built them after no one noticed Arthur's talent during this exam and he eventually founded his own team, Templar. As you might know, now Templar is one of the highest ranked elite teams. It's pretty crazy how much of an impact humans have had on this place." He was about to continue when the announcer's voice drown out him completely. As they listened to him announce the team name they both turned to each other wide-eyed. "They're going first?" Jane had to yell to even hear herself the stadium was so loud. Chiron shrugged and pulled his binoculars up to his face quickly. Jane gripped her armrest tightly. I'm not ready yet! She thought to herself grimly before she leaned over the edge to see if she could make out her sons figure down below.

...

Zakzakiel sat in one of the luxurious chairs that their team had installed in their suite. He had arranged for the main event of the night to go first so he could return to his research back at their base. Still, he was eager for it to begin, the prospect of finally achieving the power of the Overwatchers had spurred his ambition to new heights. He snapped at one of the large screens on the walls and it displayed the Royal Coliseum battlefield. He stood and walked to the edge of the suite. "It's time to eliminate you from this little adventure," he whispered softly to himself.